The bug of rural poverty is closing in on more families and communities across Nigeria. There are soul-piercing cries. Cries of poverty. Cries of hunger. Cries of chronic lack. Cries of relative deprivations in a land of rich endowments. Cries of low purchasing power occasioned by galloping inflation. And with over 130 million persons pushed to the rank of the multi-dimensionally poor, the cries have become deafening and more frantic. The sleeping dogs can no longer lie as anguish of cost-of-living crisis has kept them awake, moping around “in all directions, in no direction.”
All fingers are pointed towards President Tinubu. Yes, he brought home anti-infested faggots and lizards are besieging his hut as regular visitors. Without matching buffers, his two-pronged policy of floating the country’s currency and abrupt end of subsidy regime in the supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), had all hell broke loose. He threw political correctness to the wind and opened the Pandora’s box. As a result, ethnic entrepreneurs and power desperadoes are baying for blood. The only atonement is Tinubu’s prized seat at Aso Villa.
However, nobody appears to be taking on the 36 states and the 774 LGAs where the withdrawal of subsidy has freed up an unprecedented financial windfall. Governors are cruising with billions of naira as monthly allocations to States and LGAs in their domains. LGAs have long been asphyxiated! The governor of any state is also the governor of LGAs in his state. The hope of direct funding from Abuja has been temporarily dashed. Even with the Supreme Court’s unimpeachable verdict and the tough-talking Attorney-General of the federation, the LGAs are still helpless. The 2027 ‘rub my back, I rub yours’ scheming has kept the whole hysteria about LG financial autonomy in abeyance. President Tinubu would not press it harder for now. Otherwise, his traducers would poach aggrieved men among the governors – who perceive any attempt to stop them from having unfettered access to LG funds as parcellating away their ‘colonized’ territories. Unfortunately, the grim harvest is the yawning gap between the quality-of-life index and poor material conditions at the grassroots.
But the stench of poverty cannot be contained. It is like the bleating of the animals that were brought home as spoils of war from Amalek by the biblical King Saul. Tinubu still perceives the odour of hunger on the streets and reacts to itchy skin of poverty in rural areas from his cozy and walled-off office. At a recent National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of his political party (APC), he practically begged the twenty-three governors under APC to ‘wet the grass’ in rural areas. This was an indirect admission of the scary dungeon we found ourselves. Although Mr. president’s spin doctors tried to water down the Daily Trust’s editorial on the excruciating pains of hunger in the land, he understands that the buck stops at his desk, and that living in denial, is self-deception.
As most Nigerians muddle through hard times, The Africa Report’s swipe at the governors in Nigeria who splash billions of naira in white elephant projects that neither have direct impact on economic recovery nor lift people out of poverty, becomes instructive. Beyond Abuja, people must begin to demand to know how the huge statutory allocations to the States and LGAs are utilized. The Report holds it that “In Gombe, one of the poorest states in Nigeria, Governor Inuwa Yahaya committed N14.9bn for a new ultra-modern residence. Another N14.23bn is being spent on the House of Assembly complex.” It further notes that Governor Seyi Makinde blew N63.4 billion to renovate the Oyo State government house; while the Osun State counterpart, Governor Ademola Adeleke spent at least N10 billion in renovating the Government House last year, according to the government’s opposition.
Recently, the United States Embassy in Nigeria amplified and elevated discussions around high cost of governance in the country and the widening gulf between the lifestyle of public officials and millions of average Nigerians who daily go to bed without food. As if they are detached from the plight of hapless citizenry, most governors embark on good optics projects like building of flyover bridges, airports, hotels, eye-popping government houses, floating of airlines, as well as movement in chartered flights at the expense of people-oriented projects. They collect security votes that run into billions which are not audited and has no legislative oversight. In May 2024, Governor Nwifuru of Ebonyi State used N17.3 billion to repair the runway of the under-utilized Airport in the state. The Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, who came to power with a promise to do things differently had, in the last quarter of 2024, claimed that he renovated schools with a princely sum of N54 billion, yet neither the government officials nor the opposition elements can pin-point at those renovated schools. Certainly, the sleaze has become mind-boggling.
The fate of LGAs in the hands of governors is pitiable. Instead of catalyzing development at the grassroots, the LGA monies have turned political slush funds. Except States like Enugu, where Chairmen of LGAs build and commission asphalted roads, others are glorified zombies in most states. They are lifeless and tongue-sealed! Is it not therefore preposterous that LGAs that receive no less than N300 million statutory allocations on monthly basis can rarely boast of any meaningful development? Why is that agriculture – a low hanging fruit for increasing people’s purchasing power, not receiving billions of naira support by governors? Without equivocation, I make bold to say that there is a causal relationship between rural poverty and extra-legal diversion of LG allocations.
It is interesting that President Tinubu is tinkering with the idea of direct intervention in the fight against rural poverty. With his approval of ward-level development strategy for grassroots economic growth and poverty reduction across the country’s 8,809 wards, Tinubu needs to appoint state liaison officers to drive, supervise, and report back progress and hiccups. This novel project must avoid dogs in the manger. But we must hold the feet of our governors to the fire.
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