The Challenges and Impact of Economic Empowerment Programmes on Poverty Reduction in Jigawa State

More than two third of the world’s population are said to be living in abject poverty, majority of whom are residing in Sub-Saharan African continent. This alarming statistics is clearly displayed in myriads of challenges posed by poverty which includes lack of basic food, access to clean and portable drinking water, sanitation, Aids epidemic, high rate of infant and maternal mortality, crimes among many others are the order of the day. These challenges of poverty have dominated this discussion of policy analysts and governments worlds over. The comity of nations in its response to the problem of poverty came up with millennium development framework to address the problem poverty. Nigeria adopted this approach in its enunciation of several poverty reduction programmes which became the prototype upon which the Jigawa State government used to launch its version of Economic Empowerment Strategy to reduce poverty most expecially among rural dwellers. This study attempts to identify the origin and causes of Poverty in Jigawa State, Nigeria. Primary and secondary sources of investigation were used for the research.The study also adopted the elite’s theory as theoretical framework.The theory identified the critical role played by the elites that has consistently amounted for the reasons for failures of poverty reduction programmes in Nigeria and Jigawa State in particular. The study observed that until politicization of poverty reduction programmes and proper consultations with the beneficiaries of these programmes are addressed to pave way for all-inclusiveness of the beneficiaries of poverty reduction programmes; the end to poverty is nowhere in sight.