Kunle Adelabu
To many residents in the Ikorodu Federal Constituency who have been lamenting over the economic and social hardship of the lockdown order by the government in containing the spread of the Coronavirus, the distribution of food items by the iCare Foundation across Ikorodu division on Easter Sunday April 12, 2020 (yesterday) was coming at the right time.
A staggering number of 4,500 families across the Federal Constituency comprising of six Local Government (LG) and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) were presented with bags/packs of food items to achieve dual purposes – cushioning the effects of the lockdown and giving the beneficiaries and their families something to live on while celebrating the Easter celebration indoor due to the stay at home order.
According to the organisers, the relief food packages, which comprised of rice, spaghetti, indomie, macaroni, wheat and semovita, can take a small family for about a week.
This special food distribution exercise for the month of April by the iCare foodbank was supported by WeStand, a humanitarian organization which had previously partnered with the iCare Foundation and a philanthropist, Mr Bayo Lawson, a resident of Ikorodu West LCDA in Ikorodu division.
The food packages were distributed to less privileged and vulnerable people across the division using the Community Development Committee (CDC) and Community Development Associations (CDAS) structures for effective delivery to the intended beneficiaries and avoid crowded process.
iCare Foundation had on Friday, April 10,2020, provided food items and drinks to 1,000 women in the division in collaboration with WINBIZ, a non-governmental organisation.
Mayor Muyideen Sanwoola, the Director-General, iCare Foundation, speaking with journalists during distribution exercise, stated that the food distribution was a special package by the foundation which has been engaging in food distribution on monthly basis to the residents of Ikorodu Federal Constituency.
He stated that the distribution was coming on Easer Sunday due to the aim of the foundation to ensure that the items get to those that are really in need and not being in breach of social distancing directive of the government.
“This is a special edition of the monthly food distribution by the iCare foodbank. This one is a special edition for the COVID – 19 lockdown and we needed people to at least have a good Easter”, the iCare Foundation DG stated.
“We planned it to be on the Easter Sunday and the logistical problem that we faced has to do with social distancing and I remember challenging someone to tell me how food would be distributed in Nigeria and still maintain social distance. It’s very difficult.
“That’s why it took so long for us to learn and figure out a way to get the food items to the people in a way that would not encourage crowd”, he revealed.
“In order to get it to the intended beneficiaries who have been identified, we distributed it through the CDC Chairmen who are six in number. They in turn called their zonal chairmen to get take the delivery and split it up to each CDA under them and eventually gets to the identified vulnerable members in each communities”, he stated while explaining the process of the distribution.
“Through this, we have been able to maintain social distancing instead of calling everybody over”.
He stated that the CDAs were asked to nominate five names of vulnerable people in their respective communities to benefit from the food distribution and that those that did not comply with the request were not included in the distribution exercise.
“We are giving out a total of 4,500 food packs but we are only giving them to five people in a CDA that have sent names of beneficiaries ahead of today”, he stated.
“If we did not receive names of vulnerable people from a CDA Chairman in a particularly area, such CDA would not be included. There are five names of beneficiaries from each CDA and for each, there is a letter of those that the packages must be given to”, he clarified.
“When they get the packages from us, they are expected to give it to the people whose names are on the letter. In no way, shape or form should they redistribute or given what is meant for five persons to multiple people”, Mayor Sanwoola warned.
“There is no way we can cover the entire constituency but if we can cover the entire CDAs, then we have tried because if five people can get relieved in a CDA, that is something.
The iCare DG faulted the involvement of government in direct food distribution, stating that problems associated with government distribution are due to the fact that government has no business in the venture.
He advised that such process should be handed over to non-governmental organisations, especially those involved in food bank.
“Go all over the world, you don’t see a government distributing food, you will only see non-profit organizations handling such task. This is not happening in Nigeria because of lack of education on what the duty of a legislator actually is.
“The reason we have issues with distributions in Nigeria has always been because it’s coming from the government.
