Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, the Archbishop of Abuja Catholic Archdiocese, has emphasised on equity in the distribution of palliatives by the three tiers of government to ensure most Nigerians benefit, especially the vulnerable group.
Kaigama, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja, said that the three tiers of government should focus on daily workers who had been affected mostly with the lockdown directed by the Federal and State Governments to stop the spread of COVID-19.
He said people had been staying at home for more than a month, noting that by staying at home means “you are not able to do your daily work.
“The daily workers who have to sell groundnut, etc, cannot do that now, they are locked down at home. This is what the governments should take into consideration.
“I don’t know how government is going to do it but I believe it can be done.
“When there are such emergencies, the government should sit together and look at strategies to use and it should be able to respond; that is the reason why they were elected into office.
“If am to offer any advice, they should work on the structure we have.
“There are 774 local governments in the country, if there are palliatives; they can be distributed along the bases, from the Local Government to the district and to villages to families.
“This should be done on the basis that people are transparent, honest and sincere in their dealings,’’ the Archbishop said.
According to him, a lot is being done; people are donating toward this and towards tackling the whole COVID-19 disease.
He commended the contribution of private sector, corporate bodies and individuals for supporting the federal government in its fight against COVID-19.
“I am quite impressed that individuals are coming up.
“I have seen people on television making donations, seeing organisations making substantial donation through the government and some directly to the people.
“For instance, I choose to direct my intervention directly to the people, namely poor people directly, giving them food stuff and materials and face masks.
“We bought food items worth millions of Naira, we gave to whoever we felt was in need, we assisted them, our charity does not have religious affliation.’’
In addition, Kaigama said he was impressed with the level of compliance with the lockdown order by Nigerians in spite of the hardship and hunger.
“From my assessment, many people are making effort to comply; those that can afford to feed themselves, they can stay at home.
“But my concern is those who don’t have food and facilities – electricity, water and income that are staying at home; it will be difficult to stay at home.
“Those that live on daily income, it will be difficult to stay at home. These are the ones that are suffering and we feel they should be given a very special consideration.
“When people are hungry they lost their sanity so we must sympathise with those who are at home and they have no means of getting anything to eat.
“The government should target them, find out where they are and do something. The government cannot satisfy everybody, that is why we are calling on individuals, if you see hungry neighbours, feed him or her.’’
The Archbishop said it was the duty of every Nigerian to care for one another, noting that government intervention will not be able to reach everybody.
“Don’t say it is the duty of government. It is your duty.
“We are 200 million, if we all decide that one Nigerian will take care of two other Nigerians, I think it will go a long way.
“Taking care doesn’t mean you will give everything, it means being ready to share little with them to help someone in need,’’ he said.
