BY FIDEL AGU
THE problem with Nigeria looks intractable. When you also reflect deeply on how long the country has been struggling to come out of the woods, you also may write her off.
It is obvious, the myriads of problems confronting and staring us in the face ranging from corruption, violence, armed robbery, banditry, drug abuse and all other forms of criminalities, are not issues that should be treated with kid-gloves, but with much energy and determination by the government. As much as President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his administration’s determination to curb most of these societal ills and also ensure job creation, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel.
Therefore, instead of hopelessness, despair and cynicism, Nigerians should rise to the occasion by contributing their quota to change the narrative and present a country that will stand tall in the comity of nations. While corruption and insecurity are being fought to a standstill by the President, our youth must be meaningfully engaged, the poor and the vulnerable also not left in the wilderness without empathy.
The idleness of unemployment has remained the greatest attraction of our youth to crime. With a population of over 170 million people, Nigeria cannot afford to ignore the demographic opportunity of over 61 per cent which the Nigerian youths boast of. Doing so will be at its own peril.
The Nigerian youths, due to unemployment, have taken to all kinds of social vices ranging from cyber-crime, armed robbery, rape and drug abuse and unless urgent intervention is made, the after effect may be disastrous to our future as a country.
Therefore, the Federal Government’s intervention through the social safety programme is a welcome development and indeed timely because of the obvious urgency needed to rewrite Nigeria’s history. The social safety initiative which is, indeed, the first of its kind in the history of Nigeria was borne out of the need by the Federal government to provide palliatives to our army of unemployed youths and the weak and vulnerable members of the society.
Simply put, the social safety net is a collection of services provided by the government such as welfare, unemployment benefit, universal healthcare, homeless shelters and sometimes subsidized services such as public transport, which prevent individuals from falling into poverty beyond a certain level. Apart from America and Canada who have developed a strong social safety net, our very neighbours here in South Africa offer grants to people unable to support themselves, especially children. The Special Intervention Project is designed for delivery under five clearly defined programmes: Home Grown School Feeding for 5.5 million primary school children; Direct cash transfer of N5,000.00 monthly to targeted poor and vulnerable one million households; Enterprise and Empowerment Programme for 1.66 million beneficiaries for financial inclusion and access to credit for market women, artisans, women cooperatives, youth and farmers; STEM Bursary Programme for 100,000 thousand students. This is meant to give financial support for tertiary students studying courses in Education, Science and Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. It is pertinent to ask at this juncture, how many Nigerians that can afford to take up the challenge of providing these basic needs for the citizenry. The task is enormous and cannot be fully implemented by individuals, no matter how wealthy. Taking a cursory look at the life of an average unemployed widow in Nigeria with five to six children and nobody to help her; what future do you think those children will have? Therefore, by receiving money from the government to support her children, along with universal health care and free education, she can give her children a better chance at becoming successful members of society instead of miscreants.
It is indeed predictable the kind of society that would emerge where all these basic necessities of life are taken care of. You will have lower crime rate, lower poverty level, happy and organized society, social harmony and an egalitarian society. This is exactly what the government of Nigeria is trying to achieve. To provide succor to the poor and the most vulnerable through the provision of social services in its social safety net.
For the project to succeed, we must make sure that only those for which the programmes have been designed benefit from them.
Consequently, a deep sense of honesty and sincerity is required from both the government and the beneficiaries for the sustainability of the scheme which is indeed the case in other climes where social safety programme have succeeded and made to be part and parcel of the system.
Therefore, it is expected that the social safety scheme of the present government must be institutionized and the people of Nigeria made to own it. There must be a conscious and systematic approach towards making the scheme outlive the present administration and remain a national project that will turn around Nigeria and present it as a country that cares for the welfare and well-being of the less privileged members of the society.
There can be no peace and development in any society where the poor, unemployed and the less privileged are uncared for. What the government has done is unprecedented and requires the endorsement of every well-meaning citizen. To this effect, all kinds of sabotage must be discouraged. While politicians should not see it as an instrument of political patronage, beneficiaries must demonstrate an uncommon and patriotic spirit to ensure that the good intentions of governments are not derailed through indiscipline and dishonesty.
In the whole process, the role of state governments cannot be over-emphasized but the traditional institutions, religious bodies and community based organizations (youth and women group) have greater and enormous responsibilities towards the programme. These bodies must be properly and adequately mobilized and sensitized to demonstrate high level of sincerity and honesty in engaging the various beneficiaries without which the process will be rowdy and issues of infiltration and ghost names will begin to arise.
Against this backdrop therefore, the government, though in a hurry to satisfy the yearnings and aspirations of the people, should apply caution and put the necessary machinery in place to ensure that the scheme takes off on a strong footing. This project must not be allowed to fail. All hands must be on deck.
Agu writes from Abuja