Hajiya Aisha Buhari distributing relief materials to indigent women in Batsari, Katsina State, on June 1, 2019
It is imperative at this trying moment in our dear country, when the Federal Government is pumping money as a palliative to cushion the effect of subsidy removal, to draw the attention of the state governors to copy from the model of Hajiya Aisha Buhari’s palliative distribution model and intervention strategy during and after the COVID-19 period.
It is now more than 100 days when the new governments at both the federal and state levels commenced a new dispensation. On the inauguration day, the fuel subsidy regime was terminated by the new president, Asiwaju Bola Ahmad Tinubu. Consequently, the price of PMS skyrocketed, with trickle-down effect on the prices of essential commodities.
The Federal Government sympathised with Nigerians and released the sum of N5 billion to the 36 states of the federation and the FCT as palliative to cushion the debilitating economic impact of the new policy. It is practically impossible for all the states to be ready with a plan to effectively distribute this amount of money to the most affected masses in their respective states, having not foreseen such challenges.
It is in this regard that I wish to draw our attention to the COVID-19 pandemic where both government and non- government corporate bodies came out with one form of palliative or the other. Amongst them I was able to cover some of the works done in my home state of Kano, by some corporations and donor NGOs such as BUA Foundation, Dangote Foundation, Future Assured Foundation, Kano State Government and others from 2020 to 2022. Among them, it was only Future Assured that was owned and managed by a lady, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, the then First Lady of Nigeria who is not an indigene of the state. Her NGO was in the forefront of the provision of palliatives in Kano with a most effective distribution network and outreach strategy.
Throughout the peak period of the pandemic and beyond, Future Assured Foundation was consistent in the distribution of palliatives in the form of food, drugs, hospital consumables, etc. The palliatives were first distributed to NGOs, associations, and some other establishments that deal with public welfare. They, in turn, redistributed them door-to-door all over the state.
The distribution of food items was one of several means through which Her Excellency, the then First Lady, made a very significant impact on the lives of the downtrodden masses. Going by a Hausa adage which says “da ɗan gari a kan ci gari,” Mrs Buhari carefully selected reputable local NGOs in Kano to reach out to and impact on the lives of the needy.
The following are some of the NGOs that took part in the First Lady’s Community Development and Empowerment initiative:
- Creative Helping Needy Foundation of the popular philanthropist, Hajiya Fauziyya D. Suleiman.
- Today’s Life Foundation of a popular former actress, Hajiya Mansurah Isah.
- Girei Impact Life Initiative of an astute writer and media personality, Hajiya Zuwairiyya Girei.
- Maisa’a Foundation of a vibrant politician and actress, Hajiya Rashida Adamu.
- Daso Entertainment of a popular comedian, Hajiya Saratu Giɗaɗo.
These women-run NGOs were some of the several others that took part in the exercise.
Now the Kano State government, under Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf, has Hajiya Fauziyya D. Sulaiman as Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on the Needy and Vulnerable. The Kano governor has right from onset done a lot of things that will cushion the effect of the current economic hardship. He started by paying fees for the secondary school leaving examination for students across the state. He also slashed the tertiary institution fees by 50% and pledged to pay for the students of Bayero University, Kano.
Now the state government has constituted a committee on palliative, that is why I am giving my input to the committee to emulate the excellent model adopted by Hajiya Aisha Buhari during the pandemic period as enumerated above.
* Ms. Nana Yaro, a humanitarian aid worker, writes from Kano. E-mail: nanayaro75@gmail.com. GSM: +234 8166911539
