Nigeria's most profound poverty has moved from rural areas to urban centres, creating a new culture of violence, religious extremism, and precarious living, according to Jibrin Ibrahim, a professor of Political Science and Senior Fellow at the Centre for Democracy and Development.
In an analysis published by Premium Times, Ibrahim warns that the country has entered an era of "post-cosmopolitanism," where cities no longer offer social mobility but instead become focal points for the aggregation and aggravation of poverty. This shift, he argues, has been accelerating since the 1990s and has worsened considerably since he first addressed the theme in a column in August 2017.
Urban Poverty on the Rise
Since the 1990s, urban poverty has been growing more rapidly than rural poverty in Nigeria. Ibrahim notes that daily subsistence needs such as food, housing, healthcare, and education are lacking for a large proportion of the urban population. Livelihoods, both formal and informal, are under serious pressure, and more people are being pushed into the informal sector as formal employment opportunities decline.
The author points out that over 60 per cent of Nigerians have abandoned their villages for cities and towns. Urbanisation has developed along major corridors including Lagos-Ibadan, Port Harcourt-Enugu, and Kaduna-Kano, and has led to the development of over one thousand state capitals and provincial towns.
A Culture of Violence and Crime
Ibrahim describes a disturbing transformation in Nigerian culture over the past three decades. Millions of private citizens have acquired top-level combat arms and are using them to kill others for possessions or revenge, often with little or no understanding of the faith they profess. Cults have grown stronger, and people kill others to remove body parts for sale or ritual purposes.
Jihadi groups such as Boko Haram have sustained and expanded their actions for decades, killing people in mosques and churches. Lucky victims are blown up by bombs, while the unlucky ones are subjected to ritual killing with their throats slit. Hundreds of girls have been murdered while being used as suicide bombers. Kidnapping for ransom has become a massive national industry, posing an equal opportunity threat to all citizens.
Religion and Hypocrisy
The new culture of barbarism is confusing because polls, including respected surveys by the Pew Centre, show Nigeria to be one of the most religious countries in the world. Virtually all Nigerians claim to be believers in Christianity or Islam, and Nigeria holds the world record for time and money devoted to prayers and religious activities.
Yet, Ibrahim argues, the expectation that religion would dictate moral conduct is contradicted by daily reports of massive corruption, rape of children and babies, theft, including the stealing of money collected for religious work. The cultural evidence reveals a huge lie about what many Nigerians say they are and what they really are, he says.
The Youth Bulge and Limited Opportunities
The most important contemporary problem for Nigeria, according to Ibrahim, is the lack of opportunity for the youth. The country has developed a huge and galloping youth bulge at a time when formal employment opportunities are declining and most industries have closed down. Having a job has become a minority experience, and opportunities only exist in the informal sector.
Marginalised youth glued to social media are acutely aware of the massive wealth held by a few and the conspicuous consumption of obscene wealth they see every day. As a result, many have decided to take their own cut, leading to a democratisation of violence and a turn to criminal networks and occult arenas where the devil can help the bold and needy.
The Rise of Post-Cosmopolitanism
Ibrahim explains that between the 1950s and 1980s, migration to urban centres was based on acquiring modern education and skills. That was the era of cosmopolitanism, where urban life signalled social mobility. However, as population increase continued and the youth bulge grew, poor rural youth also moved to urban centres, making cities the new focal point for poverty aggregation.
This post-cosmopolitanism is not based on the spread of modern education or refined culture. Instead, slums are characterised by aggregations of village life in urban settings. Globalisation plays a major role: satellite television, cassette tapes, videos, and now social media transform the village culture.
Religion and Globalisation
Cell phones have applications with ring tones that call Muslims to prayer and Christians to fiery sermons. The Hausa villager in the city has a worldview informed by complex news analysis from the United Kingdom, Iran, Egypt, France, Germany, and China. Global conflicts and interpretations of religion, politics, and social life constantly reach the people, making government actions seem a small part of the universe—but an important part that produces anger.
The precariousness of life has created ideal conditions for the proliferation of religious activities. Sufi and Wahabi orders and Pentecostal churches provide survival functions such as shelter, medical support, and economic networks that neither the family nor the state can secure. Increasingly, religious actors are the social agents providing meaning for the difficult conditions of life in squatter towns.
Who Is Watching?
Ibrahim concludes by questioning who is watching, studying, planning, and acting on these transformations. The political class, he says, is clearly part of this new culture. As a professor of political science and development consultant, he calls for deeper reflection on Nigeria's dark culture and the urgent need to address the conditions that fuel violence, extremism, and poverty in urban centres.
