Abuja, Nigeria. December 19th, 2017 – Since 2007, we have consistently delivered relevant key and vital information on various topical socio-burning issues as they relate to Nigeria. Over the past ten years, we have also conducted our flagship National Polls five times, with the latest national poll conducted this year 2017. This extensive public opinion poll which aims to evaluate the opinions and attitudes of Nigerians, covers a wide range of topics such as; Governance, Health, Education, Security, Energy, Telecommunications, Taxation, Banking and Financial Inclusion, Media Spending and Eating Patterns, Made-in-Nigeria Goods and on Being a Nigerian.
HERE IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE RESULTS OF THE NOIPOLLS 2017 NATIONAL POLL
GOVERNANCE & INSTITUTIONAL PERFORMANCE
On governance, the 2017 National Poll rated the job performance of President Muhammadu Buhari, and the results showed that Nigerians rated the president 52 percent as at April-May this year, when the poll was conducted.
Unsurprisingly, the highest approval rating of 75 percent was received from the President’s home base, the North-West geo-political zone; while his lowest approval of 19 percent came from the South-East geo-political zone. These regional variations arguably reflect not only the voting patterns during the 2015 presidential election, but also speak to the pattern of agitations and counter-agitations since President Buhari came to power.
The poll also rated the President on specific sectors on a 4-point scale, where 1 stood for poor and 4 stood for Excellent. From the results, the highest average score of 2.3 points each was obtained for the President’s performance on Security and Agriculture; while the worst ratings of 1.8 points each were for his performance on the Economy and Poverty Alleviation & Job Creation. Similarly, 60 percent of those polled said they were Unsatisfied with the president’s handling of the economy.
The poll also sought the opinion of Nigerians regarding President Buhari’s anti-corruption war. The results showed that while 91 percent of Nigerian believe corruption is still a major issue in the country; 58 percent of the population are of the opinion that the president’s anti-corruption war is working, with 42 percent responding on the contrary.
In addition to the President, the job performance of State Governors was also assessed by Nigerians. From the results, as rated by citizens resident in each of the states, the top performing states are: Katsina (86 percent), Sokoto and Kano (with 83 percent each), Adamawa (82 percent), Zamfara and Jigawa (80 percent each), Kebbi (79 percent), Niger (73 percent), Yobe (71 percent) and Anambra (66 percent).
On the other hand, the ten least performing states were identified as: Bayelsa (12 percent), Abia (15 percent), Delta (18 percent), Imo (19 percent), Borno (24 percent), Kaduna (28 percent), Kogi (30 percent), Benue (34 percent), Bauchi (35 percent) and Kwara (38 percent).
Furthermore, in terms on institutional effectiveness, Nigerians had the opportunity to assess the performance of 17 public institutions having regular interface with the populace. The results revealed that the top 5 institutions considered effective by Nigerians are: The Military (72 percent), National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) (65 percent), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) (63 percent), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration & Control (NAFDAC) (61 percent), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at 59 percent. On the other hand, the Nigerian Police (NP) and Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was considered the least effective institutions, scoring below average at 45 percent each.
HEALTH AND EDUCATION
On the Health Sector, the poll showed that Nigerians generally believe they are healthy, as 82 percent of Nigerians demonstrated poor health-seeking behaviours for both preventive and curative; although more respondents sought curative care rather than preventive care. The poll also reaffirmed Malaria as the most prevalent health challenge facing Nigerians by a significant proportion of 81 percent; with 63 percent accessing malaria tablets, 30 percent taking injections, and 6 percent making use of native medicine to treat the ailment. In addition to Malaria, other ailments identified include: Cough (4 percent), Cholera (3 percent) and Diarrhea (2 percent).
Furthermore, the poll revealed that only 3 percent of Nigerians have some form of health or social insurance to cover the cost of accessing healthcare services. Majority of Nigerians (77 percent) say they pay for health services “Out of Pocket”, with 16 percent who say they receive “Support from family and friends” to access healthcare. These findings corroborate existing media reports on the sheer magnitude of Nigerians not covered under any form of health insurance; and highlights the huge opportunity to tap into this space to provide alternative and sustainable financing for the health sector.
