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1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Rural Poverty in Nigeria
Despite its plentiful resources and oil wealth, poverty is widespread
in Nigeria. The situation has worsened since the late 1990s, to the
extent that the country is now considered one of the 20 poorest
countries in the world. Over 70 per cent of the population is
classified as poor, with 35 per cent living in absolute poverty.
Poverty is especially severe in rural areas, where social services
and infrastructure are limited or non-existent. The great majorities
of those who live in rural areas are poor and depend on agriculture
for food and income. About 90 per cent of the country's food is
produced by small-scale farmers cultivating tiny plots of land who
depend on rainfall rather than irrigation systems. Surveys show
that across the country 44 per cent of male farmers and 72 per
cent of female farmers cultivate less than 1 ha per household.
Women play a major role in the production, processing and
marketing of food crops. The poorest groups eke out a subsistence
living but often go short of food, particularly during the pre-harvest
period. A high proportion of rural people suffer from malnutrition
and other diseases related to poor nutrition. The HIV/AIDS
pandemic has also taken a heavy toll among the rural population.
1.2 Who Are Nigeria's Rural Poor People?
Women and households headed by women are frequently the
most chronically poor within rural communities. Women have
lower social status than men and consequently less access to
schooling and training, particularly in childcare and health
practices. Yet women play significant roles in rural economic
activities. While the number of men migrating from rural areas in
search of employment has increased over the last decades, the
number of households headed by women has risen substantially.
Women struggle to cope as the burden of work, at home and in the
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fields, falls on their shoulders. Malnutrition is a frequent problem in
these households.
Other vulnerable groups among rural poor people are young
couples with children, the disabled and old people with no relatives
to support them.
1.3 POVERTY INDICATORS
• GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$) (2006) 620.0
• Total population (million) (2006) 144.7
• Rural population (million) (2006) 73.8
• Number of rural poor (million, approximate) (2006) 26.9
• Rural population below the poverty line (%) (1993) 36.4
• Population living below the national poverty line (%) (1993)
34.1
• Income share held by lowest 20% (2003) 5.0
2.0 BRIEF HISTORY OF SABON GARURUWA
2.1 Definition
A Sabon Gari (strangers' quarters or literally new town in the
Hausa language, plural Sabon Garuruwa) is a section of cities and
town in Northern Nigeria and south central Niger whose residents
are not indigenous to Hausa lands.
2.2 History
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Permanent communities of strangers segregated from the
indigenous population had existed in Northern Nigeria and other
parts of West Africa long before the arrival of the British at around
1900. Although living segregated from the Hausa population,
residents of these communities were ultimately subject to the
authority of the local emir.
The establishment of British colonial rule under Frederick Lugard
and the construction of new railway lines led to a large influx of
laboreres and traders from Southern Nigeria. The immigrants, who
were mostly Igbo and Yoruba people, settled in new towns or
Sabon Garuruwa, as these new towns were called by the local
Hausa people. The Cantonments Proclamation of 1914
institutionalized this system of residential segregation. The Sabon
Garuruwa became Native Reservations, officially reserved for
employees of the government and commercial firms, and in
practice inhabited by residents not indigenous to Northern Nigeria.
British colonial rule in Northern Nigeria was indirect, leaving the
emirs in power, albeit as part of the colonial administration. In the
beginning the Sabon Garuruwa were administrated by the emirs.
This changed with the Township Ordinance of 1917, which placed
the Sabon Garuruwa and their residents under direct British rule.
Sabon Gari residents were granted more rights than those under
the administration of the local emir. For example, residents of a
Sabon Gari could send representatives to the advisory board
responsible for a township, or could choose between courts
administering Muslim law or British law.
Sabon Garuruwa were established in all major cities of Northern
Nigeria, most notably in Kano, Kaduna and Zaria. One exception
was Maiduguri, which never had a Sabon Gari. A typical city or
town in Northern Nigeria would consist of the old city within
fortified walls and inhabited by indigenous Hausa or Fulani people.
The Sabon Gari would house immigrants mostly from Southern
Nigeria. The Tudun Wada would house people from Northern
Nigeria that were not indigenous to the local area. Europeans
would live in the European Reservation Areas.
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Over time the initially strict residential segregation would partially
break down. Eventually a typical Sabon Gari would house a
diversity of people from all parts of Nigeria and to a lesser extent
from other parts of West Africa. For example, in 1939 various ethnic
groups were represented in the Sabon Gari of Kaduna as follows:
27% were Hausa, 11% were Igbo, 19% were Yoruba, 15% were
Nupe people and 28% were other ethnicities.
2.3 Sabon Garuruwa Today
Even today Sabon Garuruwa are predominantly inhabited by
people from Southern Nigeria. Ethnic tensions between groups
from southern and northern Nigeria lead to frequent riots in the
Sabon Garuruwa of northern cities. With the introduction of Sharia
law in the northern states of Nigeria some Sabon Garuruwa with its
predominantly Christian population have become the place of
officially forbidden activities like alcohol consumption, gambling
and prostitution. Zinder and Maradi, the two largest Hausa cities in
Niger's Hausa speaking southeast retain Sabon Gari districts.
