Corruption partly blamed for poverty in Nigeria
Lagos, Feb, 14, 2012
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is reported to have said that poverty is fueling the religious violence in Nigeria.
In a speech in Lagos, Bill Clinton reportedly said the northern part of Nigeria remains one of the poorest in the country and suggested more direct investment and opportunities for those in the north.
His comments followed a report by the Nigerian government which cautioned that poverty continues to rise.
The National Bureau of Statistics said 61 percent of Nigerians lived on less than $1 per day in 2010 compared to 51 percent in 2004.
The chair of the political science department at the University of Abuja, Kabiru Mato, indicated that poverty in Nigeria is the result of corruption and the inequitable distribution of the country’s oil wealth.
Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer, pumping more than two-million barrels per day, but corruption has deprived many ordinary Nigerians from sharing in their country’s wealth.
Mato said he agrees with Clinton that the northern part of Nigeria remains one of the poorest in the country. But, he said other factors have also contributed to the disparity between the north and south.
He also blamed colonialism for the economic disparity between northern and southern Nigeria.