On Education, a considerable proportion of 15 percent of respondents reported incidence of Children Out-of-School in their communities; particularly in the North-Central (23 percent) and North East (24 percent) regions of the country. Furthermore, the poll revealed that “financial difficulties households” (73 percent) was identified as the most significant reason for children dropping out of school; and this was followed by other reasons such as: lack of personal motivation (7 percent), those who dropped-out to learn a trade (7 percent), those who dropped-out to get married (5 percent) and the absence of schools in the local community (4 percent) amongst others.
The poll further highlighted a more positive perception towards Girl-Child education; as almost 9 in 10 Nigerians (88 percent) were of the opinion that girl-child education is important to their communities. Similarly, on the issue of ender disparity, 90 percent of Nigerians were also of the opinion that Boys and Girls should be given equal opportunity to access education.
SECURITY
On Security, the poll reported that while 65 percent of Nigerians say they feel safe in their localities, 35 percent say they do not feel secure. In line with this perception, about a third of the population (33 percent) expressed knowledge of a robbery case incident, and 13 percent expressed knowledge of a kidnap incident, within their locality in the last 12 months. Consequently, when asked to rate the government’s response to threats of violence in the country, 48 percent expressed their satisfaction with the response. On the contrary, 50 percent of Nigerians expressed dissatisfaction with government’s response to threats of insecurity; particularly amongst residents of South-East (83 percent) and South-South (79 percent) geo-political regions.
In furtherance, Nigerians were asked to rate their level of trust for organisations involved in providing security. The results revealed that the Military topped the list of such organisations with 77 percent, followed by Vigilante Groups & Community Security with 64 percent. On the other hand, Nigeria Police was identified as the security institution with the least level of trust with only 35 percent. It is worth noting that Vigilante Groups & Community Security (66 percent), Private Security Contractors (52 percent), and Ethno-Regional Groups like the Odua People’s Congress (OPC) (48 percent) received higher levels of confidence from the general public compared to the Police (35 percent).
ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
On the Power Sector, the poll found that 87 percent of Nigerians are connect to the National Grid, while 13 percent of Nigerians are not connected to the Grid, particularly with the rural areas. Furthermore, for the 87 percent of Nigerians connected to the Grid, 31 percent say power supply to their households was poor in the last 3 months (referencing February to April 2017 to when the poll was conducted); with 58 percent reporting that they received less than 7 hours of cumulative power supply per day, including 5 percent who said they have not received power supply to their households at all.
Furthermore, on the effectiveness of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), 55 percent of Nigerians do not believe PHCN is an effective organisation; with 88 percent of the opinion that PHCN is a corrupt organisation. As a result, 45 percent of Nigerians say they use alternative sources of power to argument the poor supply of power to households; with 93 percent using petrol-powered generators and 4 percent using diesel-powered generators.
On Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as Petrol, 48 percent of Nigerians say buy petrol often; with 41 percent buying from Major Marketer Filling Stations and 39 percent from Independent Marketer Filling Stations, and 11 percent buying from Black Marketers.
On the Telecommunications, the poll revealed that current GSM mobile phone penetration in the country stands at 88 percent. This represents a 32 percentage points increase from 2008 when our poll reported penetration of 56 percent at the time.
TAXATION AND MADE-IN-NIGERIA GOODS
On Taxation, the poll reported that only 44 percent of Nigerians say they pay their taxes compared to 46 percent who say they do not pay taxes. And in line with this finding, only 36 percent believe that taxes are used to provide services and infrastructural development; while 47 percent were of the opinion that taxes are not used for the right purposes. A further 16 percent reported that they don’t know what taxes paid are being used for.
On Made-In-Nigeria Goods, 89 percent of Nigerians say they are willing to buy locally-made products; as they are confident that demand for Made-in-Nigeria goods will help strengthen the Naira, as stated by 87 percent. In addition, the poll revealed that 61 percent of Nigerians consider Made-In-Nigeria products as Good and Excellent; however, they also believe that products from countries such as the United States (88 percent) and United Kingdom (86 percent) are better than locally-made products in terms of quality and durability.
MEDIA, BANKING AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION
On Media, the poll reported that Radio remains the most important source of information to Nigerians, with 50 percent affirmation. This was followed by television at 20 percent, the Internet & Social Media at 17 percent, and Newspapers at 8 percent. In addition, an assessment of the reputation of the Nigerian media revealed that Nigerians have a relatively positive perception of the media, as 62 percent believe the media is independent. In terms of trust, Nigerians consider radio stations as the most trustworthy with 95 percent; followed by television, magazines and the internet (86 percent each). In addition, on the issue of corruption in the Media, about a third of Nigerians (33 percent) believe corruption is high on the internet and social media; compared to Radio (13 percent), Television (17 percent) and Newspaper (19 percent).
