By Polycarp Onwubiko
It really does not pay for the leadership of federal government (past and present)to be deceiving Nigerians on phony strategies for poverty alleviation like Trada-Moni, CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme, Direct Money Transfer, School Feeding (with alleged brazen monumental fraud) by the supposed Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs during COVID-19 when school children were hibernating in their parents houses.
Common sense dictates that poverty
alleviation programmes are better, effectively and efficiently carried out by
the state governments which are very close to the people. The mantra currently
being paraded by the president with respect that the humongous money that is
expected to be realised from the withdrawal of petroleum subsidy will be
channeled into poverty alleviation programmes, education and health will be one
of the greatest '419' coming.
Recall that a former president who recovered
the much orchestrated humongous "Abacha loot" told Nigerians who
cared to hear that the money was channeled into education and health sectors;
and the gullible (or is it better to say helpless Nigerians?) believed but
nothing substantially changed in the two critical sectors of governance.
The clear fact is that no president can
alleviate poverty except he embarked on immediate restructuring of the lopsided
federation where, as was in the realistic federal constitution (1963 Republican
Constitution) over 90 percent of government activities were done by the then
regional governments and the results were fantastic.
The quasi federal arrangements in place today
cannot make any mark on poverty alleviation because the federal government
collects over 90 percent of duties which it should not going by the realistic
principles of federal system of government the world over.
State governments are in the position to
embark on measures of poverty alleviation relevant or peculiar to their
people's way of life and value system. In other words, the diverse way of life
of a multi social and cultural groups of people need their respective values to
effectively tackle their socioeconomic challenges. Abuja cannot know what every
ethnic group need to alleviate the grinding poverty and penury ravaging them.
So, while expecting the president to embark on restructuring the lopsided federation, the statutory allocations should be immediately reviewed so that the money realised from the removal of petroleum subsidy will be channeled into the Federation Account for distribution to the state and local governments (when the federation is hat measures to embark upon to alleviate the excruciating poverty ravaging the country.
Restructured, local government administration
will be the sole responsibility of the state governments) for them to know what
measures to embark upon to alleviate the excruciating poverty ravaging the
country.
President Tinubu should not indulge in
ware-housing the money realised from the removal of petroleum subsidy in the
pocket of the federal government and indulge in the deception of the Buhari
administration in the supposed poverty alleviation strategies which added
nothing to the weal and welfare of the masses.
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