Abstract:
As the 2030 target year for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) draws closer, development practitioners are increasing their activities in regions where poverty is predominant. In 2018, Nigeria attained an unenviable position of being the country with the highest number of persons living in extreme poverty in terms of poverty count, overtaking India. However, aggregate national level data often hide the huge disparity in the poverty rates at the sub-national (state) level. This study intends to demonstrate the geographic aspects of poverty in Nigeria alongside the underlying factors that contribute to entrenching the cycle of poverty in some states in Nigeria. By highlighting these factors, the study hopes to draw the attention of policy makers and development practitioners to the fact that unless there are strong, coordinated and sustained efforts to change these underlying factors, it may be difficult for Nigeria to meet the SDGs in 2030.