On Banking & Financial Inclusion, the poll reported that Bank Account Ownership in Nigeria currently stands at 61 percent; and this represent an improvement from 2008 when our poll reported 28 percent. Conversely, this finding highlights an unbanked adult population of 39 percent, especially in the North-West geo-political region, where 69 percent of those polled said they do not have a bank account with any formal financial institution.
Furthermore, an assessment of the financial services most important to Nigerians revealed that wide ATM network (46 percent), branch network (23 percent), efficient customer service (12 percent) remain most critical to customers. Interestingly, in terms of quality of financial services provided by banks in Nigeria, the polled reported a high level of satisfaction, as indicated by 90 percent of bank customers.
SPENDING AND EATING PATTERNS
On Nigerians Spending & Eating Patterns, 88 percent of Nigerians reported that they experienced an increase in household expenditure over the last one year. As a result, less than half of the adult population (46 percent) say they eat three times daily. This was followed by 42 percent who say they eat twice daily and 4 percent who say they eat only once a day.
Interestingly, an assessment of breakfast eating patterns revealed that 84 percent of those polled say they eat breakfast regularly, and the top three foods consumed at breakfast are: Bread (53 percent) Beans, Moi-Moi or Akara (40 percent) Pap/Ogi (39 percent). Similarly, 71 percent say they eat lunch regularly, and the top three foods mainly consumed at lunch are: Rice (50 percent), Swallow or Ball Foods (45 percent) and Yam (33 percent). Also, 93 percent say they eat dinner regularly; and the top three foods consumed at dinner are: Swallow or Ball Foods (78 percent), Rice (43 percent), and Yam (33 percent).
Furthermore, the poll revealed that 64 percent of Nigerians say they eat Swallow or Ball Foods at least three times a week; and the most common Ball Foods consumed are Garri or Eba (50 percent), Tuwon Masara (35 percent), Fufu or Akpu (32 percent) and Semovita (30 percent). Other Ball Foods mentioned are Tuwon Shinkafa, Pounded Yam, Amala and Wheatmeal.
BEING A NIGERIAN AND NIGERIAN INDEPENDENCE
Finally, on Being a Nigerian, 88 percent of Nigerians say they were proud to be Nigerian; and 60 percent say they believe the country has fared well as one nation in its 57 years of independence. Similarly, when asked to state the greatest achievement of the country since its amalgamation over 100 years ago, Nigeria stated that they consider Democracy & Unity (19 percent) and advancement in Telecommunication (19 percent). Other achievements include: agricultural development, peace and security, and independence.
METHODOLOGY
The NOIPolls 2017 National Poll was conducted through face-to-face interviews. A total of 5018 respondents were sampled for the poll, which was conducted in five major Nigerian languages: English, Pidgin, Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo. All states and senatorial districts in Nigeria were proportionately represented in the poll. In each of the 109 senatorial districts, a Local Government Area (LGA) which is the headquarter of each senatorial district was selected for interview. This represents three (3) LGAs per State. Three (3) LGAs were also randomly selected in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. In total, 111 LGAs were surveyed in each of the yearly survey. All respondents were aged 18 years and above, older. More information is available at www.noi-polls.com you can also download our mobile app NOIPolls on your smartphone.
Disclaimer
This press release has been produced by NOIPolls Limited to provide information on all issues which form the subject matter of the document. Kindly note that while we are willing to share results from our polls with the general public, we only request that NOIPolls be acknowledged as author whenever and wherever our poll results are used, cited or published.
NOIPolls hereby certifies that all the views expressed in this document accurately reflect its views of respondents surveyed for the poll, and background information is based on information from various sources that it believes are reliable; however, no representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability is accepted for errors or fact or for any views expressed herein by NOIPolls for actions taken as a result of information provided in this report. Any ratings, forecasts, estimates, opinions or views herein constitute a judgment as at the date of this document. If the date of this document is not current, the views and content may not reflect NOIPolls’ current findings and/or thinking.
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Email: editor@noi-polls.com
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