In fulfillment of its plan to ramp up the Social Investment Programmes (SIP) this year, the Buhari administration drew close to its target of feeding three million primary school children under the National Home-grown School Feeding Programme, one of its four on-going SIP schemes.
Specifically, at the last count, a total of N6,204,912,889 has been paid out to 14 states during the school year ending August 2017. This amount of money currently covers the cost for feeding about 2,827,501 school children in over 14 States; still, there isn’t much applause for the effort of the administration.
The 14 states that have been covered under the School Feeding programme are Anambra, Enugu, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ebonyi, Zamfara, Delta, Abia, Benue, Plateau, Bauchi, Taraba, and Kaduna and a total of 33,895 cooks have been engaged in the communities where the schools are located across the 14 states.
Anambra State received a total of N693,013,300, while a total of 103,742 children have been fed thus far, with 1,009 cooks paid.
Enugu State got a total of N 571,877,400 and 108,898 children have been fed so far, with 1,276 cooks paid.
In Oyo State, a total of N490,296,800 was released by the FG for the feeding of 107,983 children, with 1.372 cooks engaged.
Osun State received a total of N1,000,394,888 for the feeding of 151,438 children. A total of 2,863 cooks were engaged in the state.
Ogun State received a total of and N1,042,217,400 for the feeding of 231,660 schoolchildren, while a total of 2,205 cooks were paid.
For Ebonyi State, a total of N344,633,100 has been released for the feeding of 163,137 pupils so far, with a total of 1,453 cooks paid.
Zamfara State received a total of N402,295,600 for the feeding of 107,347 schoolchildren, while 1,127 cooks were engaged.
Delta State received a total of N225,896,300 for the feeding of 141,663 pupils. A total of 1,364 cooks were engaged in the state.
Abia and Benue states received a total of N128,763,600 and N337,157,800 respectively to feed a total of 61,316 and 240,827 pupils respectively. In Abia state, a total of 750 cooks were engaged, while 3,344 cooks were paid in Benue state.
Plateau and Bauchi states received a total of N133,187,600 and N214,909,101 for the feeding of a total of 95,134 and 307,013 pupils respectively in the states. Also, 1,418 cooks have so far been engaged in Plateau state, with 3,261 in Bauchi state.
For Taraba State, a total of N120,284,500 was paid and 171,835 pupils have thus far been fed, with a total of 2,596 cooks paid.
Kaduna State received a total of N499,985,500 while 835,508 pupils have been fed so far. Also, a total of 9,857 cooks were paid under the programme in the state.
The programme has also served as a means of employment; for example, all the cooks employed under the programme are indirect beneficiaries of the programme and are being duly paid their due wages. According to a statement by the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo in October 2017;
“About 34,869 direct jobs have since been created from the School Feeding Programme across the participating states. In Cross River state, for example, 1,384 cooks have been engaged, while 1,309 cooks are currently engaged in Akwa Ibom State, and 5,924 cooks are engaged under the programme in Niger State.”
The North of Nigeria, with a community culture and challenge of widespread poverty, receives this gesture with a lot of open appreciation. The South of the country, however, suffers some setback in appreciation of the gesture as poverty is to a large extent related to lifestyle. Added to this, superstition, which has led to strict instruction from parents to not “eat outside”, may require that the government do more in creating trust for the school feeding system.
There is also the issue of the politics of the internet. As the kids who benefit are not online to appreciate the government, there is an internet silence, which today translate to total silence, on the issue. This is despite the fact that the programme is implimented in more Southern than Northern State, despite the President being from the North and being constantly accused, by opposition, of bais against the South.
