NSIP – Lifting Nigerians Out of Poverty (2)
The Impact Evaluation Summary of the NHGSFP has been particularly heartwarming – given the dire figures Nigeria was recording on a regular basis before the programme. For example:
- Before the advent of the programme, only 67% of enrolled pupils were able to complete primary education, out of a national primary enrolment rate of 83.81%. Also, 1 in every 5 of the world’s out of school children lives in Nigeria, with over 10 million of the country’s children between the ages of 5-14 years not in school, of which 45% are girls.
Today, what has been the result of NHGSFP’s intervention? From the sample of schools studied, the Policy Innovation Unit (PIU) found that teachers in NHGSF schools reported a 12.5% increase in the average number of pupils enrolled (from primary 1 to 3). A large proportion of NHGSF teachers (92.1%) across the 600 schools sampled across 6 states in each of the 6 geopolitical zones reported an increase in enrolment. Given the fact that the programme is relatively new in some states (since not all states in the country were on board the programme as at 2015) the programme is still gaining momentum in a number of states and the expectation is that of continued positive signs of enrollment as the programme progresses. The programme had anticipated a national target of 20% enrolment increment rate by 2019, and the foregoing results indicate that the NHGSF is on track to achieving this target, even though its implementers are still unsatisfied with its overall pace.
Apart from attendance, academic performance has improved dramatically: 94.9% of teachers in HGSF schools reported an increase in academic performance of pupils in primary 1 to 3 between 2015 and 2018. In addition to this, 61% of teachers in HGSF schools reported that the performance of their pupils in 2018 was excellent (which, admittedly, may have been impacted by factors other than feeding –quality of teachers, teaching, learning environment, learning tools etc.) compared to the 7% of teachers who introspectively considered performances of students excellent 3 year ago (2015). Teachers in NHGSF schools reported better perceived academic performance of their students compared to the reports of teachers in non-NHGSF schools. The PIU also found a statistically significant improvement in attendance, specifically time spent in school.
- Before now, 37% of Nigerian children under the age of 5 years were stunted, while about 12 million children of the same age range suffered from chronic malnutrition (stunting or low height-for-age). In view of this, the objective of the NHGSFP was clear: to decrease malnutrition and low-height-for-age.
The result of this determined effort, according to the PIU’s findings, has been as follows:
The study found slightly lower levels of stunting (height-for-age) among pupils in NHGSF schools (15.4% boys and 13.5% girls) compared to pupils in non-NHGSF schools (19.5% boys and 15.9% girls). This rather slight difference could be caused by external factors such as parents of pupils in NHGSF not providing their children with breakfast or lunch as they would otherwise have or as a result of external hygienic factors – which dampens the effect of the quality meals provided to them at school.
- Pre-NHGSF, small-holder farmers suffered over 40% post-harvest losses and the consequent loss of income as a result of poor linkages to the market (in terms of off-takers and processing), including poor access to energy and processing facilities. The NHGSF’s response to this? Build a community value-added chain to ensure agricultural production and job-creation.
And the outcome? Heads of Farmers’ Associations/Cooperatives in NHGSF communities (62.7%) are happy to report that their output has increased since 2015. Only 10.9% stated their output had remained the same, while 26.4% reported a decline in their output. The Farmer Associations/Cooperatives alsonoted that over 50% of their membership are comprised of medium-scale farmers, most of which are legume and livestock farmers, followed by farmers of tubers and vegetables. Almost all of the respondents (94.6%) were fully aware of the programme’s operations and positive impact in their respective states and localities. With the increases recorded in agricultural output, farmers have reported a consistent increase in their incomes, with different states showing varying degrees of consistent income rise. In order to ascertain the exact impact of the Programme on output and farmer income, the management of the NHGSFi s currently piloting a cloud-based system in registering farmers in NHGSF communities as the first step in integrating them in its value chain. Though most farmers largely sell their produce to general market buyers, 22.7% of farmers in a number of states sell directly to the NHGSF cooks – which indicates that the programme is impacting farmers’ livelihoods to a greater extent compared to non-NHGSF areas.
- At the root of female poverty and inequality between the two gender groups – especially in rural areas – lies the deprivation of access to basic necessities such as food, healthcare, sanitation, education and assets. The programme’s response to this was to empower unskilled rural women as cooks to enhance their means of livelihood.
