The Structure of Urban Poverty in Nigeria: The Calabar Municipality experience

Abstract

As Nigeria experiences the major thrust of urban growth, urban poverty has become the most intractable phenomenon attracting the attention of concerned observers. Because Calabar Municipality lacks solid economic base it cannot easily absorb its burgeoning population into productive medium and high income occupations. A wide range of interrelated variables, including the people's annual income, their educational level, occupational distribution, residential status and even psychological factors, explain the structure of poverty in Calabar. As a result the poor in Calabar are seen to fall within a wide spectrum of deprivation, ranging from the “poor of hope” who are capable of moving on their own across the poverty line, to the “hopeless poor” who require assistance for survival. Thus the study suggests that since a mix lot of factors are involved in the structure of urban poverty the phenomenon calls for a systems approach which takes into consideration the interacting characteristics of the diverse parameters of the whole urban system, in the formulation of anti-poverty measures. Admittedly, any war against poverty in this city is destined to be one of the longest wars in human history. However, it is possible to substantially reduce the yawning gap between the rich and the poor which is the crux of the problem facing policymakers in this city.