It has become a recurring decimal and common practice among the leadership class to initiate programmes aimed at ameliorating the plight of the citizenry especially during periods of austerity.
As laudable and commendable as this seems, the challenge has always been with sustainability as most of these programmes fizzle out almost immediately after they were initiated.
In an era of sustainability with the entire globe fixated on the actualisation of the sustainable development goals (SDG 30), it calls for concern that as a nation, most social welfarist programmes initiated are at variance with the global agenda.
Studies have shown that the Nigerian state has very faulty social protection systems when compared to the developing world and is not at par with her South African counterpart in this regard.This social protection lacuna became quite obvious during the Covid-19 induced lock-downs when the government failed to ameliorate the plight of its citizenry in the midst of a global emergency with risk of catastrophes.
On assumption of office,president Tinubu announced the termination of the subsidy regime amidst anxieties and cries over the exponential surge in the cost of living,this development triggered a spike in transportation cost and price of basic commodities soaring with the propensity to further impoverish the populace.Since this new price regime of petroleum products pricing took effect,state governments have come up with a myriad of policies geared towards lessening the burden of the people.
To butress,Rivers State government while decrying the high cost of transportation occasioned by the removal of the fuel subsidy has promised to engage the ministry of transportation who would provide buses to relief its residents from the excruciating pain of the experience.
Kwara State Government has equally provided buses to assist workers and students residing in the state capital.Governor Obaseki of Edo state took it a step further by announcing an increment in the minimum wage from N30,000.00 to N40,000.00 while offering government employees the opportunity to work from home and appear in their offices thrice weekly.In a bid to promote food security in the region which has been exposed to security infractions,the Borno state government donated vehicles to convey women to farmlands immediately after the subsidy was removed.The Ondo state government while towing same path has set up a committee to review the situation and come up with requisite palliatives.The federal government in quick succession has sought a loan of 800 million USD to cushion the untoward effects of the subsidy removal on the populace.While one can refer to these reactions by the states and federal government as acts of responsiveness,the big question to ask is for how long would they last?
It is disheartening that the citizenry have often had their hopes dashed each time a palliative is abruptly truncated with the people left in the dark.For instance,during electoral campaigns,some politicians provide mouth watering aids with a view to sway the pendulum and win the people’s heart and votes.This they often put a halt to immediately they gain electoral victory which is a clear demonstration of political deception.
We believe that the penchant of introducing welfarist initiatives and abandoning them halfway is a reflection of mere dramatizing and a white wash which is counterproductive to the developmental trajectory of a state of Nigeria’s magnitude.Hence,rather than wet the appetite of the citizenry through issuing wanton promissory notes of policies that will soon be jettisoned or abandoned,we advice the government to think through the modalities of implementation and sustenance of policies before making them public.
*Edidiong S.Akpabio, Author, Researcher and Public Affairs Analyst, can be reached on [email protected]
