The Imperative of Effective Democratic Governance in Curbing Endemic Poverty in Nigeria

Abstract

The spate and scale of poverty appear to have overstretched the capacity of many individuals in Nigeria. The apparently increasing cost of living resulting from hyper-inflation orchestrated by faulty economic policies tend to have pushed more people into pool of poverty. This suggests that tackling endemic poverty requires a more effective democratic governance to formulate and implement proactive economic policies to stabilize the system. Therefore, this paper interrogates the imperative of effective democratic governance in curbing endemic poverty in Nigeria. Democratic governance is a mechanism to ensure inclusiveness, transparency and good governance, responsiveness and adherence to the rule of law to sustain the well-being of citizens in the state. Relying on the abstractions of the Elite theory and qualitative data, this paper argues that bad governance, characterized by primitive wealth accumulation, disjointed policies and inconsistencies, poor leadership and elite manipulations tend to increase poverty index in Nigeria. It is indicative that the Nigeria’s government overtime failed to entrench practical measures in terms of security, industrialization and fiscal economic stability that can guarantee the effective implementation of poverty reduction programmes. The study concludes that the government’s inability to enhance the people's collective well-being due to prebendal attitude towards governance in the country. The study recommends strong advocacy and enforcement of good governance, entrenchment of workable measures and sound policies that can greatly impact the economic well-being of the people in Nigeria.