Many rural communities in Kogi state can breathe a sigh of relief from under-development following the intervention of Kogi State Community and Social Development Agency as SALIHU OYIBO reports.
Apparently, the provision of basic amenities to rural areas in line with the tenets of the constitution is the responsibility of government at all levels. Many communities in Kogi state have hitherto suffered dearth of infrastructure and basic necessities of life like potable water, road, healthcare, educational facilities, electricity, among other needs pivotal to life.
However, these sad stories have drastically changed following interventions by Kogi State Community and Social Development Agency (KGCSDA) in partnership with the World Bank and the federal government.
The Community and Social Development Project (CSDP) is a Community Driven Development (CDD) intervention established by the federal government and World Bank in collaboration with state governments to effectively target social and environmental infrastructure at the community levels as well as improved local government responsibility to service delivery.
KGCSDA which was established in March 2009 as an intervention agency, has the mandate of improving the socio-economic condition of the population at the grassroots based on a demand-driven approach to project selection.
The project design cuts across multi-sectors which include education, health, water, transport, rural electrification, socio-economic, natural resources/environmental sector as well as vulnerability and gender.
How the agency operatesInterestingly, while the agency takes responsibility for 90 percent cost of each project executed across the communities, each benefitting community usually pays 10 percent of the project cost as counterpart contributions to engender their commitments and participation in the projects.
This arrangement however gave ownership of the projects to communities as execution and maintenance of the projects falls on the shoulders of the benefitting communities.
The agency under the leadership of Mallam Momoh Dauda had put smiles on the faces of many communities across the three senatorial district of the state.
Examples of projects executedSome communities in the hinterland that have never benefited from government projects in recent times got pipe-borne water, clinic and other amenities through the agency.
One of such communities is Ukowa-Uvete, a community situated on a mountain in Okene local government. Several attempt by government and National Assembly members to provide water for the people of the community was to no avail, but the agency did the magic. Today, residents that had to trek long distance to access water now have it at their door steps.
Aside water, the community also benefitted from road rehabilitation and installation of street lights that now gives them bright environment at night. Other projects provided by the agency in the last two years under the leadership Mallam Dauda are Agalupa road drainage in Kabba Bunu LGA, Agassa Uvete borehole, Ajimasi concret road, Anyava borehole, Anyava clinic, Aboze Skills Centre all in Okene LGA.
Others are Avrugo Skills Acquisition Centre, Etahi School Ogbogba, Okaito central borehole, Owowolo clinic Ekirin Ade, among others.
In all, the agency within the period embarked on over 72 micro projects in the East senatorial district, over 70 in Central and over 68 in the West senatorial districts.Also as a way of maintaining the projects, the agency trained beneficiary communities on facility maintenance and sustainability for Community Project Management Committee (CPMC).
Agency boss elaboratesSpeaking with newsmen recently, the general manager of the agency, Mallam Momoh Dauda disclosed that in the additional financing, four million dollars is expected to be spent on projects in each participating state of the federation. He noted that some states have not been able to spend the sum while others have exhausted the credit money on projects.
“When I came into the agency in April 2018, KSCSDA was under suspension for over a year which hindered project execution.
“Luckily enough, I met staff members willing to work; I charged them to brace up so that we can spend the allocation of the money given to the agency.
“Today, I am happy to inform you that year in year out, we have always being surpassing our previous achievements. For year 2020, we had only six months which was suppose to end in June, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the duration was extended to the end of September and before the end of the month, we would finish attending to all the benefiting communities.
“In addition, the agency has embarked on a number of micro-projects, some of which have direct impacts on the socio-economic lives of the target population.
“For instance, the agency has been involved in micro-projects in education, health, water, rural electrification, transport, socio-economic, environment, natural resources, gender and vulnerable groups.
“Some of the micro-projects in these sector-specific areas include classroom blocks, health centres, drilling of bore-holes, rural electrification, roads/bridges, market stalls, civic/skills acquisition centres and construction of public toilets.
Commissioning Ize Skills Acquisition Centre funded by the agency at Okekere in Obehira community, the general manager charged benefitting communities to provide adequate security for the sustainability of the projects.
He pointed out that any project approved and funded by the agency is expected to satisfy the yearning of the people, stressing that the only way such projects can be of immense benefits to the communities is through the provision of adequate security to safeguard the projects against any forms of vandalisation.
“The process of getting the project done is community- driven which means that the communities take ownership of the project right from the onset.”Therefore, we expect nothing less from the owners in taking good care of these projects. We have trained the communities and empowered them to ensure the sustainability of the projects,” he said.
Beneficiaries commentCommenting on the performance of the agency, a resident of Odo-Akete community in Kabba-Bunu where water and erosion/drainage projects were executed, Mr Linus Oloruntoba said the projects have helped in addressing the problem of perennial flooding that has been bedevilling the community for years.
Also a resident of the community, Esther Adebayo said they hitherto walked four to six miles to get water, but the provision of borehole in the locality has brought relief to them.
For Maimuna Yusuf of Inike community in Okene LGA, the borehole executed in the area has brought succour to them as they no longer have to go far before having access to potable water.
She appealed for more funding from the state government to enable the agency provide more basic social amenities to the people at the grassroots.Also speaking, a member of Inese/Ovakere community in Adavi LGA, Abdulrahim Tijani said, “We used to experience water scarcity in the community but the execution of water project has brought succour to us. The electricity project executed for us by the agency has also removed us from darkness and with this new development, the welfare of some of us that used light as sources of our livelihood has improved drastically.”
A community leader in Agassa community, Musa Abdullahi, where drainage channelisation and culverts projects were executed, lauded the intervention.”Each time it rains, nobody can come in or go out of the community until after about two hours due to lack of culverts on our roads.
“We have been battling with couple of environmental issues but thank God with your coming, we have been able to overcome. With the completion of the two projects you have already executed, we are heaving a sigh of relief.”During the period of August and September, it is usually hell for those living around the drainage channels; some houses get submerged, flooded and all manner of things happening but with the completion of the drainage and culvert project, we are rest assured that such flood will not occur again. We thank the agency,” he said.
At Ubonye in Ibaji, a local, John Akor, expressed delight over the health facility provided in the community, saying it has helped in improving access to basic healthcare by the people.
Also at Okpo in Olamaboro LGA, members of the Joint Association of Persons living with Disabilities (JONAPOD), vulnerable group were overwhelmed with joy over the projects provided for the community by KSCSDA.
One of the group leaders, Mr Armstrong Shaibu, expressed gratitude to the state government and the agency for supporting the community to have those facilities.
He said before now, the community was treated with pity but the agency has recognised them as a people with dignity and has empowered them through the provision of skills acquisition centre for sustainable means of livelihood.The JONAPOD Skills Centre provides platform for the training in trades such as bead making, bag, shoe-making, tailoring, barbing and hair dressing with computer.
Obviously, the agency seems to be happy with the level of impacts its projects have had on benefitting communities.
The various projects have improved the socio-economic condition of the population at the grassroots based on a demand-driven approach to project selection and implementations, but the onus now lay on benefitting communities to maintain and sustain the projects to serve them for years considering the fact that if well maintained against vandals, some of them can serve the people for upward of 40 to 50 years.