Today, 50.8% of NHGSF-employed cooks reported that they were paid monthly, while (28.9%) reported bi-weekly, and a few, daily and weekly. 64.4% of cooks reported an increase in their monthly income – at an average of about N11, 266 a month. Also, 61% of cooks also reported an increase in their monthly savings. On average, they were found to have saved NGN1, 285 more than they did before they became NHGSF-employed cooks. They expressed increased engagement with more cooperative/rotational savings groups after being employed. Also, some of them cook in groups or clusters and are more likely to be exposed to joining new collective saving groups.
- b) The National Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Programme
The CCT aims at responding to deficiencies in capacity and lack of investment in human capital of poor and vulnerable households through unconditional, bi-monthly cash transfers to the poorest and most vulnerable persons in Nigeria. In addition, beneficiaries receive livelihood support, which is intended to facilitate their exit from the clutches of poverty. Beneficiaries are trained on Life Skills, Savings and Group Mobilization and Micro-Business Plan Development to strengthen their self-supporting capacity. Prior to the advent of the Buhari Administration, a Social Register was developed under the World Bank-assisted Youth Empowerment and Social Support Operation (YESSO) programme in the Federal Ministry of Finance. As at 2015, that Register hosted about 67,000 households across 8 States in the country and was managed using basic Excel sheets. One of the first things the present government did was to commence the cleaning and ramping up of a National Social Register (NSR) comprising the initial 8 State Social Registers of data relating to poor and vulnerable households through a tried and tested community-based targeting method, from which the cash transfer beneficiaries are mined. Today, the NSR is currently in different stages of development across 34 States and the FCT with about 1,091,000 households representing over 4 million individuals captured so far. The Social Register is hosted in the Ministry of Planning of each State, after the State and LGA officials are trained to support the identification process by the community. One caregiver (and one alternate) in the identified households are thereafter issued with an ID card and enrolled for cash payments, training and mentorship through the State Cash Transfer Office.
Direct payments aremade to caregivers in the locality of residence through mobile money agents selected in an open and transparent procurement process. Mobile money agents now have a built-in back end technology that enables us view the payments in a timely manner, which makes reconciliation seamless, trackable and transparent – as opposed to the days of paper-based reconciliation. Also, local government community facilitators are trained in every ward, who conduct weekly visits to the beneficiaries to train, mentor and support them on the formation of savings groups, financial skills, sanitation, hygiene and nutrition. They visit the caregivers every week to engage them on how to remain productive with the cash received.
The NSIP has enrolled 422,992 care givers in 26 States, who are currently being paid N10, 000 every two months, and supported to ensure they save and become productive, thereby taking ownership of their lives and livelihoods. Eligibility criteria are based on the household being the “poorest of the poor” (unable to meet the most basic urgent needs). The standard structure is 30 communities per LGA and a maximum of 40 households per community.
According to the PIU, there are more female beneficiary-represented household (59.1%), compared to 40.9% male beneficiary-represented households. The average household size of CCT beneficiaries stands at 6.8 persons, higher than the National Bureau of Statistics general household survey estimate of 5.9 and 4.9 persons in rural and urban areas respectively. 44.9% of the beneficiaries enrolled in the CCT programme have no formal education, while about 36% have a primary school education and only 15.3% have a secondary school education and 2.6% have a form of tertiary education. Nevertheless, 60% of CCT beneficiaries spend NGN10,000 per school year on their children’s education, compared to (56.3%) for non-beneficiaries. Interestingly, 71.8% of those enrolled in CCT indicated that their occupation is still their main source of income, while 18.3% reported that cash transfer from government is their main source of income.
An integral part of Nigeria’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals is the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achievement of universal primary education, reduction in child mortality, improvement of maternal health and promotion of gender equality. To this end, the CCT has committed itself, through its cash transfers, to livelihoods that in turn sustain the cash transfers.
