By SHITTU OBASSA
For development to be a sustain able process, it is conceived,
planned, organized, implemented, monitored and evaluated on clear
indicators ascertained for a genuine progress to take place.
Many societies that have developed over the years have done so
deliberately through commitment, discipline, perseverance, hard work
and prudent management of resources diligently earmarked for
specific projects aimed at improving the living standard of the
direct beneficiaries.
In Nigeria, the process of development has never been steady nor
sustained owing to the failure of leadership over the years to live
up to its responsibilities in guiding the action of citizenry by
formulating policies that are radically intended to improve the
living standard of the people. Even the development partners, with
the best of intentions they may have had over the years, fail to
impact positively on the quality of life of the people. What usually
takes place is adhoc arrangements informed by the partners’ rules of
thumb rather than the yearnings and aspirations of the people for
whom they have ostensibly come with huge resources to expend. Most
of the time, such resources sadly end up being wasted on “window
dressing projects” and fat salaries for their staff as well as
consultants for most of these development partners. In other words,
their programmes lack ownership at the end of the period they have
earmarked for the programmes to be implemented.
Most of these development partners also hardly work in tandem with
one another even when they are working in the same geographical
location and or the same communities. This tendency to work at cross
purposes, has largely been blamed on absence of a coordinating
agency for all the developmental programmes coming from abroad into
the country. It’s not surprising therefore to see Helen Keller
International (HKI) and Micro-Nutrient Initiatives (MI) working in
the same community with the same people in the same geographical
location but yet, they can hardly compare notes and share their
wealth of experiences with a view to improving the modus operandi
for their programmes which should tally with the psychology of the
people, their cultural inclinations, hopes and aspirations.
On yearly basis, these international development partners announce
astonishing figures in terms of money to be expended on their
programmes yet what is, on the ground is nothing to write home about
at the end of the day because the chunk of those resources have gone
into paying hotel bills, honorarium for those who shouldn’t be
taking so much of these resources if the intention was quite genuine
and down to earth.
It is becoming glaring to many Nigerians that stakeholders have
never been involved in the planning and execution of most of these
development programmes needed to be tailored around peculiarities of
the local people and as such they turn out to be failures rather
than stories of success.
Having worked in Nigeria for many years, for the survival,
development, protection and participation of children and women in
the country, United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) is coming into
grip with the reality of the Nigerian situation which makes most of
its programmes look like orphans, as these programmes are never
owned up by the communities for the purpose of continuity.
Therefore, whenever UNICEF decided to discontinue a particular
programme, they tend to die soon afterwards.
Guided by this uncheering experience UNICEF and her partners have
gathered key sectoral stake holders together for brainstorming on
the next country programe in the belief that the discussions
therefrom will be helpful to both UNICEF and Federal Government of
Nigeria to develop ways to improve their partnership towards the
improvement of the current situation all over the country, not only
at state level but the local government areas as well.
The outcome of the stakeholders’ meeting normally facilitated by the
state ministry of economic planning will hopefully enhance
achievement of state/LGA development priorities. This was what
exactly happened in Kaduna State, recently. The Ministry of Economic
Planning in Collaboration with ‘C’ field office of UNICEF brought
together stakeholders in Basic Education, Health and Nutrition,
Water and Sanitation, HIV/AIDS, social policy, child protection and
communication.
It was a two-day meeting put together by the director of
international cooperation in the state ministry of economic
planning, Mrs. Ladi Comfort Kokwain. The meeting was held between
4th and 5th of September this year at ASAA Pyramid hotel which was
the venue of the National Meeting on Zinc supplement with
participants drawn from all parts of Nigeria, hitherto.
On the first day of the meeting, the commissioner of economic
planning Mr. John Edward, the permanent secretary in the same
Ministry Mr. Danladi D. Sanda, the permanent secretary in the
Ministry of Works and Transport, Alhaji Lawal Mayere, the executive
director, Industrialization and Micro Credit Management Board, Mr.
Nathaniel Hayab and the permanent secretary in the Ministry of
Agriculture Mr. Joseph Maigari were in attendance.
In his speech on the occasion, the commissioner of economic
planning, charged participants to live up to the development
partners’ expectations as those who are holding the stakes for the
state, so that their deliberations, views and suggestions will help
in moving Kaduna State in the direction of sustainable development
under the present administration. There were sectoral and thematic
meetings and focused group discussion held. Kaduna meeting must have
come last probably because it is the headquarters of the ‘C’ field
office in charge of eight states including the Federal Capital
Territory. The discussions were frank as problems militating against
Federal Government of Nigeria/ UNICEF Programme were identified
during brainstorming sessions and evidence based analysis, as the
current country programme gives way to the next country programme
which will commence as from 2009 and terminate in 2012. For
instance, all the discussion groups were asked to identify and
prioritize issues relating to the areas earlier mentioned in a
document based on the statistics provided by the National Bureau for
Statistics.
