Theophilus Abbah
16 November 2008
analysis
One of the achievements of former Nigeria President, Olusegun Obasanjo, was his administration's ability to convince the Paris and London Clubs to write off Nigeria's $19 billion foreign debt.
The debt was put at $35.9 billion, out of which government paid back $16 billion to the international creditors. The forgiven debt of $19 billion, Nigerian government agreed, would be put into the process of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). So far, N3 billion has been used, but investigations have revealed that most of the projects have been abandoned, while those executed fall below standard.
Scene one: Kalung village in Shendam Local Government Area of Plateau State, North-Central Nigeria.
A large building with a weed-ridden forecourt stands alone in this remote village. Its gate stands ajar, with all indications that there is no occupier. The smell of new paints used to coat it hits the nostril even from afar. Its main entrance is under lock and key. The newly built structure is half-hidden among trees and shrubs that have overtaken the settlement, an evidence of abundant rainfall during the wet season. The building is situated close to a dusty road, almost a footpath that leads to the rural community.
This is a newly built hospital under the primary healthcare scheme sponsored by the government under the debt relief funds scheme. It is supposed to have been completed long before October, 2008 at the cost of N19,046,224.21 ($158,718.53). But the reason why the newly-built health centre was yet to be occupied was because the community was not satisfied with the quality of the materials used in constructing the building.
Longap Maigari, 30, was the first sign of life this reporter encountered in Katung and he explained the feeling of the people thus, "The community members refused to accept the hospital because the materials used by the contractor were substandard. The ceiling was leaking, while the wood used was not treated with insecticide, which makes them prone to insects."
The traditional ruler of this community of 10,000 peasants, Joseph B. Yilyaan (Niyu the third), aged 65, confirmed that the building was poorly constructed, adding, however, that he had to personally supervise the process of rectifying the faults.
He explained further that: "I have been supervising the construction of the building, except that the community complained that the roofing was not well done which was later rectified by the contractors. That delayed the handing over of the hospital to the community."
As a result of the delay in the construction work, pharmaceutical drugs supplied by another contractor began to expire, the paramount ruler added, "We were directed that the drugs should be used only when the new hospital is occupied. This makes some of the drugs to start expiring. So we had to call on nearby clinics in Shendam to come and buy off some of the drugs."
Scene Two: Dateline: Dandalama, Dawakin-Tofa Local Government Area of Kano State.
This rural community is about 1,000 kilometres away from Kalung village in Plateau State, but the people have a similar complaint as the peasants in Kalung. Indeed, the people of Kalung are quite lucky because, while the primary healthcare clinic built in Kalung is of a low quality, the project in Dandalama was abandoned at linter stage. Consequently, the walls started falling off, having been heavily beaten by the rainfall in 2008. Incidentally, in the books of the MDGs office in Abuja, it is indicated that the project, which cost N18,975,504.21 ($158,129.20) has been completed. Some leaders of the community told Sunday Trust that they would want the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the scandal and bring the contractors (names withheld) to book.
These are instances of how the $19 billion debt relief fund is being used to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Nigeria. The fund is the product of the seven-year campaign by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who argued at both the Paris and London Clubs from 1999 to 2006, that the country's heavy debt burden, put at some $36 billion, was standing in the way of the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. Actually, in 2001, Nigeria opened an MDGs office under the office of the presidency. In 2005, Mrs Amina Ibrahim, a well-respected woman in the civil society organisations circles, was appointed as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The task of this office is to monitor the disbursement and implementation of the projects being executed with the use of the debt relief funds.
Every year, since 2006, the government sets aside the equivalent of $1 billion (about N120 billion). The fund is disbursed among the ministries of health, education, water resources, agriculture, works, women, youth development etc, to assist them in executing projects that would lead to the achievement of MDGs goals. Apart from ministries, the MDGs office releases funds to state governments to execute projects that are geared towards the achievement of MDGs. The states would, however, be required to provide counterpart funds and guarantees that the projects would be successfully executed. As at 2008 fiscal year, some $3 billion had been released for the execution of numerous projects under the scheme, some successfully completed, some leading to disappointments, as the situations in Kalung and Dandalama communities above indicated. Below is the outcome of the investigation conducted in several areas on the utilisation of the debt relief funds:
HEALTH:
MDGs objective: Reduce by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015, the under five mortality rate.
In an attempt to achieve this objective, the Nigerian government created a department called the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) vested with the responsibility of working towards improved healthcare for children under the age of five and maternal health. The strategy adopted include the building of primary healthcare clinics in rural communities, like Kalung and Dandalma, where immunisations against childhood diseases, and medical treatments are provided for children, mothers and the peasants in those communities. The sum of N33 million ($275,000) is voted for each of the model PHC, a breakdown of which are as follows: N20 million for Construction and Fencing; N6.7 million for equipment; N800,000 for drugs; N1.5 million for development of ward health systems and training of health workers and community members; and N1.3 million for grants to ward development committees.
Statistics from the MDGs office stated that in 2006 alone 166 new primary health care centres were built and 207 rehabilitated across the country. The projects are executed in the various geopolitical zones of the country, made up of South-West, South-South, South-East, North-West, North-Central, and North-East. As at May 2007, an additional 111 health care centres were supposed to have been completed, which could have led to a massive revolution in the primary health care delivery in Nigeria. The total sum of money budgeted for the execution of the primary health care centres, from 2006 to 2007, is N37 billion ($308.3 million).
However, visits by Sunday Trust reporters to some of the health care centres in North-West, North-East, North-Central, and South-West, indicated that only very few of these healthcare centres were actually built, completed, and supplied with drugs. In Kano State, North-East Nigeria, for instance, communities in Burji and Kwachiri located in two local government areas of Madobi and Fagge, where primary health care clinics have been fully completed and operational, the communities are full of praises for the government. Also, in Plateau State, the people of Kumkwam village are happy with the new health centre built under the MDG programme.
However, the story is different in Rikadawa, Dan-Zabuwa and Dan-Dalama in Madobi, Bichi and Dawakin-Tofa Local Government Areas of the state. In Rikadawa village of Madobi LGA, the contractor handling the project was yet to clear the site, more than a year after the contract was awarded to him, not to talk of laying the foundation for the clinic. Ironically, in spite of the fact that the structure in Rikadawa has not been built, the company awarded the contract for the supply of drugs and other hospital facilities had since July, 2008 supplied the items. According to the Chairman, Rikadawa Ward Development Committee, Mallam Razimu Ali, the community was planning to have those drugs sold to dispensaries and health centres in the area so that they did not expire. Unfortunately, in Rikadawa, there was cholera outbreak in September, 2008, leading to the death of, at least, 20 peasants in Rikadawa. There were no health facilities to respond to this attack.
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