A head start at humanitarian ministry

The appointment of Hajia Saadiya Umar Farouk as the pioneer Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development is regarded by many as the most strategic input that gave the all-important ministry a head start in the difficult task of integrating several separate agencies of government into  a functional omnibus structure in a timely […]

The appointment of Hajia Saadiya Umar Farouk as the pioneer Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development is regarded by many as the most strategic input that gave the all-important ministry a head start in the difficult task of integrating several separate agencies of government into  a functional omnibus structure in a timely and smooth manner. It was not just another “political appointment” where affiliation looms larger than qualification. For such uncommon assignments, qualification would require the added value of experience and capacity.

With the benefit of hindsight and in the light of the seemingly effortless efficiency with which she has been performing this herculean task, it is obvious that Hajia Saadiya is qualified, experienced and capable. This is to be expected from the minister’s impactful tenure as Federal Commissioner in charge of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs.

For significantly optimising the administration’s capacity to redress the history of neglect of the deplorable plight of the nation’s huge population of disabled, distressed, deprived and displaced citizens, Hajia Saadiya has been on top of the situation, making informed pronouncements and taking impactful decisions on the major components of the schedule of the new ministry, testifying to her possession of the experience and insight to identify the problems and apply corrective measures without dilly-dallying.

While much attention has been focused on the compensatory “empowerment” schemes for youths and the elderly, the minister unveiled a more fundamental but less appreciated aspect of the ministry’s agenda  with the commencement of series of step-down training workshops for teachers and caregivers of children with special needs in Ibadan.

She declared that, “We want to have a critical mass of Nigerians who have better knowledge and skills to show care, love and affection for these categories of people so as to discover their full potentials and participate in the development of the country. I believe they should not be left out.”

This broad perspective of the mandate of her ministry was, however, not at the expense of addressing the task of institutionalising the ad hoc arrangements made for implementing some of the more popular poverty alleviation and school feeding programmes in order to make them sustainable and prudently managed.

Hajia Saadiya identified information gaps affecting the monitoring and evaluation mechanism and frameworks of the N-Power and GEEP programmes, leading to unscheduled disruptions which were redressed as part of their transfer to the new ministry.

To facilitate effective management of the programmes under ministerial supervision, Hajia Saadiya summoned the NSIP Focal Persons across the country to strategise on operational framework with a clear and improved communication strategy, emphasising that the Federal Government understood the need to focus more attention on youth empowerment by creating the enabling environment for job opportunities and capacity building.

She said the Federal Government pledged additional $1.3bn from its budget to create the Social Safety Net Programmes which have come to be known as National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) through which over four million Nigerians have directly benefited from in job training, financial assistance and social development.

Her elevation to a minister coinciding with the establishment of the Federal Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development is undoubtedly the best thing to happen in recent times to bring meaningful attention and succour to Nigeria’s most vulnerable and needy population, especially at this time of escalating human and natural tragedies.

Danliti Goga wrote from Kano