Unemployment and Persistent Poverty in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria: A Constraint to Sustainable Development in the 21st Century Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examines the phenomenon of unemployment and persistent poverty in Nigeria with special reference to
the Niger Delta region. Having diagnosed the episode of unemployment and poverty in the region, the paper unfolds that
unemployment and poverty have devastating effect on individuals, society and economy at large. This paper identifies that one
of the core causes of poverty in the Niger Delta today is the inability of many job seekers to secure gainful employment. It also
reveals the increasing level of poverty which has conditioned many people to a very low and undignified standard of living in the
region. The paper identifies unemployment and poverty as impacting negatively on the lives of the people and sustainable
development programmes in the region. Economic growth, which is supposed to be a solution to the problem of unemployment
and poverty, appears not to be in this region. In view of this, the paper recommends that the government and all stake-holders
must work together to get over the hurdles of unemployment and poverty and create more poverty alleviation programmes in
order to promote maximum investment and employment opportunity to the rural dwellers for sustainable development at the rural
setting.