THE ESSENCE OF THE MINISTRY OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS 

By Salisu Na’inna Dambatta

Despite the ongoing investigations into suspected or alleged infractions in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, the essence and purposes for creating the Ministry remain valid.

Nigerians may recollect the background leading to  the  establishment of the multi-purpose institution by the administration of  President Muhammadu Buhari on August 21, 2019.

Its initial description as Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development clearly   indicates its purposes.

It was an instrument for the implementation of government policies to achieve many worthy goals that could have positive impact on the wellbeing of Nigerians.

It is known that the country had a humanitarian crisis  in the Northeast caused by the detestable  Boko Haram insurgency which led to the killing, maiming or displacing of thousands of Nigerians  from their homes.

Beside the destructive effects of the insurgency in the Northeast geopolitical  zone, the drying up  of  Lake Chad has painfully pushed millions of farmers, fishermen, pastoralists and their dependents into penury.

Climate change has degraded  otherwise fertile soil into wasteland, intensified desertification and turned  flood plains into sand dunes in the Borno and Yobe portions of the Northeast.

Faced by these facts,  the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development  devised and deployed mechanisms to soften the harshness of the humanitarian crisis there  and in other parts of the country.

The displacement of communities by Bandits displaced communities, and there were  catastrophic communal clashes in the Northwest, the Northcentral, Southsouth and the Southeast.

Rampant fire outbreaks in cities,  towns, camps for internally displaced persons, markets and explosion of pipelines and fuel trucks were among the numerous emergencies the Ministry managed.

For instance, in October 2019,  a tanker laden with petroleum products fell into a ditch in Onitsha, aspilled its contents and exploded. The subsequent inferno  razed  shops and other structures on Upper Iweka Road and at Ochanja market in the commercial city. As Minister, Sadiya Umar Farouk went to Onitsha, visited the site, sympathised with those affected and ensured the provision of relief.

When a fire razed the Muna Albadawi camp for IDPs, the former Minister  travelled to Maiduguri and delivered 95-trailer load of food and non-food  which were distributed to 1,913 households of 9,000 individual beneficiaries.

She announced that President Muhammadu Buhari also approved he construction of 10,000 housing units in the  communities affected by the insurgency to enable the IDPs  return home.

Certainly the Ministry and its agencies have mitigated the impact of man-made and natural disasters in the country for the benefit of Nigerians.

The pioneer Minister of Humanitarian Affairs,  Sadiya Umar Farouk and staff of the Ministry  overcame the teething problems of a new institution and  worked optimally to make the desired impact on the wellbeing of Nigerians.

It is on record that the Ministry has delivered hundreds of trucks of foodstuff and medications to the 36 states of the federation and FCT for the vulnerable  during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sadiya Umar Farouk   told a House of Representatives committee that some of the food items and bevearages were donated by businesses and other private organizations.

She said that the Ministry distributed the palliatives including  70,000 tons of grains from the National  Strategic Food Reserves  in line with a presidential approval.

“We were also given foodstuff by the Nigerian Customs Service and  we distributed it to the 36 States of the federation and the FCT.  We handed over these palliatives to all the State Governors and Minister of FCT for onward distribution to the poor and the vulnerable in their States,” she told the House Committee.

One other activity worthy of recalling was that Sadiya Umar Farouk and the civil servants in the Ministry and its agencies had the ingenuity to keep the Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP) running accross the country when schools were closed due to the Covid-forced lockdown.

Many  stakeholders and civil society organisations commended the Ministry for sustaining  the Home Grown School Feeding Programme by delivering food rations and vouchers to families to feed their school children through its Take Home Ration and Voucher Scheme.

The Ministry had ingeniously modified  the HGSFP  and delivered food rations and vouchers to families of the beneficiary pupils during the lockdown.

The  administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has moved out the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) and the Home Grown School Feeding Programme previously domiciled in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to other institutions.  This slimming down of the Ministry and domiciling  the two  programnes elsewhere will lead to greater success in delivering  services to Nigerians.