Exploring the Missing Link in the Delivery of Social Welfare Services in Nigeria

Abstract

The inability of government and other critical stakeholders to adequately provide education services, energy supply, drinkable water, healthcare services, road network, transportation, and communication infrastructure, have hampered the living standards of citizens by limiting their productivity and access to a good life. However, despite several government initiatives to raise people's living standards, these initiatives have failed to provide the desired outcomes. For the purpose of this research, an attempt was made to uncover the missing link in the provision of social welfare services in Yenagoa Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. To gather information for the survey, 570 participants were engaged with a questionnaire and an interview guide. A multi-stage sampling method was utilised for the study. Data was analysed using version 20 of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The data was presented in the form of frequency distribution tables and percentages. A complementary approach was used for the qualitative data, which was organised into themes. Many of the research participants in the region (92.0%) said that social services like schools and health care are provided to them. Factors that were highlighted as the missing links in the delivery of social welfare programmes were corruption (48 percent) and poor/bad leadership (53 percent). Therefore, the study recommends that the government and other stakeholders use blockchain and other new technologies to support contract negotiations and procurement procedures, which are a key source of corruption and leakage in Nigeria.