By Bassey Ubong
The problem of definition of concepts which has plagued thinkers since antiquity took the centre stage in a village in Nigeria in the recent past. The Village Council of Oboyo held a meeting on 5th March 2021 to deliberate on matters of state. A team which claimed to represent the Federal Government of Nigeria announced to the audience its intention to document persons who could be said to live in absolute poverty. About a decade ago, no one in the community would have accepted to be placed in the group of the extreme poor. With negative growth in personal economies in recent years, it appeared several people showed eagerness to listen, and if possible, accept the shameful act of public declaration of absolute poverty.
To place the exercise in a workable perspective and framework, the team requested the audience to present their understanding of the concept of absolute poverty. The venue came alive as several and variant definitions were presented after a number of people expressed doubt as to the authenticity of the exercise. The doubts were daring and told the story of a people who have been deceived for decades by politicians and public functionaries at all levels.
Some of the definitions drew laughter, while some drew applause. A woman defined absolute poverty by way of a proverb: people determine the quality of a person’s residence from the quality of the lock on the entrance door.
In essence, the economic and social wellbeing of a poor person can be read from the looks. Poverty and the reverse, comfortable living, are often written on the face, the clothes worn, the type of residence, and in general the lifestyle of the individual as seen by other people. These external evidences tell the story without the need for an interview or visit to inspect the kitchen, boxes, and bank accounts.
The common definitions during the interaction centred on food (quantity and quality), clothes, accommodation, and other material things which reflect living standards. The definitions were noted down by the team members for their purposes.
For me, the position of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999 when he contested for the post of President remains relevant till today. He said no one should claim to be poor if he or she can eat two meals (round or flat) a day. Based on personal experience, absolute poverty can be defined in a time framework as a condition in which a person, in a free state, had no food the day before, had no access to food on current day, and has no idea when the next meal will be available. In the phrase in “A free state” in the definition excludes persons who are in prison or incapacitated for reasons other than economics.
Of the several definitions, the most outstanding and novel in my opinion came from a young man in the audience who placed the concept in a temporal framework. “Absolute poverty”, he declared, “can be read in an individual who, in a period of about ten years, executed no new project in his or her life.” His definition in effect equates absolute poverty with socio-economic stagnation.
This conceptual definition assumes a normal adult human being in the Ibibio world view who should be able to meet the most basic human needs of food, shelter, and clothing, quality notwithstanding. The society associated inability to meet these needs in the past with physical challenges or mental incapacitation. Anyone who has hands and normal brain should be able to generate money to buy food and clothes and have a shelter, with quality as a secondary consideration.
In history, the family system has been a central factor in the workings of the society in a way extreme poverty stood as a reflection of the poor person’s family. The proverb, “A mad person’s family bears the shame, rather than the mad person” approximates this world view and compelled families to cover the poor among them. The family in most cases remains Nigeria’s primary and evident social safety net till today. With the callousness and insensitivity of successive governments, citizens look up to each other rather than government to keep them out of the shameful group of persons who face absolute poverty.
Absolute poverty, by above definition, should include lack of ideas and drive. Anyone with the capacity to use available resources to create something of value cannot face absolute poverty.
Indian economist and Nobel Laureate, Armartya Sen, described this idea as capability to function.
The week before the meeting I tried to trace the residence of a man I lost contact with for more than a decade. Someone I met said, “At the end of this road go right, continue till you come by a thatched house which has some of the walls replaced with cement blocks.” The graphic description took me there. But I felt shocked, because I had no idea anyone in Ibibio land lives in a thatched house in the 21st century. But in our context, the man has made progress and falls outside the group of persons under absolute poverty.
The capacity to develop a life enhancing project within a specific time period justifies the need for development assistance. Several persons in poor countries are limited by operational constraints in areas such as finance, education, culture, markets, among others.
At a more formal level, a case of absolute poverty becomes established if someone falls below the poverty line and has no capacity to lift self above the line.
For instance, there are persons who, on receipt of financial assistance, prefer to eat and drink, rather than invest in any project with multiplier potentials or investment of a long term nature. Another person with equivalent assistance can start a ‘table market’ and grow above poverty line and escape the poverty trap in line with Armatya Sen’s thoughts.
Absolute poverty has international dimensions and has been a subject of intense studies by development economists and multilateral development agencies. The United Nations (UN) in 1995 defined absolute poverty as “a condition in which a person cannot meet the most basic needs of food, clothes, shelter, clean water, education, sanitation, and information.”
In poor societies, the last four remain dreams, because the first three – the existential three – are in short supply.
In terms of money, the United Nations sees absolute poverty as “a state in which the individual generates or earns income of less than one dollar a day.”
As at 19th April 2023, one dollar fetched N408.80. By the UN definition, anyone who earns or generates spendable funds below N12,264.00 a month fell into the absolute poverty group. The UN has retained this definition, which means millions of Nigerians face absolute poverty.
A ‘standard’ micro business pays a monthly salary of between N5,000 and N10,000 ($10.99-$21.98 or 37-73 cents per day). Some private schools pay first degree holders as low as N12, 000 a month ($26.38 a month or 88 cents per day). These levels are below the poverty line of which policy makers should be concerned.
Nigeria’s national minimum wage of N30,000, or $73.39 per month, works out at $2.45 a day, a level of $1.25 dollars above the 1995 definition of absolute poverty. But how many businesses pay the minimum wage when the Governors of some States have cried out against the amount?
The Federal Government team which went to Oboyo and other rural communities in the country may need to revise expectations, because use of the global definition puts close to 90% of dwellers of rural communities into the group of persons immersed in absolute poverty.
By the time the discussions wound down, many participants suggested everyone in the community should be registered. The team members said the community should expect a follow up group which will inspect houses and means of livelihood before registration. Everyone knew the last of the team had been heard for no adult can expect windfall from Nigerian governments?
If the team left without a working definition of absolute poverty, it left with the conviction of the high level of cynicism or mistrust of governments at the three tiers.
In any case, the team one can believe will sustain its fact-finding mission, which will continue till all the villages in the state have received teams and a new Federal Government takes office to set up follow up teams to visit villages till 2027.
Dr Ubong, a writer and public policy analyst, lives in Uyo
