The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ondo South District, Okitipupa, Primate Elisha Akinsulere, last week spoke for most Nigerians when he observed that the national lockdown has affected businesses and made many citizens vulnerable. Nigerians, according to him, therefore, expected some palliatives because they are hungry and whatever is available should be shared equitably, devoid of sentiments, ethnic, religious or political.
The response of Nigerians to the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) has been generous. Nigerians are accepting as an act of faith that the “palliatives” donated to the COVID-19 Task Force and the Lagos State Government are secure and would be fully accounted for. They also believe that Nigerians made these contributions in appreciation of the national emergency which the Coronavirus has imposed on the nation, necessitating an unprecedented shutdown of the business and social life of the country. They also hope that the food and cash would be equitably distributed.
Nigerians know how to share things, especially, food. Cash is more complicated; but even for cash, where there is honesty, anything can be shared. The lists being brandished by both the Lagos State Government and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs are not generating confidence because the officials behind these lists have avoided the responsibility of explaining how they arrived at these lists. Nigerians want the lists to be transparent. It is impossible to expect that every portion shall be equal but it is expected that there should be equity and fairness in the distribution of the palliatives.
The situation is not made easier by the number of people in need of help. They are not just 3.5 million people. In a situation where the people are in a lockdown, most of whom live from hand to mouth, who can only feed when they go to the market, the need for help is urgent and inescapable for many Nigerians. It is easier to share things in rural areas where everyone knows everyone. But the current demographic profile of the country indicates that only half of Nigerians still live in the countryside. Each local government in Nigeria knows its constituent towns, each town knows its villages, and each village knows its households. Food tends to be better shared in households. All households are not equal. Villages know how to allot things to special households. Within these local governments are trusted church leaders, imams, town union officials, and individuals personally known to the town’s people who cannot be anonymous, because everyone knows their father and everything about them.
The biggest problems are with the cities. The oldest cities of Ibadan, Benin City, Kano and Zaria have their methods similar to the rural areas. But cities are very complex habitats and need more sophisticated methods. Nigerian cities are very poorly administered because they are run as parts of the state governments. Cities run by mayors get better mileage because someone is daily thinking about the city’s welfare. The city of Lagos had running water in the 1920s, a hundred years later; only nine per cent of Lagos has running water, just to cite one example.
The United States has no problem distributing its palliatives because everyone is on a list. The tax returns are done by almost everyone. Those who are not on the tax list are on the social security list. A few people fall through the cracks but they are virtually insignificant. Nigeria must devise its ways of reaching every citizen in situations like we are in today. It must begin by publishing details of the methods by which the 3.5 million on the lists were derived. Secondly, it must publish the list for the public to see.
Some of the shortcomings of the Social Investment Programme have been the absence of transparency and accountability. What does the meal served the school children cost per head? How many cooks are employed in each state? Except for disabled recipients, the cash transfer has been found to be riddled with corruption wherever it is used as social policy, then, after a while, it becomes a narcotic, an addiction of sorts.
We urge those entrusted with this programme to exercise maximum discretion and avoid giving it a bad name. It must go beyond politics because the virus doesn’t understand politics. The Federal Government must come up with well-defined benchmarks and methods that are transparent and convincing. It must ensure that the managers of the goods do not betray the trust of the people.