Sokoto Ramadan feeding raises dust

This year was not an exception as Ramadan feeding centers dotted many areas in the state.   The Ramadan feeding programme, according to the state government, was initiated   to provide free food for the less privileged members in the society in order to assuage the difficulty they may experience in feeding themselves during this fasting […]

This year was not an exception as Ramadan feeding centers dotted many areas in the state.

 

The Ramadan feeding programme, according to the state government, was initiated   to provide free food for the less privileged members in the society in order to assuage the difficulty they may experience in feeding themselves during this fasting period.

The programme which was introduced by the Aliyu Wamakko administration in the state five years ago, has over time witnessed an increase in budgetary allocation from N70 million at inception in 2007 to N162 million this year.

About 72 designated feeding centres were allotted for the feeding exercise while other 67 points run by individuals are assisted with cash of between 200,000 and N500,000 according to the Secretary to Ramadan Feeding Committee ,Garba Bello.

The programme has been described as laudable for its more to help the poor.

But there are questions on the resources allocated and what actually gets to the intended beneficiaries.

Complaints of the quality and quantity of food served as well as poor coordination blight many Ramadan feeding centres in the state.

In a number of centres, the quality of meals is low and the quantity little yet adequate foodstuffs are said to be given at intervals to the centres.

Secretary to Ramadan Feeding Committee, Garba Bello disclosed that every 10 days, 10 bags of rice, three bags of millet, one bag of beans and 10bags of sachet water were given to a centre.

jollof   rice, pap, beans cake, oranges, and dates are the types of food mainly given at the centres. However, in some centres, not all these items are given out to the generality of the people who go for food in the particular centre.

Many think the programme may be benefitting officials handling the centres more than those it was meant for, alleging   that they  may not be releasing all the items they were given for feeding the people.

There are also allegations that at some centres, special dishes are kept aside so that when an inspection team arrives they present it as what was given to the generality of the people who go for food at the given centre.

The Ramadan Feeding Committee which visits centres from time to time, has also expressed dissatisfaction over what it saw at some centres and slammed such centres for falling behind the set rules and standards.

Few days ago, the committee summoned officials of some centres to report to Ministry for Religious Affairs and explan how they run their centres. The Group of Five (G5) officials of one of the centres Fakon Idi breakfast centre were all sacked and replaced with new ones.

According to the state chairman Ramadan feeding committee, Galadinman Gari Alhaji Aliyu Attahiru the sacked officials were relieved of their assignment for failing to meet the requirements outlined for them to operate. He said the committee discovered irregularities and shortcomings on the part of the officials which necessitated their removal.

He assured that the committee would intensify the supervision of the centres in the state.

Some centers have however received commendations for effective coordination and correct quality and qualities of food were served to people at such centres.

But some people in the state have also noted that it is mainly the almajirai who patronize a number of the centres while many poor families are not benefiting.

“If you observe, there are always more almajirai on the queues then others. It is not easy for adults to go and start competing for food with them”, a resident Ahmed Shehu stated. He  and some others hold the idea that  it would be  better for  raw  food items to  be distributed to communities and ensured that each needy family gets some of it for the Ramadan period.

However, some beneficiaries of the feeding programme have expressed joy for  the free Ramadan feeding programme   which they say has gone a long way in cushioning  some  challenges  of feeding during this period.

Also, as part of efforts to bring relief to the masses in the month of Ramadan, Governor Aliyu Wamakko    ordered the release of 15,000 bags of assorted grains to be distributed to the needy in the state.

Perhaps, it was in realization that part of this gesture may be diverted from the intended beneficiaries that the governor warned that no politician or political office holder should benefit from the gesture. “It is purely for the less privileged”, he had stressed

But observers say concerted   efforts must be made to plug leakages and raise efficiency of such programmes in reaching the intended beneficiaries.