ABSTRACT
Nigeria was declared the poverty headquarters of the world, with about 44.2 percent and 47.7 percent of her population living on less than US$1.90 per day in 2018 and 2019, respectively. One of the critical issues fuelling the high poverty rate in Nigeria, which has not been given the needed attention, is inequality. Available statistics on inequality measures in the country revealed that as of 2019, her Gini coefficient was 43.0; income quintile ratio, 9.1; Palma ratio, 2.2; gender inequality index, 0.635; seats held in parliament by women, 5.8 percent; and labour force participation rates for females and males were 50.4 percent and 59.8 percent, respectively. Alleviating poverty in the face of high and rising inequality will remain a Herculean task. This chapter, therefore, examines inequality as a bane of poverty alleviation in Nigeria. It reviews the literature and discusses inequality from both money-metric and non-money-metric dimensions. Causes of inequalities in the country are identified with appropriate solutions proffered. It concludes by suggesting policy initiatives aimed at addressing inequalities for poverty alleviation in the country. Such policies include making the tax system progressive, exempting low-income earners from income tax payments, increasing the minimum wage to about 100,000 naira (US$270) to reflect a living wage, intensifying efforts towards the fight against corruption, renumerating political office holders as their counterparts in the civil service, opening up the political space for all participants, discouraging god-fatherism in politics, giving women equal rights in politics and labour market participation, and investing aggressively in human capital (education and health) should be undertaken while controlling population growth.
