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ABSTRACT the FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE the EFFECTIVENESS of POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMS in NIGERIA Nigeria Has Had a Long Fight Wi

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ABSTRACT the FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE the EFFECTIVENESS of POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMS in NIGERIA Nigeria Has Had a Long Fight Wi ABSTRACT THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMS IN NIGERIA by Roseline Jindori Yunusa Nigeria has had a long fight with poverty since its independence, various policies and poverty alleviation programs have been put in place with the goal to eradicate poverty; however they have not yielded the expected result. The goal of this qualitative study was to investigate the claim by beneficiaries that poverty alleviation programs do not solve the poverty situation in Nigeria, in addition explore the reasons they gave for why programs have not been successful, and what could make them more successful. There is a general feeling of frustration and lack of confidence in government organized programs, stemming from policy formulation and in appropriately targeting the poor. The problems of poverty alleviation programs as seen by this study are that, policy makers have no knowledge about the culture of poverty or the emotional preparedness that people need to break family generation cycle of poverty and ultimately transition out of poverty. THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMS IN NIGERIA A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University. in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science Department of Family Studies and Social Work by Roseline Jindori Yunusa Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2012 Advisor…………………………. Sherrill L. Sellers PhD Reader………………………… Katherine A. Kuvalanka, PhD Reader………………………….. Kevin R. Bush, PhD Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENT ..............................................................................................................................................II LIST OF TABLES: ....................................................................................................................................................IV DEDICATED ............................................................................................................................................................V ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...........................................................................................................................................VI INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................................................1 COLONIZATION OF AFRICA BY EUROPEANS ..........................................................................................................................1 RESEARCH QUESTION......................................................................................................................................................3 LITERATURE REVIEW..............................................................................................................................................4 WHAT IS POVERTY?........................................................................................................................................................4 WHAT THEN IS POVERTY IN NIGERIA?.................................................................................................................................5 POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMS IN NIGERIA ....................................................................................................................6 ASSESSMENT OF POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMS ...........................................................................................................11 METHODS ............................................................................................................................................................ 16 THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE.............................................................................................................................................16 RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION OF SUBJECTS......................................................................................................................16 SAMPLE POPULATION DESCRIPTION.................................................................................................................................17 SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS .............................................................................................................................................17 INTERVIEW PROCEDURE.................................................................................................................................................18 FIELD NOTES ...............................................................................................................................................................18 DATA ANALYSIS ...........................................................................................................................................................19 RESULTS............................................................................................................................................................... 20 MAIN THEMES.............................................................................................................................................................21 THEME 1: LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMS ...............................................21 THEME 2: IMPROPER TARGETING OF THE POOR BY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS.............................................................................22 THEME 3 LACK OF INFORMATION ABOUT POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMS IN THE SOCIETY. ......................................................24 THEME 4: ACTIVITIES OF COORDINATORS OF POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMS WERE SEEN AS PROBLEMATIC. ...............................25 THEME 5: THE CONTRAST BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE POVERTY ALLEVIATION ORGANIZATIONS......................................26 THEME 6: LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE POOR BY THE GOVERNMENT, AND PARTICIPANTS’ SUGGESTIONS ......................................27 DISCUSSION.........................................................................................................................................................30 WHAT ARE THE FACTORS THAT WILL MAKE POVERTY ALLEVIATION MORE EFFECTIVE? .................................................................35 ARE POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMS REALLY A SOLUTION TO THE POVERTY SITUATION IN NIGERIA?...........................................35 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY .............................................................................................................................................36 ii RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................................................................................... 38 CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................................................42 IMPLICATION FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ..............................................................................................................................43 REFERENCES................................................................................................................................................... 44 APPENDIX; A........................................................................................................................................................51 APPENDIX; B ........................................................................................................................................................52 CONSENT LETTER TO PARTICIPANTS .................................................................................................................................52 RESEARCH QUESTION FOR BENEFICARIES ...............................................................................................................53 iii List of tables: Table 1–Demography characteristic of participants iv Dedicated To The memory of my late father Dominic Vakkai For influencing me to help people in poverty And To all the poor v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I will start by thanking God for making it possible for me to take a step of faith that brought me to Miami to school. This journey would not have been possible without God making a way. My gratitude goes to all staff of the graduate school, who gave me this opportunity and support to be able to pursue my dream. Dr Aaron Bixler, I will forever remain grateful. I extended my appreciation to the incredible faculty of Family and Child Study Department who gave me so much support and made it felt like one big family. My heartfelt appreciation goes to Dr Charles B. Hennon who treated me like his child, took me out shopping and bought me my first winter jackets. Dr Peterson Warren Gary the chair of family and child studies department has been a father figure; I appreciate all your help. To Dr Kevin Bush, thank you for watching out for me and guiding me throughout my entire graduate school process. Dr Katherine A Kuvalanka, thank you for making me a better student and accepting to be on my thesis committee. To all my professors I could not have asked for better professors’ than you, thank you for the great knowledge you all impacted on me. I will like to express my special gratitude to Dr Sellers, thank you for your tireless effort, encouragement, immense help and devotion that have made this research work to be completed. Lucy Manley I appreciate your constant help and encouragement, where every my career takes me, I will always hold a special place for Miami University in my heart
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