PEOPLE EMPOWERMENT: CAN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SOCIAL INVESTMENT PROGRAMMES CHANGE THE NARRATIVE IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Social Investment Programs (SIP) are activities by government, social agencies and volunteers designed to change, improve situation of individuals, groups and communities, to strengthen social bonds and encourage intervention of government organization in social affairs. Specifically, the present federal administration in Nigeria designed the Social Investment Programme to facilitate ambition towards poverty eradication especially the obsolete poverty that has been ravaging the nation. Hinged on the persistent unemployment rate and its consequences, the present President Muhammadu Buhari led administration started the implementation of its campaign promise on people empowerment, through its N-Power Social Investment Programme aimed at youth empowerment, the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme of N5000 to millions of indigent citizens, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) targeted at impacting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSF) aimed at delivering school feeding to young children. The major factors that affected the implementation of programmes included: Insufficient information, non-payment of stipend to participants as at when due, bribery and corruption, wrong Bank Verification Number (BVN), etc.  It was concluded that the Federal Government Social Investment programme if sustained will be able to rewrite the narrative of unemployment and poverty in Nigeria. It therefore implies that the effective implementation of Federal Government Social Investment programme will go a long way in strengthening the Nigeria economy and reducing social vices and crimes associated with unemployment. It was recommended that there should be transparency in the implementation of the programme and there should be effective monitoring of activities of the beneficiaries of the programme.