Alhaji Idi Mohammed Farouk is a former Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA). The politician also served in the governments of Alhaji Lawal Kaita and Major Dangiwa Umar, when they were governors of Kaduna State respectively. In this interview with Daily Trust, he speaks about the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the federal government’s palliative.
President Muhammadu Buhari constituted a Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha. What is your take on the activities of the task force which has been receiving financial and technical support from individuals and corporate organisations?
I want to commend the efforts of the task force so far. It has been able to raise a kind of awareness during this period that their competence allows on the issues of COVID-19. It has been able to mobilise funds for palliatives, equipping hospitals, and getting the required materials. They have been able to give us ventilators and masks. Thus far, I appreciate their efforts. Don’t forget that they give us briefings every day on the number of infection, discharge and death and alert us on the dangers of COVID-19.
But the cog in the wheel of progress of that committee at the end of the day will be the way the palliatives are handled. Don’t forget monies are coming from people as donations. Some of these monies are also going into the palliatives. But the way the palliatives are being dispensed or distributed is extremely faulty. It doesn’t meet the target. It can be the source of the failure of the committee.
Therefore, there has to be a rethinking and rejigging of the way these palliatives, good as they are, are distributed.
What will you suggest as the best way to handle the palliatives?
The other day I saw a top government official in the FCT distributing monies in Kwali or one of the Area Councils. First, the process of distributing that money runs counter to the directive of social distancing. You do not take government money and begin to distribute it hand to hand as they are doing it without proper record on how much they could have distributed. These are things that we need to know. The way it is being distributed will allow for corruption and ‘malhandling’ of the money. By ‘malhandling’, I mean the money is not reaching where it is supposed to reach.
What am I trying to say? I listened to the US President Donald Trump the other day, where he said 80 million Americans had received their palliatives from the federal government via their accounts. Some received as much as $3,400. The Minister of Treasury also announced loans for small scale industries and businesses – the engine room for development at the local level.
We do not see that here. There is no system here. There is no system in the world where a minister will take money and move into the market place and be dishing out the money. It doesn’t work like that. Where is the presence of the Ministry of Finance in this matter? Why can’t there be a standing committee? In my opinion, I advise that we involve the senators, members of the House of Representatives, members of House of Assembly, local government chairmen and councillors, and of course, you put in a few non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to raise a committee that people can relate to.
As we speak now, it’s just at the whims and caprices of somebody. We can’t be dividing such huge sum of money without record and accountability.
Has the social register which will be expanded with one million individuals not catered for that?
You can even add five million individuals. I have no problem with that. But a system has to be put in place for distribution. You cannot sit down with a few civil servants in the ministry and the minister herself in this case. There has to be a system that applies to all. I heard the minister saying she is giving relief items to all the states. We want to know how much you have for food items to the states. Let’s assume it is x million. How are you going to divide this x million in the 37 locations? You use the system of local government. You divide it by 774 local governments.
So, if you are taking food items to Lagos, you know the number of local governments there. You now know how many bags of rice to send. We need accountability in this matter. It’s not enough to take five or six trailer loads and you say you have taken palliatives to Lagos. It doesn’t work like that. You can see the danger that in that.
Already, people are attacking vehicles that are carrying rice which I saw on television. We didn’t put a system in place that is known to the people. We should be careful. If it is happening in Lagos and Abuja and it goes round, then it becomes anarchical which may be difficult to manage.
While the committee that the SGF heads is doing a good job, the cog in the wheel of their progress is the way the palliatives are handled. And the palliative is key to the success. You said people should stay at home because palliative is coming to them. They have stayed at home for two weeks, nothing has come in and another two weeks are added. Suddenly, anarchy sets in. So, we have to rethink and reorder.
The committee itself should be more involved in the way this thing is done. I don’t think it is right to take government money and be distributing it. You ask people to form a line. I’m in the queue and collect my share. But I join the line again. How do you know that I am not collecting twice, thrice?
That is my advice to the government. I know Lagos is doing very well. But this lack of a plan from the federal government’s end for the palliatives can ruin all the good work going on there.
Are you on the same page with the leadership of the National Assembly that the Social Intervention Programmes (SIPs) be reviewed?
In everything that we do, as long as money will be distributed, there has to be a proper organisation. So, if the review will assist in giving it a proper organisational structure, I have no problem with that. But as long as we are doing things to the whims and caprices of whoever is there, then we are not going to succeed. And that is my fear. Am I on the same page with them? Yes, I’m on the same page with them.
