Poverty As A
Tragedy Of Death
By
Samuel Uwhejevwe-Togbolo
mfyai@yahoo.com
Poverty has becomes a genocide that is gradually eating up the poor in our
society unnoticed by the bourgeoisies who are bent on administering
hardship on the masses. Like the Tsunami disaster, poverty is a
resurrection of that ill-fated demise which slowly kills the citizenry of
a country in particular Nigerians. The stage has been set and the actors
willing to act according to their self imposed lines to the detriment of
the masses with a constant encouragement of the positive nature of their
reform agenda in the long run, perhaps the poor masses will die before
their reform agenda will liberate those it is meant to rejuvenate. The
question is, are they sincere with the reform agenda, which they are set
to accomplish? Or they are just making lip service? The most annoying
thing is that the so called reformist do not spend their money on buying
any thing for themselves rather the government does everything for them,
infact anything you can think of in life.
Poverty showed its ugly face in a family sometime July 2005, in Effurun
Delta State-Nigeria. The family and the community was thrown into mourning
as five children were snatched by the cold hands of death as a result of
hunger and starvation; this is a pathetic story, it is a story which must
be told to all and the gospel of sincerely eradicating poverty must be
preached with utmost responsibility devoid of corruption and siphoning of
funds that is made to curb the monster.
The tragedy happened one morning when there was no food on the table for
the family, the children gasped for food, asking their beloved mother to
give them food. Meanwhile the father of the home left for work that
morning promising to come back early to provide food for the family
unfortunately for the woman and the children their father was not
forthcoming, she was pathetic hearing the children crying for food; as a
mother she had to make an alternative means by preparing soup with out any
delicacy and harvested cassava from her farm which she prepared in a local
way and gave it to the children to eat, within a short time the children
started shouting “My stomach, My stomach, My stomach” all of a sudden the
children of Five (5) died one after the other while two (2) of them were
rushed to the hospital after receiving medical attention they managed to
survived the tragedy. Its pathetic to still hear of such stories at this
time of globalization and oil boom, at a time where the government is
making a lot of money from oil produce.
On the part of Government a lot of poverty alleviation programmes have
been launched to caution the effect of poverty in the society, among such
programmes are NEEDS, NAPEP, SAP, etcetera. All this programmes has not
made any significant effect on the life of the people; rather it is a
programme that is met to enrich those who formulate the policies,
politician’s vis-ŕ-vis party faithful. Policy are met to ameliorate the
travails of the people but in the Nigerian contest is to mimicked the
public, Nigerian government always have good policies and programmes that
are met to rich the life of the people, owning to their face value, paper
work and media/publication, if properly implemented poverty will be a
thing of the past.
Government should be sincere with their reform agenda instead of
administering hardship on the poor masses; any responsible government will
want to be responsive to its duties and obligations to the people in which
they govern. The government need to implement all their reform agenda to
the letters in other to achieve the goals for which such policy are made
for all stakeholders to appreciate.
It is very sad to note that no successive government has been able to
tackle the issue of poverty amidst all their policies. In recent times
there have been a lot of media/publication in cautioning the effect of
poverty in the rural and urban areas if the jingles are something to go
bye, everybody outside the shores of Nigeria will think poverty as been
laid to rest, only to know that the much eroded poverty alleviation
programmes has died a natural death with the directors and government
official in charge of such programmes are financially blessed. Instead of
poverty alleviation programmes we now have “poverty induced system and
rejuvenation” in this system the poor are lavishing in their poverty
stricken nature and the rich is getting richer like a capitalist state.
The government is not helping matters; they are making things worst for
the poor masses, the recent increase in Petroleum product could be termed
to be poverty induced system where the government is only thinking of the
gains they will have rather than the pains inflicted on the people. The
government led by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in association with PPRMC a
subsidiary of NNPC is justifying their action of constant increase in fuel
prices, which is a cock and bull stories of constant poverty in the
country. I believe BABA forgot to increase Kerosene product, meanwhile the
poor masses are appealing to BABA to forgive them their sins if they have
done any wrong to be poor, if a poor man is not expected to be a Nigerian
BABA should please inform them appropriately instead of being a prisoner
in their own country. The poor are willing to accept the government and
has resolved to co-operate with the government if Kerosene price is
reduced so that they can live in a country wish they claim to be their
home. I need an answer to this silent question “ If poverty is a sin” in
this case, the only sin the poor has committed is to be poor while the
righteous once who steal money with their pens and influence are living in
luxury.
Poverty has created a job of reproduction for the poor as they have
pleasure in making babies almost every year as a way of consoling
themselves, it is either wealth or children, one cannot afford to miss two
things at the same time, some even claim they prefer children than riches,
however these claims are born out of frustration and dejection. In the
previous case mention above the family that lost Five (5) children,
according to the man, he still has Eight (8) children left after the
demise of five; this is a football theme with Two (2) reserve players on
the bench, if not for the death of five, supers eagles should have just
engage the man as he will be a good coach. To the poor, their reason of
having too many children is a trier by error of attaining the height,
which they desire, saying that amidst plenty children it is possible to
have a governor, doctor, engineer and taut, hence it is called trier by
error, which means no venture no success.
The philosophy of making too many babies occasioned by poverty should be
discouraged by the government, the government should try to reinstate the
confident that the masse has in government by assisting them in any aspect
of life that will make them productive to themselves and the society. The
government needs to assist NGOs to preach against making too many babies,
in this manner, the over population syndrome which is one of the factors
that is drawing the nation backward will be assassinated. This will be the
beginning of making a new Nigeria, our population size is so large that
almost all polices made cannot make any impact in the lives of the people.
In doing this, there must be sincerity on the part of the government and
does that are empowered should carryout the functions of alleviating
poverty in the nation.
Movement for Youth Actualization International (MYAI) a Non governmental
organization (NGO) is in the campaign against having too many children, in
any situation one should be able to have the number of children that he
can take good care of rather than expose the children to social vices that
are inimical to their lives. Children are blessings from God and it
beholds all to be responsibly to the plight of their children and not to
fail like Poverty alleviation programmes.
MYAI is appealing to the government to also show arms of love and
fellowship by assisting the poor in the society most of whom are helpless
and frustrated by the economic hardship currently in the Country unnoticed
by the Government and its agencies. The organization is sincerely and
reliably informing all stakeholders on the sharp increase of death related
to hunger and starvation as a result of rapid increase in foodstuffs in
the market occasioned by incessant increase in the price of PMS etcetera.
The genes of poverty must be broken and collectively we must do it, all is
not well until something is done fast with all urgency and transparency.
Long lives the federal republic of Nigeria
Long live the poor masses.
Movement for Youth Actualization International (MYAI) a Non governmental
organization (NGO) in Nigeria.
mfyai@yahoo.com
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