Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe: Tinubu’s pick for Humanitarian and Poverty Reduction in Nigeria.
By Bolaji O. Akinyemi.
Few, if there are any, are nations that will portray the terrible loss of humanity in man, like our nation; Nigeria. The words of the World Bank President, Ajay Banga, at the 2024 NESG in Abuja are poignant enough; “Nigeria, after all, is now the country with the Largest number of people living in extreme poverty – not just in Africa but in the world”, and, “their welfare should be uppermost in our minds”.
Thus, in one breath, the humanitarian problem in Nigeria was identified and a solution proffered; which is the beat of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction to execute.
The World Bank President was aptly represented at the event by his Chief Economist, Indermit Gill.
If Israel was confronted with one giant in Goliath in the days of King David, three Goliath-like giants had risen against Nigeria in the days before President Tinubu came to the throne; insecurity, corruption and poverty that combined to harass, intimidate, molest, humiliate, maim and kill mankind most time without let and brazenly unchecked.
The embarrassment this has become to the institution of our military is of public knowledge. The fear of the insecurity it breeds has led to untold poverty across our local agrarian communities, where farmers are forced to keep away from their farms.
No ministry is more relevant to the people in a nation of over 230 million where over half of its population has fallen below poverty line; with 133 million in the grip of multidimensional poverty according to 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index, MPI, means that 63% of our citizens from which tax collection is the source of government public finance are deprived of more than one essential survival needs such as food, good health, basic education and decent gainful employment. Our humanitarian situation is no doubt an emergency. No ministry is better positioned to restore our falling humanity and reduce our poverty, than the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
Unfortunately, cultural corruption has crippled the Ministry from performance; the pioneer Minister under Buhari, Sadiya Umar Farouq is accused of failing to account for ₦37 billion. Humanity should be more pronounced in one gender than the other, so it was understandable that the choice of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was another woman, in Betta Edu, a young, brilliant, tech savvy and promising Nigerian lady. She replaced Sadiya Umar Farouq as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development but ended a national disaster on the assignment.
If the global human community thought they have seen all that the depravity of humanity has to offer from Nigeria, they were proven wrong by the event of the Christmas period of 24th, 25th and 26th December 2023, when 25 rural villages in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State were invaded by terrorists who for 3 days turned the territory into a killing field that spilled over to scores of villages in neighboring LGAs of Mangu and Barkin-Ladi of Plateau State.
Like it is often said, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”; humanity’s instincts in Betta Edu nudged her as one of the first Federal Government responders to the deadliest terrorists attacks on the shore of Nigeria till date.
The then Hon. Minister Betta Edu condoled with the government and people of Plateau State on the killings in the state, stating that humanitarian support will be provided for the survivors; she assured that the ministry in line with the directive of President Bola Tinubu will collaborate with the Plateau State government to bring humanitarian succour to the survivors of the attacks, and the affected communities. Her words of promise; “as a ministry directly in charge of responding to humanitarian challenges in Nigeria, it has been directed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to collaborate with the Plateau State Government to bring humanitarian succour to the survivors of the attacks as well as the affected communities.”
Afterwards, the Federal Government commenced the immediate deployment of food and non-food relief materials to communities and survivors of the 2023 Christmas Period attacks.
On 3rd January 2024, the then Minister, visited the affected communities for an on-the-spot assessment of the affected area with her counterpart from the Ministry of Defence and Service Chiefs that were on the ground to coordinate humanitarian responses.
Edu also visited Churches and some IDPs camps where she observed a minute silence for the dead and addressed worshippers and survivors who were taking refuge for protection after the attacks.
She assured the survivors of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to bringing lasting solutions in terms of security and resettlement of displaced people back to their ancestral homesteads.
However, the collaboration of the Hon. Minister with the Plateau State Government yielded little or no positive fruits as most of the items meant for displaced persons ended up in the hands of people who were not affected by the impact of terrorist attacks but political acolytes of government officials in the state, while the most vulnerable and affected survivors were left in squalor.
