The privatized state and mass poverty in Nigeria: The factor of economic development programmes since 1980s

The Nigeria state has adopted many development options since 1960. In-built in these options are numerous poverty alleviation programmes aimed at reducing and or eradicating poverty within a given time frame. It is paradoxical that while these programmes are on course, poverty level grows geometrically. This paper explores the phenomenon with a view to establish the primary factor responsible for it and to establish whether there is a correlation between the poverty alleviation programmes and the increasing level of poverty. Using the pluralist political economy framework, the paper discovered that the privatized character of the Nigerian state is the primary factor responsible for the increasing level of poverty in Nigeria. There is a correlation between the implementation of poverty alleviation programmes and the increasing level of mass poverty in Nigeria. It therefore recommends sovereign majority rule and the abrogation of federal character principle as panacea for mass poverty in Nigeria.   Key words: Mass poverty, Nigerian State, economy framework, poverty alleviation programme.