MDGs and Poverty in Yobe State

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) constitute a benchmark for minimum standards of health, education and livelihoods and demand that signatory countries ensure that the lives of their people are in accord with these minimum standards. The primary objective of this study is to provide insights into the role and impact of MDGs in poverty eradication in Yobe State. The study contends that poverty at the individual, household and community levels distorts and diminishes the capacity and capability to attain and live a life of well-being in Yobe State. The methodology adopted was questionnaire administration, interviews as well as published reports review, involving analysis of policy papers and related publications exploring a number of issues identified as critical to the attainment of the MDGs. The study found that lack of access to basic necessities of life has constrained the efforts of the poor towards achieving meaningful results in the drive to improve their well-being. And that the MDGs has little impact on the communities in the state. The study, among other things, recommended the need for eliminating the discrimination against rural and agricultural development, and a continuous flow of resources needs to be provided to agriculture in the form of elements such as rural infrastructure, inputs, research and credit combined with appropriate institutions to increase the sector’s productivity and potential capacity for contributing, thereby making a larger reverse flow to the rest of the economy