Duke And The Poverty Question

The former United States' president, Lyndon B. Johnson told the American people that poverty means, "coming home each night empty handed to look at the expectant faces of your children who lack the things they need. It means a lonely battle to maintain pride and self- respect in a family that you cannot provide for".

But the Cross River State Governor, Mr. Donald Duke views poverty as a manifestation which consigns the people to low income level, unproductive resources, hunger, disease, lack of access to education and health care, lack of sustainable livelihood as well as deprivation of access to basic social services.

Though Cross River State has abundant human and natura1 resources with rich flora and fauna, these resources, have overtime, remained largely untapped and underdeveloped. Though it has large expanse of arable land that supports the cultivation of both cash and food crops with a total population of three million people and a projected 600,000 families, the people have remained poor.

Perhaps it was the down slide and overbearing effect of poverty on the people that goaded Governor Donald Duke after taking his oath of office, to declare unconditional war against poverty in the State. The essence is to ameliorate the burden of the people as well as raise the annua1 average income of these families from the present N10, 000 to N100, 000.00 in about 10 years.

The Donald Duke led administration then resolved to confront the programme in phases using select target communities as experimental grounds. In this connection, Uyanga Community in Akamkpa local Government Area was chosen as a model for the implementation of the project. Uyanga was a typical local community before the inception of the current Community based Development initiative. The community sustains a population of 25,000 Inhabitants. About 65 percent of this population are believed to have migrated from neighbouring States, Akwa Ibom and Abia for petty trade and exploitation of timber. The indigenous inhabitants are said to be principally subsistent farming.

Though Uyanga has remained a call station for travelers since the colonial period, its economy is still primitive and the general living condition deplorable. Today theirs is a success story.

This poverty, amelioration programme which mainly employs the Community Development Initiative (CDI) requires the identification of priority projects by each benefiting and participating community as well as their active involvement in such projects through the supply of labour, while the State Government and donor agencies provide the much needed Finances, other inputs and technical know-how.

The United Nations, European Union, World Bank among others are part of the crew expected to support the State Government's committed fight to alleviate the high rate of poverty among its people. In this regard, the Cross River State Donors Conference slated for 8th through 10th November, 2000 is a welcome development in view of the fact that it will afford the donor agencies and the State Governments ample opportunity to re-appraise the implementation of the Uyanga Poverty Alleviation Programme, using the Community Development initiative to which all are stake holders. It will also rekindle and strengthen the confidence of the donors, in the ability of the Cross River State Government to make good use of their contribution.

Aside from that, the donors conference committee on Poverty Alleviation Programme of the State Government is designed principally as a facilitator to actualise the dream of providing basic infrastucture for development.

The Uyanga model Community is essentially the effort of the State Government Development and Poverty Alleviation Agency to show case its concept of Community based poverty reduction programme.

So far the State government has constructed the following facilities. Feeder roads to farms and plantations to ease evacuation of farm produce, expansion of street roads for improved accessibility. Establishment of an Ultra Modern Health Care the up-grading of St. Paul's Primary School facilities to meet the needs of the teeming enrollment of pupils for Primary Education and the establishment of a Secondary School to stem rural-urban drift among the youths in the area. A mini-water scheme with full reticulation, a magistrate court, a police post, a model market and a fire station are among the lot.

The State Government has also gone ahead to establish a civic centre at Uyanga to enhance social mobility, public enlightenment campaigns especially on Government's activities, policies and programmes. Also, Agro-based Industries for processing of Agricultural Primary produce, to add value to farm produce has been established in the area.

Again, Uyanga has now has a technica1 centre where basic skills can be acquired in the maintainance of facilities that are being provided for the Community.

When the president announced a couple of weeks ago that the poverty alleviation programme is to be replaced by National Youth Empowerment scheme (NYES), to curb the teeming unemployment rate among the youths, observers would have wondered how the Cross River State Government would cope given that it has thrown its weight into poverty alleviation. Interestingly, it had the fore sight of introducing an employment scheme so it may not have much to worry about. In this regard, the State Government has embarked on the large scale cultivation, of pineapple, castor, cocoa, oil palm and cashew. But Uyanga, cassava and yam tubers are the major food crops grown. However, while these crops are grown in the area, the farmers lack the requisite capital, credit facilities, necessary inputs and storage facilities among others to boost the large scale production of such crops. Much of the labour is supplied by the families.

Therefore it is expected that the Intervention of the Government, and donor agencies as stake holders will help show case Uyanga as a model for other communities to emulate.

It is hoped that the donors conference will come up with helpful suggestions for the successful implementation of the programme in the state

The writer wrote in from Calabar, Nigeria