The wife of the President, like a concerned mother headed for Plateau State and donated 500 million Naira to displaced persons in IDP camps, and, handed the funds to the Plateau State Government for onward disbursement to the targeted beneficiaries. Regrettably, the donation was mishandled as names of politicians that were not affected ended up on the list of beneficiaries and up till today there is no clear cut information from Plateau State Government on the identity of the beneficiaries after victims raised eyebrows to no avail.
The EFCC is duty bound to respond to the plight of the survivors for this brazen acts of cultural corruption away from the often trendy media arrest of politicians and yahoo boys. This is the highest height of corruption, when food is taken away from the mouth of those who are hungry. The public awaits an EFCC investigation of the twin evil inflicted on humanity by the shoddy handling of donations from Beta Edu and Remi Tinubu, the Minister and the First Lady respectively. The desire of the donors to see the smiles of the survivors was truncated because they relied on Plateau State Government officials, the political structures of their politicians rather than the best global practice of data-driven process didn’t yield expectations.
So sad, and, providential, the insincerity that administered the relief materials and palliatives was exposed at the just concluded 9th October 2024 Local Government elections in Plateau State where the re-bagging and sharing of Federal Government Rice palliatives to supporters of a particular ruling party was witnessed by the generality of the people across the state; man inhumanity to man you would say!
The speech of the World Bank President at 2024 NESG event attended by Gill seems to have a word for Nentawe Yiltwada Goshwe; ‘the President’s “signature reforms” are essential to break from the past and chart a more hopeful course for all Nigerians’.
The shake in the cabinet of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the appointment of Yilwatda offers a more hopeful course for all Nigerians through the Humanitarian and Poverty reduction mission of the Ministry. This is not just all about bringing relief materials to areas affected by terrorism attacks, human or natural disasters, but activating a new lease of life through empowerment and capacity building of affected citizens.
A break from the past must necessarily be in view of Yilwatda on his mission at the ministry if he hopes to succeed. This will be better done using technology, data of Nigerians especially the vulnerable should be collated and interventions carried out directly to beneficiaries rather than State Governments acting as middlemen or intermediaries, through an obsolete manual operation. A onetime Hon Minister in Nigeria, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, saw an end to the meddlesome middlemanship of State governments that governed the distribution of fertiliser for years in the country by creating wallets for farmers delivering their fertilisers to them directly through a tech platform.
It is left to Professor Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe to prove to be the right stone pulled out of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bag for the job of falling giant of Inhumanity that has bred insecurity, poverty and corruption in Nigeria.
The show of intelligence and capacity for the job at hand by the newly appointed Minister while responding to a barrage of questions thrown at him on the floor of the Senate has shown that his background on the tech ecosystem will be brought to bear in big data generation that will impact humanity tailored towards genuine poverty reduction in Youth and women empowerment with the vulnerable as the main target and final beneficiaries. But like they say, talk is cheap. For now we count on Professor Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe to lead Nigeria to walk the talk of a return to humanity and reduction of poverty and many other ills hailing us; with him Nigerians expects the ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction to become a solution delivering ministry.
Professor Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe, is a seasoned, tested and trusted administrator and humanitarian services provider of repute. His choice by the President has raised high, the expectations of not just Mr President who appointed him but also of over 250 million Nigerians he is called to serve.
Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe has no excuse not to succeed except he allows himself to be preoccupied with the desire to become the next Governor of Plateau State. The story may end against general expectation from the square peg in a square hole. The new Humanitarian Affairs Minister a Plateau politician was born on August 8, 1968, in Dungung, Kanke Local Government Area of Plateau State to the family of the Rev. and Mrs.Toma Yilwatda; a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, he must be careful not to put party interest ahead of National Interest, which the Presidency represents and President Tinubu holds in trust for the people as his mandate; humanity beckons, and, so do posterity at you, dearly Beloved Hon. Minister.
Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He’s also President Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. BoT Chairman, Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija. He is a strategic Communicator and the C.E.O, Masterbuilder Communications.
Email:bolajiakinyemi66@gmail.com
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