By Adewale Adeoye
In a dramatic move to cushion the impact of growing poverty and misery in Nigeria, the President Bola Tinubu administration has released N5b to each of the 36 states of the Federarion.
The past six months have been traumatic for Nigerians more agonising than the over 15 years that Nigerians have had to endure afflictions of hunger, hopelessness, desolation and poverty.
Let us face it. This is a major intervention. In one instance, it shows that there is still money in Nigeria. This country, if it is down, is not totally out. The intervention is also a major political score for President Tinubu if he can ensure the funds get to each of the 774 local Governments. It will be the quickest way the LGs can feel the impact of the new government.
With this initiative, the states can make great impact. Turning around the economy is not the prerogative of the Federal Government alone. The states have equal if not greater stakes so also are the local governments, the first point of administrative call of all Nigerians
We should now advise the states on how these funds should be spent.
The potential of corruption presiding over these funds and the funds going down private pockets is real. Many politicians do not realise that their survival is premised in the survival of the people they lead.
There have been suggestions that truck loads of Rice will be procured for the poor in each state, that 48 percent will be loans while 52 percent will be grants to some individuals.
From my calculation, the best thing is not to concentrate on distribution of food to poor Nigerians. The milestone is not to teach them how to eat fish but how to go to the pond by themselves and learn how to fish.
If Nigerian families are given half bag of rice, for how long will the food last?
What happens after they have eaten the food? They go to the toilet and the whole investment ends in human faeces.
Who feeds them in the next days, the next weeks and the next months?
The major problem of Nigeria is not lack of wealth, the problem is the lack of Creative Thinking. Knowledge made Israel to become a major exporter of grains, electrical machinery, chemicals and many agro allied products, a country of 6milion people.
Israel exports dates, potatoes and avocados. Israel rakes in 198million dollars every year and makes from Avocado and 182.7m dollars from dates every year and 82m dollars from potatoes alone in one year?
I’m still searching for Agricultural estates of our various governments since 1999 except on paper. Chief Obafemi Awolowo spent only 8 years in power and heaven itself blew his trumpet to no end.
While distribution of food items kills immediate hunger, it fails to address the livelihood of Nigerians.
This is without prejudice to the poorest of the poor who desperately need food. But their tomorrow and the day after are more important than yesterday or today.
Almajiri expenditure will not solve the fundamental problem of hunger. We need enduring solutions
Investing the money in agriculture through the local governments and LCDAs is the most creative programme the Federal and State Governments can achieve. A chunk of these funds should go into Agriculture.
The state Governments should work out modalities for each Local Government to have at least 80million out of the 5billion in each state. A state with 30 LGs, will be able to provide 83million for each of the LG if half of the N5b goes into Agriculture through the Local Governments.
The Local Governments should work with farmers’ unions and communities to create Agricultural Extensions in each Local Government where they are expected to obtain free community land.
The LGs should invest in vegetables, fruits, grain, legumes, cassava and poultry. They should also invest in export crops.
For a state like Lagos with land area of 3,577 km square land with 80 percent covered by water, the funds should be invested in marine agro allied products like fishery. Ondo has the largest coastline of 185km in Nigeria.
The coastline Local Governments in Ondo, Bayelsa, Rivers State should invest in marine resources, fish, shrimp and other aquatic resources.
China has more than 1000 shrimp factories. Shrimps and fishes were made in trillions for mankind. God feeds them and makes them abundant in our ocean. India used to be the highest importer of Shrimps, now it is small Ecuador that imports Shrimps worth millions of dollars.
Brazil produces 17m tonnes of oranges in the world making millions of dollars.
Where is Nigeria in the agro industry?
States and Local Governments should also invest in Animal husbandry.
There should be an effective monitoring team to ensure the funds are not squandered.
The team should include local leadership of Farmers cooperative unions, local chapters of Nigerian Labour Congress, (NLC), Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees, (NULGE) and the Nigerian Union of Teachers, (NUT).
If the scheme is transparent and people-driven, certainly, in the next six months, there will be some harvests and more food production across the country, leading to reduction in prices of foodstuff, cheaper raw materials for agroallied industries and raising the prospect of food export for Nigeria to earn more foreign exchange.
When there is food on the table, violence and hunger will diminish while the human brain will flourish better for productivity and knowledge. There is a strong link between nutrition and healthy and productive brain.
The bailout should also discourage states from needless borrowing.
It is one thing to have 5billion, it is another thing to know how to spend the funds.
I am sure some states may even invest this fund in elections. The state Governments should also provide security to farmers. Each Local Government can invest as much as 10million in security by recruiting and training hunters and arming them with local preventive weapons in collaboration with the Police and the DSS.
The most important thing is knowing how to judiciously spend the N5b. It is time for Nigerian leaders to know that the growing misery of the poor majority can no longer guarantee the safety of the rich few.