The result of this commitment is that over 89.5% of CCT beneficiaries do not have alternative businesses, in comparison to non-beneficiaries that have more alternative businesses. A high percentage (81.6%) of beneficiaries have at least 1 child in their household between 6 and 18 years enrolled in school, in comparison to only 74.7% for non-beneficiaries. CCT beneficiaries have more members of their household involved in a variety of income generating activities, and they also generates income more frequently when compared to non-beneficiaries on a weekly (26.8% vs 25.7%) and monthly (29.5% vs 23.4%) basis. On an intangible level, the CCT has instilled hope in households which tends to trigger proactive income generating opportunities.
In its response to the alarming number of out of school children in Nigeria, which is the highest in the world, as well as poor access to healthcare services due to lack of funds; lack of primary healthcare centres in the community; and preference for alternative healthcare services, the CCT set itself the objective of improving the psychological well-being of its beneficiaries (as measured by their self-esteem).
The outcome of this, according to the PIU’s findings, is that more CCT beneficiaries have at least 1 child in school, which is 7% more than non-beneficiaries. 60% of beneficiaries reported that they spent at least NGN3, 000 on educational goods such as uniform, books,etc, per school term, amounting to over 20% of their bi-monthly cash transfer value. This clearly shows that CCT programmes are effective at improving school enrolment and participation. For beneficiaries, using the CCT for school costs is an important livelihood choice in terms of investing in their children’s economic future.
Also, about 64% of CCT beneficiaries are able to access healthcare services with treatment for illness; general medical check-up; immunization and maternity services. It is well-known that bi-directional relationship exists between psychological well-being and income; an individual’s well-being can influence his income, and the economic well-being of an individual plays a vital role in determining their state of mental health.
Due to the fact that poor households often lack access to a secure means of saving, which in turn excludes them from access to financial security, the CCT set itself the objective of improved ownership of assets and possession of bank accounts.
Result? CCT beneficiaries possess assets that can generate income for them on the long-run, such as more cows and small livestock, bicycles, phones, etc. compared to non-beneficiaries who own non-productive possessions such as furniture, television, generators, etc. Ownership of livestock are important for livelihoods as they are not only a means of food but can also provide significant potential for poverty alleviation through engagements in both the labour and product markets. The CCT has a positive impact on the probability of beneficiaries saving higher amounts of money in comparison with non-beneficiaries, which enables households to cope with household needs and unexpected shocks, as well as enabling productive investments. The CCT programme has had a significant impact on financial access and increased the ability of beneficiaries to own bank accounts, provided that beneficiaries have access to facilities appropriate in which to save.
CCT’s decision to designate the female head of the family as the direct beneficiary of the cash transfer is in line with CCT’s commitment to women’s empowerment and active participation in the family and community decision-making process.
The outcome of this is that a large majority of the CCT beneficiaries are women – this was evident from the sample group, where 59.1% of the beneficiaries are female; in fact, 30.4% of the CCT beneficiaries reported that they make joint financial decisions on allocating household income to needs such as food, school fees and medical bills compared to 18.8% of the non-beneficiaries. Evidence suggests that making females the beneficiaries empowers women’s decision-making power and choices especially around marriage and fertility, and this trickles down to the welfare of children in the family, as well as reduces physical abuse by their partners.
Government Enterprise Empowerment Programme (GEEP)
This programme aims to promote financial inclusion and access to credit for MSMEs, market traders, artisans, youth and farmers, as well as provide affordable microloans to at least 4 million businesses in 4 years in a bid to achieve growth through MSMEs and reducing the financial exclusion rate in Nigeria. GEEP was designed to provide microcredit and sector-relevant technical assistance to develop and grow at least 1.6 million beneficiaries annually– of which 60% are women and 12.5% are youth entrepreneurs in the 6 geopolitical zones. These target segments collectively account for 27 million of the Nigerian population, leading to an increase in financial inclusion with 3.8 million new bank accounts, which comes to a 3.9% increase in Nigeria’s financial inclusion rate by 2020. GEEP is also projected to provide financial literacy to its beneficiaries, with 31 hours of financial literacy made available to each beneficiary over the course of the loan.
GEEP runs 3 microcredit schemes; MarketMoni, TraderMoni andFarmerMoni.
