Causes of poverty: Voices of the rural poor from Oyo State, Nigeria

This paper argues that poverty is multidimensional in nature and that its causes are multifaceted and extremely complex. It contends that poor people’s own views of their descent into poverty are fundamental to understanding the complexity of poverty and to devising appropriate policy interventions that may lead to successful poverty reduction. The paper is based largely on field research that was recently undertaken by the author in four local government areas in Oyo State in Nigeria. The study employed qualitative methods to document the views of the rural poor, government officials, academics, religious leaders and representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on the causes of poverty. KEYWORDS: Globalisation, infrastructure, livelihood, local government areas (LGAs), Nigeria, multidimensional, participants, poverty.