Civil society group, Social Development Integrated Centre (Social Action) has called for an effective monitoring of the huge N60.1 billion grant the European Union (EU) is providing for the rehabilitation of communities destroyed by the Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State in Northern Nigeria.
EU has been showing strong interest in the humanitarian crisis in the North-East axis of Nigeria and has overtime actively canvassed for and indeed supported the rehabilitation of the crisis-torn region.
With the recent grant of 143 million Euros which represents N60.1 billion, for the rehabilitation of the affected communities, Social Action says EU has once again demonstrated significant concern in the development of the region.
Programme Officer of the group, Botti Isaac said in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city on Tuesday that the EU’s support will be implemented by a consortium of four bodies and entities.
According to the group, ”the N60.1 billion is targeted at providing critical services that includes healthcare, water and sanitation, sustainable energy, employment opportunities and general improvement of the livelihood of the people. Timely as this step is, strong efforts and effective mechanisms however need be put in place to avoid resources not impacting on the people”.
Like virtually all the other states in the North-East, Borno is ravaged by a twin challenges of climate change and insurgency-terrorism. The other affected states are Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba. These states have witnessed large-scale destruction of infrastructures and amenities with equally monumental loss of lives and livelihoods.
For Social Action, an estimated 200,000 people have been killed while over two million others displaced. With events and situations fast spiraling out of the control and ability of local and state governments, the humanitarian situation soon turned into a nightmare with mass deaths recorded amongst young and under aged children and infants amongst the displaced and critical socio-economic structures in ruin.
”While the Nigerian government and international community has recently seemingly stepped up attention on the region, with considerable amount of resources allocated for humanitarian purposes as well as human and structural development, there has however been concern over the efficient utilization of these funds and resources.
”Overtime, intervention efforts in the North-East, particularly Adamawa and Borno, have yielded very little results as there has been no significant improvements in the lives of the people. While insurgency has also continued to thrive with its deleterious effect on the peoples’ social existence, the region has thus been an enclave of extreme poverty, with all bleak charts in all the indexes of human development.
”So far, the fundamental cause of the gap between intervention funds and impact achieved has remained largely corruption and poor intervention monitoring mechanism, governments of these states on their own part have not been keen in ensuring effective service delivery to the affected people”, the group said.
Continuing, they said, ”while the task to rebuild the region, rehabilitate its people and victims and return lives to normal is no doubt a daunting one, the step EU in committing resources towards this task holds good prospects for positive development and impact if properly over-sighted.
”It is also important to note in planning such interventions that critical actions that will address the root cause of the crisis in the northeast region need be explored and factored in. In this regard therefore, special attention need be paid to ecological factors. Special intervention fund should be created to address the ecological crisis prevalent in the region.
”There is strong need to fund the recharging of the Lake Chad so as to restore the people’s means of livelihood and socio-economic existence linked to the Lake to thus also reduce vulnerability and insecurity in the region.
”While the allocation of a staggering sum of $800 million of the said grant to World Bank for an amorphous purpose termed ‘Consultancy’ is very unhelpful, Social Action strongly urges for the institution of a tripartite Intervention Monitoring Mechanism involving government agencies, civil society organizations/development partners and community members.
”This will ensure effective monitoring of humanitarian interventions and go a long way in ensuring the achievement of set goals and maximum impact on the people and the area”.