2.4 Kaduna State
Kaduna is the state capital of Kaduna State in north-central
Nigeria. The city, located on the Kaduna River, is a trade center
and a major transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural
areas with its rail and road junction. The population of Kaduna is at
1,652,844. The symbol of Kaduna is the crocodile, called kada in
Hausa.
Kaduna was founded by the British in 1913 and became the capital
of Nigeria's former Northern Region in 1917. It retained this status
until 1967.
3.0 Statement of the Problem
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Official and unofficial statistics show that women are the most
disadvantaged group in the world and because of this, they lag
behind in many respect. Lagging behind means that they would
face social and economic problems. Incidentally and aptly put, the
Nigerian woman is among the poorest in the world (see World Bank
sources; Imam, 1991: Young, 1993), and because of this, it has
affected her in many ways.
The point of emphasis is that women especially those in the rural
areas continuously have live in abject conditions despite the fact
that they do most of the work in the households and running of the
homes. In most rural settings in Nigeria, women lack the necessary
skills to develop themselves mainly due to social and cultural
barriers and partly due to low literacy rate and ignorance. Women
have continued to live at the low level of subsistence going through
all hurdles in life that calls for research and legislative concerns.
There are also other dimensions to poverty among women in Africa
including Nigeria. The socio-economic deprivations are many and
even desires are met with stiff opposition. Yet, they are the ones
often crowded in squatter settlements, who frequently endure
inadequate access to health care, safe water and sanitation as well
as flooding.
4.0 Research Questions
Arising from this problem statement are the following research
questions;
• What is poverty?
• What are the causes of poverty?
• How does it affect rural women?
• Why do women suffer more from poverty?
• What are the consequences of poverty on women?
• What are the implications of this phenomenon on women and
the Nigerian society?
• What strategies exist in Nigeria to reduce this social problem?
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• How efficient and effective are these strategies and
programmes?
5.0 Objective of the Study
The following research objectives logically arise from the research
questions;
• To identify the nature of poverty and factors responsible for
this problem in Sabon Gari Local Government Area of Kaduna
State.
• To examine factors militating against women economic
empowerment in Sabon Gari LGA of Kaduna State.
• To ascertain the consequences of poverty on rural women in
Sabon Gari LGA of Kaduna State.
• To provide data bank for policy makers, informing them of the
social consequences of poverty on the development of the
society.
• Poverty has attained a level in the area that need to be
investigated such that necessary measures are put in place
for improved conditions.
• To proffer some recommendations.
6.0 Significance of the Study
Poverty is negative for national development. Reducing poverty,
especially among women is a necessary step towards
development. Women have a fundamental role to play in the
development process. They are equally important in the
sustenance of the process, as bearers of children. As educated and
empowered women, they would be better equipped with
knowledge on how to deal with socio-cultural stereotypes,
improved health through better feeding and environment;
participate in development issues like education of children,
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engage in trade or improve agriculture, and get involve in many
other activities in the society.
Women are known to be good teachers (moral instructors and
socialization agents). They help to educate other women on the
positive aspects of life as against indolence and dependence.
7.0 Research Hypotheses
1. Women are more likely to face health problems due to poor
living conditions.
2. Literate women are more likely to be empowered
economically.
8.0 Research Methodology
This research study shall employ the questionnaire method of data
collection as primary sources. This is informed by the fact that
opinion varies depending on individual perception and there is
need to assess these varying responses and opinions in the light of
hypotheses tested. Questionnaires shall be administered for the
purpose of ascertaining the responses in pursuance of the
objectives of the study. The responses shall subsequently be
matched with the hypotheses in order to aid the researcher in
drawing inference and conclusions.
More relevant and related literature such as journals, textbooks,
magazines, and resource materials from the website would be
employed as secondary source of data and be compared with the
primary data in order to validate the optimization of past literature
opinion to present data collected.
The advantage of consulting the literature is based on the ground
that it is the easy access to past information.
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9.0 Organisation and Plan of Work
Chapter One: This would be a general overview of the subject
matter, poverty, and how it came to be an issue in Nigeria. The
effect or consequences of poverty on rural women, with particular
reference to Sabon Gari LGA of Kaduna State. This chapter would
also try to identify the nature of poverty and factors responsible for
this phenomenon in the area under study, factors militating against
women economic empowerment in the area.
Chapter Two: We shall be discussing the implications of the subject
matter, poverty, causes and consequences of poverty, paying
particular attention to the related literature on poverty. Analyzing
the causes of poverty, identifying the effects of poverty on rural
women, discussing the implications of poverty in the Nigerian
society and highlighting the strategies for poverty reduction in
Nigeria. We shall round up this chapter with the theoretical
framework.
Chapter Three: Contains the location of the study, population of
study, method of data collection, sampling procedures, variables of
study, technique of data analysis and problems encountered in the
field would all be highlighted under this chapter.
Chapter Four: Presents the findings of the study. It would be sub-
divided into two sections, among these includes socio-demographic
data, and factors responsible for poverty in Sabon Gari LGA of
Kaduna State. The findings would be presented with the use of
tables and descriptive analysis.
Chapter Five: Would be the concluding chapter of the study. It
would sum up the major findings of the work and x-ray the
implication of the findings from which certain conclusions would be
made and recommendations proffered. It would be sub-divided into
three sections namely;
i. Findings
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ii. Conclusions
iii. Recommendations
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