Why The Government Should Outlaw Discrimination On The Grounds Of Poverty By Kolawole Olaniyan, PhD

The grim disclosure on February 13,
2012 by the National Bureau of
Statistics (NBS) that more than two
thirds of Nigerians–112 million
individuals–are living below poverty
level grabbed national attention.
Perhaps this terrible truth should
not have been unexpected given
the country’s unenviable rank in the
widely publicised UNDP’s Human
Development Index (HDI) for 2011.
The HDI is a summary measure for
assessing long-term progress in
three basic dimensions of human
development: a long and healthy
life, access to knowledge and a
decent standard of living. Nigeria
has for years remained in the low
human development category—
ranking 156 out of 187 countries
and territories measured.
Poverty, however, is more than
statistics and numbers. At the most
basic level, poverty reduces a
person’s ability to stay alive, be
healthy, and participate fully in
society. Poverty is characterised by
poor education, unemployment, bad
health, and a lack of access to basic
services, which many in a civilized
society take for granted. Some may
argue that the only poverty that
counts is malnutrition, but scientific
evidence suggests, even where
basic needs are being met, relative
poverty is bad for health and child
development.
It is therefore all the more alarming
that such a high proportion of
Nigerians are so desperately poor.
Paradoxically, while poverty is
growing, the country’s economy
would seem to flourish, as shown by
the real Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) growth rate which has risen
from the 7.40 per cent in the
preceding quarter to 7.68 per cent
in the last quarter of 2011.
This apparent paradox is in part
caused by the resource inequality
inherent in the country’s largest
income generators: agriculture,
wholesale and retail trade, and oil
and gas, which together account for
almost 75 percent of the GDP.
As one commentator noted,
“Agriculture is mostly subsistence-
based, the petroleum industry is
dominated by multinationals, while
local traders sell goods that are
mainly imported or made with
imported raw materials. Across
sectors we add no value
domestically, and whenever we
consume, we create jobs offshore.
Consequently GDP growth makes no
impact on poverty and
unemployment irrespective of the
growth rate.”
Nonetheless, poverty goes beyond
material or social deprivation.
Poverty is first and foremost a
human rights issue and the
principal manner in which
individuals in Nigeria experience
discrimination.
In this way, the abuses most
frequently endured in Nigeria affect
the resource-poor almost
exclusively. Tens of thousands of
poor Nigerians live in slums and
face sudden, arbitrary eviction from
their homes, because their tenure is
not guaranteed or because of
pressure from developers to push
them off their land. Poor women and
girls across the country die during
childbirth or from pregnancy-related
causes. Neither of these types of
abuses happens with any frequency
if at all to Nigerians who do not live
in poverty.
Conceiving poverty as a human
rights issue makes it clear that
poverty is neither inevitable nor
just. In fact, discrimination against
people on the grounds of poverty is
a common but relatively
unacknowledged feature of life in
Nigeria. Such discrimination is
sometimes based on views that
people living in poverty are inferior
or of lesser value. Human rights law
obligates governments to provide
an effective remedy to victims of
human rights violations, including
discrimination on social or other
status.
Poor citizens’ expressions of distress
and desperation at failing to get fair
treatment are too easily interpreted
as aggression by public service
agencies, and can lead to services
being further denied. In some cases,
systemic poverty has led to poor
citizens feeling shame and guilt for
seeking help. These citizens remain
‘invisible’ as the rules are imposed
without any apparent regard to their
needs.
Former South African President and
Amnesty International’s ambassador
of conscience Nelson Mandela has
correctly said: “Like slavery and
apartheid, poverty is not natural. It
is people who have made poverty
and tolerated poverty, and it is
people who will overcome it.
Overcoming poverty is not a gesture
of charity. It is an act of justice. It is
the protection of fundamental
human rights.”
Moreover, the Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
which oversees the implementation
of the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
to which Nigeria is a party has
stated that, “While the common
theme underlying poor peoples’
experiences is one of
powerlessness; human rights can
empower individuals and
communities. The challenge is to
connect the powerless with the
empowering potential of human
rights. Although human rights are
not a panacea, they can help to
equalize the distribution and
exercise of power within and
between societies.”
The Committee has specifically
criticised the Nigerian government
on poverty-related issues, including:
the level of the National Minimum
Wage; the increasing gap between
the richest and poorest people; and
concerns about homelessness and
student tuition fees.
However, neither the Nigerian
constitution nor legislation deals
with all aspects of discrimination
that people might experience in
daily life. The Constitution is
primarily concerned with ensuring
that people are treated equally in
matters that are already governed
by law, and the law does not
explicitly address discrimination
based on poverty.
For the Nigerian government to
credibly claim it is addressing the
massive poverty problem in Nigeria,
it must overcome these legal and
social issues by basing its poverty
alleviation policies on human rights
values and principles.
As a first step, the government
should move swiftly to incorporate
international human rights
standards into national legislation
and constitution, in particular, the
International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights.
The government should also ratify
the Protocol to the Covenant, which
allows individuals to seek effective
remedy against violation of their
economic, social and cultural rights
before international accountability
mechanism.
Having ratified the Protocol to the
African Charter on Human and
Peoples’ Rights on the
establishment of the African Court
on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the
government should now take the
next step to make the necessary
declaration that would allow
individuals direct access to the
court. Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi,
Mali and Tanzania, have done so,
and there is no reason why Nigeria
cannot join them.
Secondly, the government should
put together a campaign to make
poverty history in Nigeria. This
exercise should be in full
consultation with the civil society,
including human rights non-
governmental organizations, the
National Human Rights Commission,
and the Nigerian Bar Association
(NBA).
Thirdly, discrimination on the
grounds of poverty should be
outlawed in the Nigerian
Constitution, while economic and
social rights in general should
become legally enforceable
constitutional rights.
One can only hope that the
Constitutional Review Committee
will make this a cardinal part of its
recommendations, and that both
President Goodluck Jonathan and
the National Assembly will show the
political will needed to find solutions
to the poverty problem by
embracing this progressive concept
of discrimination.
The government should move
swiftly to rebuild the country’s
collapsed infrastructure, hospitals
and schools; otherwise sustained
development will remain a dream
for millions of Nigerians who
continue to live in absolute poverty.
In any case, a key role of
government is to protect the weak,
especially in hard times. This
government therefore must not
wriggle out of the poverty and MDG
targets but do whatever it can to
get back on track.
There is still a huge mountain to
climb before social justice and
respect for human rights including
economic and social rights, is
achieved in the country.
As the NBS’ report amply illustrates,
any anti-poverty policies have
turned out to be more of a myth
than a panacea because the
government’s high recurrent
expenditure leaves little for social
and capital programmes. A rights-
based approach would assist the
government in addressing poverty
and its devastating consequences;
and provide a useful framework for
the National Assembly and civil
society in scrutinising the
government’s success in doing so.
But while the government must
take a lead, poverty and social
exclusion will only be eliminated
with the active involvement of civil
society and business.
Olaniyan is Legal Adviser,
International Secretariat of
Amnesty International, London