The establishment of GEEP is impelled by a number of considerations:
- The Nigerian informal labour force is estimated to constitute between 45% to 60% of the urban labour market and faces significant and persistent credit and money constraints due to the inability of financial institutions to meet up with its capital demands. A survey conducted jointly by the NBS and SMEDAN shows that there are about 17.28 million MSMEs in Nigeria employing 32.41 million people and accounting for half of Nigeria’s GDP. The objective of GEEP, therefore, was to improve the impact of microloans on investment in working capital (i.e., value of MSME asset) and job creation. The result of this effort, so far, is an average increase of NGN6,729.27 in sales and NGN45,833.78 in the value of MSMEs that received MarketMoni. Beneficiaries are stocking more goods for sale, and there is a significant increase in business performance as measured by sales and inventory – which means that beneficiaries are utilizing the loan to grow their businesses. The same goes for MarketMoni recipients, who have reported higher amount of sales per week as a result of the purchase of higher quantities of goods as well as the utilization of sales enhancing strategies.
- Of the 17.28 million MSMEs in Nigeria, the CBN says that only 4.2 million have access to finance. The capacity of the MSME sector to contribute further to the economic growth of Nigeria is therefore limited by its inability to secure credit from Deposit Money Banks, and this situation has created a huge financing gap of about NGN9.6 trillion. In view of this, GEEP set itself the objective of improving financial inclusion and access to financial services (i.e., bank usage; savings and mobile banking/mobile money usage). Thanks to GEEP’s efforts, TraderMoni beneficiaries have increased their savings in bank accounts, and a greater overall use of financial services. Also, the presence of very high Mobile connectivity increases MarketMoni recipients deposit in their bank accounts compared to areas with no mobile connectivity. For this reason, recipients are making more deposits into their mobile money accounts – thanks to the fact that recipients receive disbursements through mobile money accounts and are thusmore exposed to its use. The system of loan receipts impacts beneficiary savings behaviour.
- A large proportion of Nigeria’s population has never had access to financial institutions that could provide financial services – situation which has seriously affected the growth and development of the agricultural sector, especially the smallholder farmers who contribute roughly 70% of employment and 22% of GDP. The objective of GEEP in this regard was to increase household consumption, and the result of this intervention has been tremendous – especially in respect of TraderMoni and MarketMoni recipients.
Sadly, one of the banes of national development in Nigeria is the problem of inadequate data keeping.In respect of this, the NSIO and its partners – under the leadership of Mrs. Mariam Uwais, have ensured a systematic and structured approach to developing and expanding the data ecosystem for social protection, social security and social investment in Nigeria. Among other measures, the NSIO has developed the following:
- A Social Investment Roadmap: the lessons learnt from the success of its programmes, as well as the strategy already documented in the National Social Protection Policy, have led the NSIO to commence the process of designing a roadmap for institutionalizing sustainable delivery towards clearly defined socio-economic and poverty alleviation targets, as well as a comprehensive structure for the next 5 years. Verifiable targets are currently being set towards reducing poverty and ameliorating Nigeria’s rather poor human capital indices, as well as a thorough assessment of sustained financing for the social sector, through the consideration of feasible funding options.
- Financial Inclusion:The NSIO is driving financial inclusion by facilitating identification through the Bank Verification Number, BVN (which is the Nigerian Biometric Identification System for Banking). Through this, the most financially excluded Nigerians are being brought into the nation’s financial system.
- Social Inclusion: The BVN of the various categories of NSIP beneficiaries is also linked to the National Identification Number database at the Nigerian Identity Management Commission, NIMC, an arrangement which helps identify and bring into visibility those who had never ‘existed'(faceless Nigerians with no formal identity) before the NSIPs, and making for proper planning.
- Data for National Planning: Data collated by the CCT Programme includes important information on critical community characteristics for national planning such as: nearest primary/secondary schools, primary healthcare centers, payment service providers, connectivity infrastructure and networks, etc., as well as the nature of access roads to respective communities, so as to strategically facilitate the efforts by relevant governments within their purview.
- A Database for Unemployed Graduates: The N-Power portal, having processed over 2.5m applicants so far, hosts a database of unemployed graduates seeking employment and as such provides a veritable platform for engaging graduates for both the private and public sectors with data providing details of qualifications, BVN, age, phone numbers, interests, etc.
