Govt Failure Forces Content Creators To Provide Classrooms, Boreholes In Neglected Communities 

Content creators are stepping in to give succour to neglected communities by providing classrooms in primary schools and boreholes for drinkable water.

Some weeks ago, popular Hausa satirist and content creator, Dan Bello called out the Kaduna State government over the dilapidated state of primary schools in the state and across the Northern region.

From the videos he shared, many of the schools have no roofs; the pupils sit on bare floors in the absence of chairs; the toilets are unbefitting of humans, and there is an absolute absence of water and sanitation.

Virtually all the public primary schools are in ruins, despite the N27.6 billion approved for the Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in the state’s 2024 budget.

After calling out the obvious neglect of its people, the Kaduna State government still did not fix the schools, forcing Bello to spend N4.1 million to renovate one of the schools to international standards.

A classroom in the school was equipped with chairs and lockers for each pupil, a desk for the teacher, and cupboards for the pupils’ belongings, among other amenities. The project was executed within 12 days.

In the same vein, another content creator, Asher Kine spent N10 million to provide in Amper community, Kanke LGA of Plateau state with a solar-powered borehole and tanks. The community lacked clean water for years. 

“We only had three wells in this community since I was born,” one of the residents, a middle-aged man said in the video.

Over-inflated Projects In 2024 Budget

These philanthropic gestures further expose the massive corruption in public procurement. Similar projects executed by Bello and Kine litter the 2024 budgets at exorbitant costs, even though the executions are never certain.

For instance, while Asher Kine spent a total of N10 million to provide a borehole and two big storage tanks, the National Secondary School Education Commission intends to spend N13 million for the supply of a hand pump borehole in Edati L.G.A in Niger state.

The National Productivity Centre got approval to spend N20 million on a Solar-powered Borehole in Yorro L.G.A, Taraba State, while the Projects Development Institute of the Ministry of Science and Technology intends to spend N30 million on the installation of a Motorised Borehole with overhead tanks in Igbo-Eze South LGA of Enugu State. 

The tables below contain details of projects similar to those executed by Bello and Asher Kine, but with over-inflated budgets.

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Oluwatobi Odeyinka

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