What Nigerians think about FG’s N5,000 stipend for the poor
Bismak Buodu, 20, car washer I think it is a great thing, but we are not close to the government to benefit from it. We don’t know how or who to get across to get the stipend, so how do we go about that? I am a student but because I’m not financially buoyant, I […]
Bismak Buodu, 20, car washer
I think it is a great thing, but we are not close to the government to benefit from it. We don’t know how or who to get across to get the stipend, so how do we go about that? I am a student but because I’m not financially buoyant, I am now a car washer. If I have access to the N5,000, I will add it to the money I have and continue from where I stopped my education. Also, while I am in school, I can open up a barber shop so I can use the money to support me while I further my education.
Dan Bala Sokoto, 25, wheelbarrow pusher
I have been hearing about this in the market. Some have been saying that if they were to receive this stipend, they will return to their villages, but as for me, I will start a sugarcane business and help my parents with the money I make from it.
Ayuba Abdul, 36, lawyer
For what it’s worth, since it was a campaign promise, the right thing to do is for the government to fulfill it. On the other hand, the question to ask is, how sustainable is it? Before they started this, Nigerians have cried that they failed to fulfill their campaign promise. I will like to believe that they are not starting something they can’t finish. If I were to be in their shoes, I think it’s better to train people than to simply hand money to them. The money that is being put into this project should have been used to train some of these people, help them acquire some skills, and then along the line give them something to start-up with. Also, I don’t know the criteria they are using to detect people that are vulnerable, as they have said. But then N5,000 to some may be something and to some nothing. I want to believe the government considered all these. But I still think they could have trained people in batches before handing them money.
Abu Yakubu, beggar
We have the information that government is going to give the poor N5,000, but that was back then when they were campaigning. We don’t know of any attempt to implement it at the moment. But if they are going to give us the money and tell us what we need to do to get it, we will comply. I’m a beggar because things got really difficult for me and my family. I lost my husband and was left with five children. My daughter also lost her husband and is left with three children. So also my son died and left behind three children now under my care. We live in Kuje together. I used to cook for a living but things became hard and I had to resort to begging. If I get the stipend I will start a business that will fetch money for me.
Sham’una Lukman, 37, driver
I think it’s a wonderful move by the government. With the situation of the country and how expensive everything is, I will be able to send money to my family to buy food with it since I moved here from Katsina to fend for my family. From the N5,000, I will send three quarter and keep one quarter for myself, so I can use it to buy what I need before I get my salary at the end of the month.