- Leveraging Support of Local Community to Monitor Programmes:
Through the support of ActionAid, the NSIO has engaged third party monitors CSOsin order to guarantee citizen participation and social accountability – in addition to training over 2,300N-Power monitors who reside in LGAs around the country to engage and give feedback from beneficiaries on activities at the field level. Each of them is equipped with a customized technology device to enable effective and structured reporting back to the Federal level. Efforts are currently on to setup a volunteer platform/initiative.
- Advocacy and Communication: With the support of inter-governmental bodies such as DFID, UNICEF & the EPRI, the NSIO has developed a Business Case for Social Protection in Nigeria as a means of ensuring long term funding and sustainability, as well as adopted a communication strategy that helps drive advocacy across the country through listening tours, social and print media, radio, as well as other communication channels.
The problem of underfunding is one that the NSIO has had to grapple with some time now – in spite of the allocation of the sum of N500, 000,000.00 by the authorities. In the estimation of the Special Adviser to the President on the Social Intervention Programmes, Mrs. Mariam Uwais, other challenges that go beyond funding are in the areas of reliable payment, monitoring and communication such as: lack of awareness/publicity due to diverse and huge territory covered; poor connectivity and internet access for technology-aided timely and secure payments; and remoteness of the locations where beneficiaries reside, so that complaints not addressed in a timely manner. Another challenge, she says, is in the area of StateandLGA operations, such as attempts by some State officials to short-change field officers and beneficiaries in their payments; unresponsive and unmotivated state officials; and attempts at racketeering around the farmer-caterer food purchase process. A third challenge, Uwais added, is in the exploitation of the vulnerable would-be beneficiaries, for example, byattempting to exploit their low literacy and poverty levels and extorting unapproved fees from them.
In spite of these challenges, Mrs. Uwais says, the National Social Investment Programmes have cumulatively made a direct impact on over 12 million Nigeriansas at the end of April 2019. That number is exclusive of secondary beneficiaries (the mothers cooking the meals for the children, farmers selling produce to the cooks, amongst other suppliers in the value chain). The figure for the total number of beneficiaries in all categories would be closer to over 30 million Nigerians, she says.
The unflinching support of President Buhari and Vice-President Osinbajo, the Special Adviser adds, has been crucial to the NSIO’s ability to surmount the above and other challenges and maximize its opportunities, especially in its efforts to ensure a level-playing field for all Nigerians, irrespective of culture, ethnicity and political affiliation, thereby allowing for beneficiaries to engage in all the programmes on offer without any connection to influential persons.This is in addition to the fact that the NSIO’s accounting and procurement processes are removed from its purview and handled by a separate Ministry.
Mrs. Uwais also expressed satisfaction with the opportunity she has had to lay the foundation for the objective, transparent, accountable, efficient and cost-effective application of funds towards achieving her stated mandate – in line with the organization’s mantra: Transparency, Commitment, Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness.
A lawyer by training, Mariam Uwais has brought to her office her penchant for precision at all times, her ability to communicate her thoughts and ideas, her insistence on the imperative of abiding by due process, respect for rules and authority, as well as her love for constitutional law. She also owes the success of her stewardship at her current assignment to her ability to weigh and explore sundry possibilities, as well as her personal ethics, diligence, critical thinking, and her love for research, design and structures – all of which draw from her discipline in law – which have more than made up for relative lack of experience in the nitty-gritty of business.
Registration for the Law Week is still ongoing and multiple registration channels have been provided by the Law Week Committee towards a seamless and hassle-free registration experience for participants.
This includes payment at the banks or through POS at the Lagos NBA branch office. Participants can also download the registration form and pay through the payment gateway indicated on the branch website.
The registration rates are below:
- 1 – 7 years: N3,500
- 8 – 15 years: N5,000
- 16 – 19 years is 10,000
- 20 years and above is N15,000
- SANs and Benchers N25,000
Interested participants are to make their payments to the Nigerian Bar Association, Lagos Branch at Access Bank. The Account Number is 0728253326. Please return the registration form to the branch office with proof of payment.
For enquiries, please contact:
Nkem Agboti
08035739791
nagboti@gmail.com.
Uche Nwadialo
08098030060
u.nwadialo@gmail.com
Oluyemisi Iwajomo
08064112076
oiwajomo@babalakinandco.com
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