Economic Development Challenges – SS3 Economics Lesson Note (Second Term)

Nigeria’s economic challenges are problems that hold back the growth of the economy. They include poverty, HIV/AIDS, corruption and inadequate power supply. Poverty is the inability to afford basic needs such as food, housing and clothing. It can be reduced by creating jobs, training people, giving microcredit and providing infrastructure.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. Discuss some of Nigeria’s economic challenges and methods of curbing them.

Instructional techniques and materials

Instructional techniques

• Identification
• Explanation
• Questions and answers
• Demonstration
• Videos from source

Instructional materials

• Videos
• Loudspeaker
• Textbook
• Pictures

What is poverty?

Nigeria has many economic challenges, and the chief of them is poverty.

Poverty is a state of extreme lack. People are described as poor when they cannot afford the necessities of life for themselves.

In Nigeria, millions of people are poor. They cannot afford basic needs of everyday living such as food, housing and clothing. The situation seems to get worse every day, and the government has yet to take effective steps to address it.

What are the effects of poverty?

1. Malnutrition: People living in poverty do not have access to quality, nutritious food. Where such food is available, they do not have the economic power to buy it.
2. Poor health: A child who does not eat nutritious food is prone to disease, because the body cannot fight off illness. When a disease is noticed, there is no money to go to the hospital.
3. Lack of education: Many people living in poverty do not attend school. Even when the school is free, they cannot afford educational materials, school uniforms and similar items.
4. Undeveloped economy: Without an education, people are unlikely to get a job. When people are not working, the economy suffers because they are not contributing their quota to its development.
5. Social vices: Social vices like stealing and killing have a direct relationship with poverty. An increase in the poverty level leads to an increase in social vices. Many people living in poverty are homeless and stay on the street, which may lead to social unrest.

Which agencies help to alleviate poverty?

1. NAPEP: The National Poverty Eradication Programme is a 2001 programme of the Nigerian government aimed at addressing poverty in Nigeria and related issues. Its objectives are:
   • Training youth in vocational trades
   • Graduate internship
   • Creating employment
   • Giving microcredit to small and medium-scale enterprises
2. NDE: The National Directorate of Employment was established in 1986 by the then Babangida military administration to combat mass unemployment. It focuses on:
   • Vocational skill development
   • Entrepreneurship development
   • Agricultural development
   • Public work programmes

What are the methods of alleviating poverty?

Methods of poverty alleviation are the activities undertaken by governments and NGOs to remove poverty in a country or reduce it to its barest minimum. They include:

1. Creation of employment: Giving jobs to those who are willing and able to work lets them earn income and afford the necessities of life.
2. Training: Training individuals helps them acquire basic vocational skills. This can make them self-employed, so that they earn money and afford necessities.
3. Microcredit: Giving small loans to people with entrepreneurial skills to start a business goes a long way. They can use the profit to buy necessities and plough part of it back into the business.
4. Provision of infrastructure: Providing social infrastructure such as electricity and good road networks encourages investors to come and set up businesses. This increases employment, which in turn reduces poverty.

How does HIV/AIDS affect the economy?

HIV/AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease which can also be contracted through other means. When it is left undetected and is not managed early, it can affect the physical capacity and productivity of sufferers.

HIV/AIDS therefore affects the economy adversely, because resources are used to care for those with the disease. Taking care of sick people is commendable, but it has an opportunity cost.

How does corruption affect the economy?

Corruption is the act of knowingly taking what does not belong to you, or putting yourself in an undue or illegal advantage over another person. It can take different forms, and whichever form it takes, it harms the economy.

For example, a government official may steal public funds that could have been used to improve the lives of citizens through road construction, power generation and similar projects. Note that corruption is not only financial or economic. It can also be attitudinal, such as the selling of votes.

How does inadequate power and energy supply affect the economy?

Power is critical to the development of any economy. Many companies in Nigeria have closed down their business operations because of erratic power supply and the huge cost of generating electricity for themselves. This has increased unemployment, which in turn has increased social vices.

Nigeria currently generates less than 5000 MW, compared with the minimum of 20000 MW required to power the whole country reasonably. The unbundling of the power sector into three main components, namely Generation, Transmission and Distribution, has not helped to increase the rate of power supply. It is hoped that things will improve in the long run.

Evaluation

1. Discuss three economic challenges prevalent in Nigeria and propose solutions to them.

Classwork: As in the evaluation.

The teacher commends the students positively.