Di National Home Grown School Feeding Programme na di most ogbonge programme of di Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development and na one of di major achievement of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Di Programme dey for 35 states in Nigeria plus including FCT, and Bayelsa state go soon join. As e be so, about 9.8 million students wey dey for 53,000 public primary schools nationwide na im dey benefit from di programme yearly.
Since 2019 wey dem establish di ministry, di programme don outshine all di other School feeding programme wey dey Africa, and na im come be di largest for dis continent.
Many pipule from all over di country don hail di country and of course President Muhammadu Buhari administration as e be say na im be di first school feeding programme initiative of di country since 1999. Who go ever think am say a day fit come for Nigeria wey Federal gofment go dey feed student wey dey public school? Make we no forget say di food wey dem dey serve di students na very nutritious food wey dem cook to target malnutrition.
I don meet plenty parents back den for 2010 wey I advise about di disadvantage wey dey wen dem no enroll deir pikin for school. Unfortunately, all my talk no mean anything to dem, especially wen na girl pikin I dey encourage dem to put for school. Dem go dey give excuse, say dem no get di money to enroll deir children for school.
Dem go rather marry di girls to men at very young age and send di boys to dey hawk pure water.
But in 2019 wen dem assign me to another advocacy for di same locations wey I go in 2010, e shock me as I see say school enrollment don really increase reach 90%, I resin say maybe na me wey no put in effort dat year until I meet one elderly woman wey get five grand children wey all of dem don pass di age of 10.
I come ask her about deir whereabouts, na im she hold me for hands come tell me say “my son, no think say we no believe in education oo, na money we no get to put our pikin for school all dis while, but we dey grateful say God don answer our prayers. Di gofment don dey feeding our children and e dey really save us money.”
Na day time I realize say di problem no be because of di education afterall Nigeria dey do free education since all dis time, but di problem na scope to use make dem for take come school for deir own benefit.
Dis National Home Grown School Feeding programme don really increase enrollment of pikin for school. E don also do make to dey study dey very easy and interesting for di pikin dem, also, e don reduce hunger and malnutrition and e also address issue of unemployment because dis food na pipule dey cook am : dis program don provide job for more that 107,000 cooks and oda pipule. Wen dem look into di problem of unemployment, the rate of poverty sef go follow dey addressed. For Kano State alone like dis, di number of school enrollment don jump from 1.2 million to 2.1 million afta di Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development introduce di programme for di State.
In 2010, di rate of School enrollment in Nigeria ba 41.83% but in 2021, the total enrollment rate for primary schools in Nigeria don reach 68.3%. Na im make I tok say our initial patrol been no work, but di Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development don later win di heart of our children wit dis initiative wey come from a generous woman like Sadiya Umar Farouq- and wetin be dis initiative? Na hot nutritious food every school day.
