The man carefully selected by former governor of Rivers State to lead the task of sharing 12,000 bags of rice as palliative in the COVID-19 crisis, Chukudi Dimkpa, made startling revelation, saying by his experience in the field, some food distribution agents may open foodstuff shops after the pandemic.
In an exclusive interview with BDSUNDAY, the engineer and project management expert who hails from Isiokpo in Ikwerre local council area of the state his finding is that the people who ought to get the various palliatives floating about in the state were not getting them, even if he agreed that no single authority or organisation can meet the huge demand for food or palliative in the populace.
On who he considered the poor or who should get the Amaechi palliative, Dimkpa said the poor right now is every single person who is unable to eke out a living. “The reason is because we are at war; this is biological war. Even able-bodied persons cannot go out there to make a living.”
He objected to any observation that he was doing for the APC what Desmond Akawor (newly elected PDP state chairman and chairman of the Rivers State government palliative committee) is doing for the Rivers State government and PDP. He said he was sure that party politics would not be uppermost in Akawor’s mind in this sensitive task.
He stated: “I doubt if Desmond Akawor is doing party with palliative distribution. We are first people before political party, religion or tribe. We are giving to people resident in Rivers State. If you are resident here, you have to survive first before party or ethnicity.”
He however agreed that bringing out bundles of palliatives for the poor is not the problem but how to make it get to the real needy. He said he would not know if other groups sharing palliatives were speaking the way he (Dimkpa) was speaking.
From what he sees in the field, however, Dimkpa said: “People do not get what is supposed to come to them. From inquiry, we find that some people are not doing the right thing. Gesture to give is the first thing, next is the gesture to distribute. That is where we see the difference because some people are not giving to those who ought to get.”
He threw the bombshell: “I would not be surprised to find some people who would open shops from the proceeds of the palliatives of COVID-19. If you have witnessed war, you will know that this is like food ration in war times. People must survive and after that, we can come back to doing anything called politics or ethnicity.
“Where the problem is, is distribution. That is why we got a non-governmental organization (NGO) to go to the least places. You see that some people who never believed they would get it are getting it. That is our objective. We want people to know we are first people.”
Giving insight into how his team tackles the sensitive task, the engineer, said: “What we have done is to use NGO to mobilise people. They do not disclose the location they are coming to. This is because once people see a truck, they are watching. Immediately the truck is open and they realise its food, they rush. So, the NGO gets people to ensure social distancing.
“You know about food; at first, people will be calm, but when they realise it may not reach them, they will rush. We are running jingles telling people not to rush. If one group does not get to you, wait for the one from the other group. And, if you get once, do not come again. This way, we are educating the people.
“Another strategy is by switching the visits. Look, there is nothing anyone can do to feed all the people. We can do the little we could. This is being done so others can be encouraged to add. That is the only way we can get out of this desperate situation.
If this lockdown continues to the next one month, what happens? That is where governments have a duty to help people feed. That is the main difficulty.”
Giving advice from his raw experience, he stated: “The people are our citizens, so government must be proactive, must make sure that distribution channels are open and the right things are being done. We monitor the NGOs, because they are human beings. It is just like project management, so you must monitor. If you map out any figure, you must deploy persons who monitor to ensure they have given them to the people. You must be sure that this thing gets down to the people, not to stop in the house of one leader or one big man. Individuals and all must help.
“All we need to say is together we can pull out of this situation. We all need to adhere to government directives. We need to follow what the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is telling us; we need to follow what the state government is telling us. We can play politics tomorrow but right now; let all hands be on deck.”
On why Amaechi (now two-time transport minister) picked on him to handle such a sensitive task, Dimkpa said: “You have to ask others, but the truth is, if it is about process and procedures, consider it done. I do not know any other reasons. What we do know is that His Excellency (Amaechi) has a vision; he has always had. He is always proactive, as if he saw tomorrow.
“During his time as governor of Rivers State, he focused in agriculture, healthcare and education. Today, we are seeing the deficiency in those key areas in the state such that if there had been continuity, if the Songhai Farm and other farms had been allowed to function, Rivers State would be feeding itself today. If the healthcare centres were allowed to survive, they would have come in to help. If proper education was allowed to thrive, we wouldn’t have had a populace that still doubts if corona virus was real. He saw tomorrow.’
