Fishes of gold in rivers of sand

According to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed who now oversees the Federal Ministry of Information, the purchase of the clean stoves is government’s way of promoting aforestation and conserving the country’s soil resources. Dr. Nurudeen explained that the contract is for the procurement of 750,000 units of clean cooking stoves […]

According to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed who now oversees the Federal Ministry of Information, the purchase of the clean stoves is government’s way of promoting aforestation and conserving the country’s soil resources.
Dr. Nurudeen explained that the contract is for the procurement of 750,000 units of clean cooking stoves and 18,000 wonder bags for the National Clean Cooking Scheme. Clarifying further, he said the scheme was expected to provide 20 million stoves over a five-year period at the rate of four million stoves per annum, which would equitably be distributed “free of charge”. When asked, officials of the Federal Ministry of Environment told journalists that the unit cost of the two items were not readily available.
The separate statements of the minister and officials of the ministry of environment quoted or referred to in the above paragraph provide ample bases for many of the criticisms that have so far trailed FEC’s approval and award of the questionable contract. But before we go in to the details of such criticisms, let us examine other contextual issues.
Let us take for granted that Nigerian “rural” women actually need such clean cooking stores. But could this be, if I may ask, their most pressing need at a time the same government is introducing austerity measures? Are cooking stoves or wonder bags basic necessities of life? What would a woman (even if she were urban) do with a stove when the food to cook with the stove is not there? I think stove or wonder bag would be the last item to be picked by a truly rural woman in Nigeria if given the option to choose between these two items and clean portable water, un-hindered access to free primary health care, literacy and efficient transport system. These are just some of the basic needs from which dearth rural women suffer great consequences in Nigeria including water-borne diseases, high maternal mortality rate and ignorance.
If government were actually sincere, there is indeed a vulnerable group in Nigeria today that has greater need to cooking stoves (whether clean or smoke-emitting) and wonder bags than rural women. Why not target women or families in internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps scattered in the north eastern part of the country? The food items donated to them by government, corporate and non-governmental organizations, communities and individuals cannot be eaten raw; making cooking stove a valuable domestic device in their situation. More ironic, however, is the procurement of cooking stoves amidst belt-tightening economic measures including devaluation of the naira, maximizing revenue generation, and a planned removal of subsidy on petrol. How come an administration that is announcing this package of austerity measures is rising at the same time to declare surplus in form of stoves and bags? The free of charge cooking stoves and wonder bags for “rural” women who are hungry and sick could metaphorically be described, in my opinion, as fishes of gold in rivers of sand.
If I may also ask, what actually determines who a “rural woman” is? Antecedents of past administrations’ application and manipulation of this phrase reveal that the appellation “rural women” refers to the other than what it practically denotes. When workshops and conferences were organized by the defunct “Better life for Rural Women”, the pet-project of late First Lady Maryam Babangida; only women directors and managing directors were seen in attendance. How are we sure that the cooking stoves and the wonder bags would not end up in the hands of such women? What is the qualification or specific trait that makes a woman rural?
Let us flash back to some of the contentions issues in the statements of the minister. He mentioned that the stoves and the bags would be distributed free of charge. That, in Nigeria, is easier said than done. Nigerians were told that vaccines are free, at least in government hospitals. But when people go there to take the vaccines, they are told to pay for syringe, needle, hand gloves, etc. How free then is such as thing? Are we sure the “rural women” would not be asked to pay or present one thing or the other before collecting the stove or bag? Anything declared free by government has actually never been so.
I find it difficult to reconcile between the 750,000 units of stove which the supervising Minister of Information said were going to be procured and the 20 million units of stove which he also said were expected to be provided under the Scheme. The claim that the unit cost of the two items to be procured is also not known gives room to smell a rat. How come then, Nigerians are asking, was the contract sum of N9.2 billion arrived at?
Others are equally wondering why such a huge amount would not be used to establish a factory for the manufacture of cooking stoves or wonder bags in Nigeria instead of boosting the economy of other nations. After over fifty years as an independent nation, Nigerian leaders still find it worthwhile to make the country a periphery of other African countries that were once colonies themselves. That’s exactly what the importation of cooking stoves from South Africa entails.
Let us pray! Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget or fall in to error. Have mercy on us and grant us victory over our challenges. This week again, Nigeria is on her knees before Thee. O Allah! Cleanse our fatherland of anything (human or material) that is impeding our journey to prosperity. We sincerely and earnestly seek Thou divine intervention in all matters.
O Allah! Thou, the Omniscient, knoweth best the overt and covert character as well as intentions of every aspirant seeking political office in the 2015 general elections. We ask Thee to deny all those who have no place for the welfare of the ordinary Nigerian in their hearts the privilege to lead this country. O Allah! Put the reins of political power in the hands of credible leaders who would be sensitive and committed to the cause of ameliorating the common plight of Nigerians. May Allah (SWT) accept our prayers, ameeeeeeen.