In July, the Nigerian government released 400 billion to 34 states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in reimbursement for what they claimed to have spent to support vulnerable households and struggling small-scale businesses under the scheme of Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES). However, the targeted population continues to suffer hardship.
Eighteen states in the north, except Kaduna cumulatively received N283.6 billion. This was out of N438,368,915,030.24 billion reimbursed to the 34 states including the FCT.
The initiative is a World Bank-supported project designed to improve livelihood support and food security services to the less privileged and vulnerable as part of community resilience post-COVID-19, the federal government explained in a newspaper advertisement.
Hardship continues
The state governments claimed to have supported some poor households and vulnerable businesses, but they continue to suffer.
WikkiTimes spoke to residents of Bauchi, Yobe and Zamfara states including FCT— they all shared a similar tale of hunger and frustration.
Muhammed Auwal’s provisions shop used to be stocked with goods, but it is now a gist zone for him and his friends.
To escape further troubles, Auwal who has been into business for over nine years, resorted to farming to support his family.
“I only come here to meet my friends,” he said when WikkiTimes visited his shop in July. “Even when customers come, there’s nothing to buy from me because I don’t have money to restock my shop.”
Unlike Auwal whose shop has become a shadow of itself, Musa Umar, said he often thinks about what should be his priority: feeding his family first or the chickens he raises to support the family.
A father of two, Musa said his family depends on his poultry farming business. But things have changed, he said.
Even though his family depends on his struggling poultry business, Musa worries that the business could collapse someday.
“I used to raise 200 hundred chickens, but now I can only afford to train 30 or less,” he said, expressing fears that the business may not survive the current economic downturn.
Abu Fateemah, a resident of the Yandoto community in Zamfara State said many people in the banditry-ravaged state are suffering the effects of insecurity and inflation.
Inflation in Nigeria continues to fluctuate, making life unbearable for locals. Hike in fuel price further worsened the situation.
“We are faced with security challenges, especially people in local communities,” Abu Fateemah told WikkiTimes by phone. “We could not go to our farms again as a result and this makes life so hard for us.”
Mariam Yusuf, a physically challenged mother of eight in Bauchi Metropolis, shared a similar experience.
“Struggling to care for eight children without any external support or a steady job, I had no choice but to withdraw five of my daughters from school,” she said, adding: “They now hawk goods to contribute to our family’s well-being. Perhaps fate will lead a wealthy suitor their way.”
In Yobe State, many husbands have left their homes in search of jobs elsewhere, leaving their wives with the burden of caring for their children.
“Some of these women now beg for alms,” Ismaila Habib, a resident of Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State told WikkiTimes.