Matters like exclusive breast feeding, immunization against polio,
birth registration, vitamin ‘A fortification and girl-child
enrolment and retention in primary school were among 21 indicators
highlighted. These are in addition to cross-cutting issues, (i.e
co-ordination, genders, working with local government areas), and
strategies for achieving results for children and women.
No fewer than 18 issues came up for discussion and on the basis of
deliberations reports were written and submitted to the Ministry of
Economic Planning who will be the coordinating agency for
effectiveness and efficiency, accountability, transparency and
probity. These reports were expected to follow a particular format
and general guidelines. These include the state, focal person and
the report contents compiled are expected to reflect major sectoral
and thematic areas.
At the end of the energy sapping two-day meeting, the reports of the
various groups were ready, indicating sector situation analysis,
institutional and human capacity analysis, partnerships, strategies,
co-ordination, monitoring and evaluation. What is more, cross
cutting issues were identified for solutions to be proffered. This
last session was presided over by the officer in charge of “C” field
office, Mr. Raymond Akor, who until his present position was in
charge of planning and protection at UNICEF.
I was able to grab a copy of the report submitted by the group on
communication.
In the report, the people of Kaduna State as represented by the
stakeholders were aware that the state has a policy establishing the
Ministry of Information as a machinery for their mobilization,
sensitization and enlightenment on government programmes and
policies. This is done in cooporation with National Orientation
Agency (NOA) and Federal Information Centre (FIC). But, it has been
noted that there is no state-wide integrated action plan which
encompassed sectoral plan for effective service delivery in the area
of behavioural change on issues that affect their standard of
living. Moreover, there are no desk officers in most ministries who
are supposed to be charged with this responsibility, not to mention
absence of guidelines for the implementation of the existing policy
on communication. Worse still, there are no monitoring and
evaluation to identify successes, failures and lessons for
improvements in future programmes.
The group discussion has found out that accountability in the
implementation of communication programme in the state is adhered
to, but that there is need for improvement to ensure adequate
probity and transparency.
During the group discussion, cultural inhibitions have been
identified as they affect effectiveness of communication for the
purpose of behavioural change. On top of these, you have factors
like the purdah system which limits the participation of women in
development, children are seen but not heard, the female child is
not allowed to go to school as her role is believed to be in the
kitchen, there is overwhelming preference of traditional medicine
over modern medicine, undue reverence to the conservative views of
elders and adherence to harmful practices in the name of culture.
These include the delayed expression of the first breast milk until
after three days of the child’s birth.
It is crystal clear from the discussion by the stakeholders that
ignorance of benefits derivable from government policies and
programmes, unwillingness to test new ideas and practices even when
and where the old practices will not in anyway improve their living
standard, inability to read and write for proper absorption and
assimilation of new ideas, the erroneous notion that traditional
practices have their basis in religion, while new ideas and
practices are regarded to be traps for unsuspecting beneficiaries to
leave their heritage for western lifestyle are factors responsible
for the above situation.
It is worthy of mention that there are now capacity gaps in state
and LGAs. This is largely due to inadequate skilled personnel,
insufficient funding or delay in release of funds for activities
considered to be very crucial for effective services delivery, lack
of regular in-service training for existing personnel to update
their knowledge on modern technologies and innovations long after
they have left school or their first centre of training, existence
of obsolete equipment and dearth of modern equipment for the volumes
of activities derivable from policies and programmes of the
government.
The stakeholders further noted that most programmes in the
communication sector are hardly coordinated for maximum result and
attainment of specific objectives. And there is poor motivation for
skilled personnel for optimal performance. And again, there is high
level of bureaucracy which does not allow for quick decisions and
personal initiatives on problems and situations of utmost urgency.
In their view, what applies to the state are also prevailing in the
LGAs. Added to these are lack of financial discipline, rampant abuse
of resources being earmarked for specific projects in the approved
budget for the local government, which will impact in the long run
on the lives of the various communities; that restrictive measures
as handed down by the state government make the LGAs to be lacking
in initiatives and applying same for the common good of all.
There is no doubt that the two-day meeting is a very good step in
the right direction, given the fact that projects must have
ownership and ownership usually comes from collective resolve to
implement a specific programme in line with priorities rather than
whims and caprices of some development partners in the habit of
conjuring figures and facts aliens to direct beneficiaries who
should be in the driver’s seat.
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