By Princewill Odidi
Attempting to use short term solutions to solve long term problems is largely responsible why good intentioned programs of government fail and does not gain the required sustainable momentum.
From Operations feed the nation, Green Revolution, Directorate of foods roads and rural infrastructure, Family support Program, Family Economic advancement program, Poverty alleviation Program, Agricultural development program, National Directorate of Employment, among others.
Today, the Buhari administration has launched Npower, school lunch and the new poverty program. While we applaud the new program designed to feed 5 million children and provide cash to cover one million very poor people ,it is our prayer that it succeeds, because we all want to see it succeed. It is the desire of the government to improve the peoples standard of living.
However, You do not improve the peoples standard of living by giving handouts to a few, rather it is better you improve the structures that would aid increased productivity to benefit all. The little change you put in people’s account will finish within a week, but if you use that money to build rural clinics, fix schools, instead of benefiting a select few, it will benefit the masses.
Another program that may fail is the small loan of five million naira to fresh graduates. example, instead of distribution of 5 million naira to fresh graduate to start a business, which we all know the money would be used to meet their immediate needs of wedding and renting apartment and buying a car, rather, bring 40 youths together, pull together all their individual loans amounting to 200 million, let them start a small company and build it as a cooperative.
200 million can comfortably start a transportation line, a soft drink company, but giving each 5 million ends in futility. Cooperative funding funded recently in Rwanda worked perfectly, I just don’t understand why Nigeria insist on individual funding, even when we know previous attempts fail.
The poverty level among Nigerians, coupled with institutional corruption and the lack of a systemic structure to execute poverty alleviation programs, make virtually every initiative a joke. The one million people that will benefit from the N5000 each, the process of selection of persons which was done manually without verifiable or measurable poverty indices makes the scheme mere speculation and guess work.
Most of the social workers sent out to compile names in 5 selected states that will benefit in phase 1 merely made up that list with friends and colleagues, these funds I have warned, will end up in private pockets. If we must succeed we must learn to do things right.
We are so used to use short term solutions to solve long term problems. No society develops this way.
President Jonathan U-win program, with such huge disbursement, how many of those businesses survived after 2 years?
You cannot do the same thing over and over again , doing it the same way, and expect a different result.
Princewill Odidi is an Atlanta based development consultant. princewillodidi@yahoo.com