Nigeria: Still On Fayose's Stomach Infrastructure

opinion

Supporters of the scheme argue that it is progressive and development-oriented. They have equally done their utmost to compare it with the welfare system in Western nations, even though they starkly contrast both in content and intent. Their argument is premised on the Yoruba saying, "Ti ebi ba kuro ninu ise, ise buse", meaning "If we remove hunger from poverty, poverty vanishes". They perhaps forget that the poverty-induced proverb (if proverb it is indeed) does not address matters of food security, job security, and the full realisation of human potentials. The fact that you have eaten this morning does not mean you are ever sure of the next meal. One therefore need not look further to see the folly in this argument!

Nigerians by now must be getting used to the latest addition to their glossary of political terms - "Stomach Infrastructure". If Chinua Achebe's A Man of the People, which was written in the 1960s is still relevant today, it only proves that it will take a longer time to win the war against piracy in Nigeria with the repackaging of the "fat-dripping, gummy, eat-and-let-eat" scheme under a new name. The most recent version, under its proper name, was made popular or reignited by the People's Democratic Party (PDP) candidate (now Governor) Ayodele Fayose during the Ekiti Gubernatorial campaign in June 2014. We must concede that the "Stomach Infrastructure" scheme is the unofficial political programme adopted by different Nigerian politicians in varying degrees; it is today the official economic/development agenda of the Ayo Fayose's administration in Ekiti State.

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