N-power Motion Without Movement -By Femi Oluwasanmi

At the inception, N-Power scheme stands out as one of the best policies designed by the president Mohammadu Buhari’s administration to address the hydra-headed poverty in Nigeria because of its promise to ensure that non of the N-power volunteers (participants) return to the street empty handed. Unfortunately, this seems to have turned to “a motion without movement” putting into consideration the sudden suspension of the programme and the disengagement of the participants without any exit package.

On 7th October, 2023, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, announced an indefinite suspension of the N-power programme with a promise to conduct an investigation into the utilisation of funds disbursed since the inception of the scheme.

N-power scheme is a subset of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) that was lunched in 2016 as parts of the efforts of the federal government to reduce the level of poverty in Nigeria. It started with the enrollment of 200,000 participants in Batch A, 2016; 300,000 participants in Batch B, 2017; and 510,000 in Batch C1; and 490,000 in Batch C2 in 2021.

Though, the stipend attached to the programme is not attractive but some people applied in order to further contribute to the development of the country and escape the “sit at home syndrome” occasioned by the oversaturated labour market in an anticipation to transit to a permanent jobs pool that was promised by president Buhari while campaigning in 2015.

This hope was further raised by the promises made by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibanjo at several forums that the government will not allow the N-power volunteers to go back to the street empty handed.

However, this hope was dashed in 2020 when they were disengaged from the programme without any exit package at a time when other countries around the world were giving palliatives to their people due to the hardship occasioned by the outbreak of COVID-19.

This seems to be repeating itself with the indefinite suspension of the programme at a time when almost all the prices of goods and services have ascended 150% increase. Of recent, the world bank stated that more than 7 million people are likely to join those living below poverty lines in Nigeria if palliatives are not given to mollify the hardship caused by the removal of fuel subsidy. With the suspension of the N-power programme, it’s obvious that this numbers will increase.

Prior to the suspension, there have been reports of diversion of funds meant for the participants. In 2022, a popular artist, Oladipo Daniel Oyebanjo (aka, D’Banj) was arrested and interrogated by the Independence Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) for alleged collusion with compromised government officials to introduce ghost workers into the N-Power Programme and consequently divert millions of naira fraudulently into their coffers.

Also, in the process of trying to justify the reasons for the suspension of the programme, the Minister, Betta Edu, stated that the preliminary findings of her audit shown that some consultants are holding on to the beneficiaries’ funds disbursed to them long time ago even when their contract ended in March 2023.

Due to the diversion and delay in the payment of stipend, some of the participants have abandoned their place of primary assignment (PPA) while those that have other means to augment their stipends have turned to visitors. This has greatly affected the objectives set out at the beginning of the programme and contributed to the “firmament of frustration” across the country.

In a society where policies are really designed to address poverty, the stipend would have been increased long time ago because of the realities on ground in Nigeria. For instance, in 2016, when the thirty thousand Naira (#30, 000) monthly stipend was introduced, the value of a dollar to Naira was three hundred and fifty Naira (#350) but today it has jumped to one thousand Naira (#1000). Yet, the Minister is talking about an enlargement in the scope of the programme without any plan to increase the monthly stipend of the participants.

The most surprising aspect is that the president that rode on the mantra of “renewed hope” to power seems not to see anything wrong with the stipend. Instead, the president further reechoed the voice of the minister on 1st October by promising to increase the numbers of people on the social investment platforms to 15 millions.
That is why some have argued that the N-Power programme and the likes are more of political calculation than poverty alleviation. This seems not to be too far from the reality if the monthly stipend of the N-power volunteers is measure on the current scale of those living below poverty lines.

Based on the World Bank updated report in September 2022, the new international poverty line is set at $2.15 using 2017 prices. This means that anyone living on less than $2.15 a day is considered to be living in extreme poverty. This shows that the increment of the N-power volunteers monthly stipend is overdue if truly the aim of the federal government is to alleviate poverty and reduce unemployment.

As a matter of fact, increasing the stipend will motivate the participants to be regular at their PPA, increase their service delivery and at the long run make them an employer of labour. Most of the participants that were disengaged from the platform in 2020, would have become employers of labour if they were given start up packages after their service. This would have directly or indirectly accelerate the quest for self-sufficiency, reduce the numbers of people at the “colony of unemployment,” and tame the spread of insecurity.

Most of the funds earmarked for the war against terrorism in the country would have been used to build schools, hospitals, constructs more road networks and others social amenities that are begging for attention in the country if the issues of unemployment and poverty are properly addressed.

That is why the government needs to increase the monthly stipend of the N-Power volunteers, create an exit start up packages for them, and subject them to two or three weeks training at the end of their service so that their business ideas can be fine-tuned to fit in the realities at the world of business.

Femi Oluwasanmi,
Ibafo,
Ogun State.