As the Buhari administration gets set for its second term, analysts are focusing on a key question: what will the administration do with the policies and programmes which are designed to improve the welfare of Nigerians at the lower levels which it implemented in its first term? This is a significant issue because the administration, from the word go, pegged its legitimacy and relevance on improving the lives of ordinary Nigerians across the country.
Buhari was particularly pleased that school children from poor homes could get at least one decent meal a day. The President’s joy is in congruence with the goals of the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme: to provide nutritious meals for primary school children, thereby encourage learning, increase enrolment in schools and create jobs for cooks.
Trader Moni involves disbursement of collateral free loans to business people including traders, women cooperatives, market women, and farmers. The recipients of the loans must be members of approved cooperatives in order to ensure that the loans are paid back. Each programme targets a specific demography, and the NSIO goes to great lengths to identify eligible beneficiaries. This is evident in the implementation of the NSIO’s National Social Safety Programme which was designed to get accurate data on poor and vulnerable households who qualify for assistance by the NSIO.
In Buhari’s second term, the Federal Government will be looking to consolidate on these results as the NSIO continues with its portfolio of social investment programmes with the VP overseeing them with his usual rigorous passion. There’s no doubt that the Osinbajo’s leadership is a key reason for the overall success of the social investment programmes. His oversight and the high-level implementation strongly indicate that these programmes are close to the heart of the Buhari administration.