“That’s why Hon Babajimi Benson does not distribute food items but iCare does. Go the world over, you cannot find a legislator distributing food”.
He added that a recent food distribution exercise brought to Ikorodu recently went well without any hitch because government handed it over to youth organization and iCare foundation in contrast to other parts of the state where the exercise recorded crisis.
“Normal monthly food distribution by iCare Foundation will continue after the CONVIID – 10 crisis”, Sanwoola assured.
While stating that his organization has capacity to distribute relief materials for any interested party, he added that the special food distribution was in collaboration with a corporate body and an individual.
“We have two entities partnering with us,they are WeStand, a body we have had dealings with in the past. They provided some items and an individual, Bayo Lawson from Ikorodu West LCDA, also contributed when he saw what we were doing. He ordered the food items from the source and had them delivered to us for distribution on his behalf.
“We did that with WinBiz as well because iCare foundation is a foodbank with capabilities and individuals wishing can bring their packages to us for effective distribution since we have the channels”, Sanwoola stated.
Hon. Babajimi Benson, the Representative of the Ikorodu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives in Abuja and the initiator of iCare Foundation and Foodbank, speaking on the food intervention programme, stated that it was meant to compliment the efforts of the government in bringing relief to the people during the lockdown.
“This is to compliment the efforts of the state government in bringing succor and relief to our vulnerable people. We are trying to make the lockdown experience as comfortable as possible for the people”, Hon Benson stated.
“We are using the Community Development Committee’s (CDCs) structures by asking each Community Development Association (CDA) to nominate five people that are vulnerable. This was done throughout Ikorodu Federal Constituency which is one of the constituencies with the highest CDAs in Lagos state. We have over 1000 CDAs”.
Also, some of the Chairmen of Community Development Committees (CDCs) that spoke with THE IMPACT at the distribution ceremony held at the Hon. Babajimi Benson’s Federal Constituency office in Ikorodu were full of appreciation.
Comrade Odumosu Rafiu Abiodun (Ashaka), the CDC Chairman, Imota Local Council Development Area, speaking with THE IMPACT stated:
“I just want to appreciate him (Hon Benson) for this gesture. As far as our people are concerned, this is the most crucial time that the packages are needed. I want to thank him for the provision and appreciate him for being a true representative of ours”, he stated thankfully.
“By extending this to our community, he’s going to assist the government to achieve its aim of preventing the spread of the virus through the stay at home order.
Also speaking, Alhaji Luqman Sonibare, CDC Chairman, Ikorodu Local Government, stated:
“I want to give glory to the Almighty God on behalf of Hon Benson because it’s not everybody that have the mind of giving out to people but Hon. Babajimi Benson is one person that has been doing this ever before the lockdown. He has been providing food items for the residents across Ikorodu division on monthly basis through his ‘Apo Anu’ food program.
“This is not a surprise at all to many people because he is doing what he knows how to do best. We are very grateful to him”.
Pastor Abayomi Adelakun, CDC Chairman, Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA, in his own reactions, stated:
“Well, I am not surprise that Hon. Babajimi Benson is doing this because he has been doing it on monthly basis for all the CDAs but he’s now enlarging it beyond what he has been doing on monthly basis. All the six CDC Chairmen in Ikorodu Diviision are here today to collect the food packages on behalf of all our community developers and we really appreciate our honourable for the good work that he has been doing.
“We also want to appreciate members of the iCare Foundation because they have been able to collate names of all the beneficiaries and called them one after the order. We have also been given strict instruction that we should make sure that the food packs get to the rightful beneficiaries”.
He also corroborated the explanation of the iCare DG on measures put in place to ensure that the food items get to the intended beneficiaries.
“On our part as CDCs, we have identified all the zones that we have and ask chairmen in each of the zone to take the number of the food packs donated to their zones.We were also told that the CDA Chairmen must ensure that all the beneficiaries signed upon delivery of the packs to them and that there must not be collection by proxy”, he stated.
