Paper long abstract:

Nigeria is the most populous state in Africa and is endowed with abundant human and material resources. In spite of this, poverty remains a major problem with approximately 70 million people living on less than US$1 per day without adequate social protection arrangements. Before the reinstatement of democracy in 1999, some scholars viewed military rule as the source of the problem. This makes it pertinent to ascertain whether the practice of democracy in Nigeria since 1999 has improved the social protection arrangements for poverty reduction and social cohesion in Nigeria. Additionally, the paper examines social protection arrangements put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, this paper seeks to answer the following questions: What are the current social protection arrangements for ameliorating poverty and other forms of vulnerabilities? How has Nigeria performed in the area of social protection since the reinstatement of democratic rule in 1999? Do existing social protection arrangements foster social cohesion in Nigeria? How did available social protection arrangements address additional challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020? Primary and secondary data was used for the study. Primary data were sourced through key informant interviews and secondary data from books, journal articles, magazines and reports of local and international organizations. Data collected were content analysed and presented thematically.