International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education (IJHSSE) Volume 1, Issue 5, May 2014, PP 1-8 ISSN 2349-0373 (Print) & ISSN 2349-0381 (Online) www.arcjournals.org ©ARC Page 1 Poverty Alleviation and the Efficacy of Development Assistance Models in Nigeria: An Appraisal Jide Ibietan,PhD, Felix Chidozie, Ese Ujara Department of Political Science and International Relations Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria jidebetan@gmail.com felix.chidoziefoundation@gmail.com Abstract: This paper seeks to establish the efficacy of development assistance in the alleviation of poverty in Nigeria. The flows of development assistance annually seem to be on the high side, yet, there is little or no significant evidence to show that the assistance received are being put into good use. This paper also provides recommendations to pervasive poverty in the country with passing remarks on Africa as a continent on core issues of development assistance and its utilisation. This paper is segmented into the following: Abstract; Introduction; The meaning of poverty; Poverty Alleviation in Nigeria through Development Assistance: An Evaluation; Conclusion and Recommendations. Keywords: Poverty; Alleviation; Efficacy; Development Assistance; Models 1. INTRODUCTION Extant literature posit economic growth (gradual and steady change resulting in increased output and material wellbeing in the long run) as a process or path to development (Jhingan, 2007: 4). Currently, poverty alleviation is one of the principal concerns in a bid to reinforce the three core values of development namely: human sustenance; self esteem and freedom (Todaro and Smith, 2009: 20-22). The first goal of the United Nation‟s Millennium Development Goals is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger with Target 1 being to halve, between 1990 and 2015 the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 per day; and Target 2 being to halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger (Sachs, 2005:72). Poverty is not a challenge faced by developing countries alone, but it has been seen as a universal problem that has affected development and growth all around the world. As regards poverty, there are two major challenges. The first is that of definition and the other is that of approach to poverty alleviation (Carr, 2008:726). Yekini et al (2012:13) defined poverty as the opposite of wellbeing. Just like other authors cited in the literature review section, poverty goes beyond lack of income, but stretches now to include disadvantages in access to land, credit and services, vulnerability, powerlessness and social exclusion. Since poverty is not restricted to material deprivation, other intangible aspects such as poor access to schooling, healthcare and exclusion from decision making processes (Yekini et al, 2012:13). Nigeria, which was one of the richest 50 countries in the early 1970s, has retrogressed to become one of the 25 poorest countries in the twenty first century. It is ironic that Nigeria is the sixth largest exporter of oil and at the same time host the third largest number of poor people after China and India (Igbuzor, 2006 in Okon, 2012:32). The following information contained in Okon (2012:32-33) underscore the stark reality and dismal performance of Nigeria in the socio- economic spheres of life: Nigeria possesses a stark dichotomy of wealth and poverty. Although the country is rich in natural resources, its economy cannot yet meet the basic needs of the people. Such disparity between the growth of the GDP and the increasing poverty is indicative of a skewed distribution of Nigeria‟s wealth. Given the nation‟s history of wide income disparity, which has manifested in large-scale poverty, unemployment and poor access to healthcare, the disconnect between the country‟s