NIGERIANS have called on the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to ensure it attends promptly to all the demands of Nigerian youths and not implement promises only on paper.
Speaking in separate interviews with The Point, the economists and public affairs analysts noted that the destruction of properties and loss of lives that came with the #EndSARS protests could have been avoided if successive governments had been proactive.
Now that many Nigerians believe that everyone should go to the dialogue table and end the protests, they said the Federal Government had a good opportunity to mend the little that could be repaired and right its wrongs.
They urged the Federal Government to ensure that funds rolled out to help businesses that had suffered huge losses from looting and vandalisation of properties were channelled to the right areas.
“The youth funds which the Central Bank of Nigeria said would be pegged at N3m per beneficiary should be properly managed. It is a noble idea but our experience in Nigeria has shown that all these things are usually on paper. After a while, when questions are being asked, they will put the names of their gate men, mechanics, nannies and cooks on the list of beneficiaries after giving the opportunities to their family members and cronies alone,” Dr. Chris Ikemefuna, an economist, said.
“If the funds are judiciously utilised, the ripple effect of employment creation by the SMEs that will spring up will do a lot to reduce the poverty rate in the country and ease the current economic hardship,” he added.
The Chief Executive Officer of UNIC Farms, Lizzy Ayomipo, commended the state governments that had set up specific life lines for businesses that had suffered from the activities of hoodlums that hijacked the #EndSARS protests in many parts of the country, but added that nothing would be achieved if there was no proper monitoring of the implementation of plans.
She said, “Oyo, Kwara, Osun and other states have announced intervention funds to help businesses recover. Central government too. While this should be commended, we all know that most times, the problem lies in the hands of those that are to implement the projects. You just hear of funds on paper and don’t see the impact on the economy.
“For once, in line with what the youths have been asking for, good governance, let us start with the implementation of these relief plans. A son or daughter of nobody, who knows no one in government should benefit. In fact, they should be the greatest beneficiaries. When funds are channeled to the right places, it must reflect on our human development index.”
The National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, Chief Ralphs Nwosu, also tasked the current administration on good governance, saying that Nigerian youths were tired of bad governance.
He said, “The funds they are announcing were not taken from their private pockets but from the national and state purses, so there is no need commending anyone for doing what they should have done in the first place. You do not have to wait for a crisis situation to do the right thing.
“They should only ensure that the funds are used for what they are meant for. Let this not be another avenue for enemies of the country to further enrich themselves at the expense of the poor and suffering masses.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria, on Thursday, released the guidelines for the N12.5bn Nigeria Youth Investment Fund, pegging the maximun amount that can be accessed per beneficiary at N3million.
Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State also disclosed that he had set aside N2.6 billion SME fund for organised youths’ cooperatives in all the Local Government Areas of state and advised them to dialogue with his government and make their inputs in governance.
In the same vein, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State unveiled N1bn facility for victims of police brutality and MSMEs in the state. The Osun and Kwara State governments, among others, have also provided grants and soft loans, following the looting and property destruction that trailed the #EndSARS protests.
