The better life programme
p. 4-9
Texte intégral
Background
1The alleviation of poverty has been a focus of economic policy in Nigeria – as can be found in many policy documents since independence and beyond (see National Development Plans 1-5, 1961-1985). For example, one of the goals of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) is the improvement in the standard of living of the people through enhanced income and generation of employment opportunities (FGN, 1986). The programmes for achieving this, however, have discriminated against rural women. Opportunities for women are often limited by societal norms and values which restrict their access to assets such as land, and limit their participation in economic activities. In order to overcome these impediments and uplift the living standard of rural women, Mrs. Maryam Babangida, the wife of the then head of state, General Ibrahim Babangida initiated the Better Life Programme. Its main focus included the improvement of earning opportunities, and the alleviation of poverty and ignorance among rural women. The Better Life Programme was launched in 1987 to uplift the status of women in general and those in the rural areas in particular. The Better Life Programme identified with some of the economic measures of the Structural Adjustment Programme, which aimed at boosting economic activities in the rural areas. The Programme was one of the measures introduced to ease the pain of economic restructuring and enhance the well-being of rural women. The Better Life Programme was expected to reduce the hardship faced by rural women by enhancing their productive capacity in goods and services. According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN, 1990), the:
programme’s orientation was to harness the creative energies of women for concrete and achievable goals, both as individuals and as a group.
2An important element of the programme was that it recognized the potential of the rural women to contribute to the attainment of national goals. The programme was designed to exploit and maximize the potential of the rural women to enhance national socio-economic development.
Objectives of the Better Life Programme
3The overall objective of the Better Life Programme was to enhance the productive capacity and living standards of rural women by inculcating in them the spirit of self-development through the promotion of education and business management skills (CBN, 1990). According to the Better Life Programme document (CBN, 1990), the specific objectives were to:
- raise social consciousness about women’s rights and their social, political and economic responsibilities
- bring women closer together for the better understanding and resolution of their problems through collective action
- mobilize women for concrete activities towards achieving specific objectives, including assuming leadership roles in all spheres of national life
- stimulate and motivate women in the rural areas towards achieving a better and higher standard of life and to sensitize the general populace to the plight of rural women
- educate women in simple hygiene practices, family planning and the importance of child care
- enlighten women in the rural areas on the opportunities and facilities available to them at the local government level
- improve and enrich family life
- encourage and institutionalize recreation
Core Programmes/Projects
4The avenues through which the Better Life Programme intended to achieve its objectives included women’s organizations, education, and projects in agriculture and rural industries. The Better Life Programme, therefore, embarked on various projects in these different areas. The projects included the following:
- the formation of women’s cooperatives to provide better access to resources, including agricultural inputs and credit
- the establishment of small-scale cottage industries to improve the productivity of rural women and enhance their income-generating capacities
- the enlightenment of rural dwellers on healthcare and family planning
- the establishment of multipurpose women’s centres to conduct functional literacy and vocational classes
- the encouragement of rural women to produce local arts and crafts
Organizational Structure
5The organizational structure of the Better Life Programme was hierarchical. Local committees at the village level were headed by women who were leaders in the community. The local government chapter was headed by the wife of the local government chairman and comprised members of the various local committees. Functional offices were maintained at the local government level. The wife of the state governor was in charge of the state chapter of the programme. The state chapter was composed of local government chapters. The activities at state level were coordinated by the state Women’s Commission. The national level (apex) of the organization was headed and coordinated by the wife of the President/Head of State. Activities at this level were coordinated by the National Commission for Women.
6This organizational structure was criticized by many observers. It was alleged that chairpersons were neither rural women nor did they have strong links with the rural populace. It was also alleged that most of the leaders were neither skilled in administration nor knowledgeable about the projects they were expected to promote. Nonetheless, the arrangement/structure had the important merit of ensuring relatively easy access to the top at all governmental levels, and this guaranteed access to project funding and other inputs.
Financing the Programme
7The projects promoted by the Better Life Programme can be categorized into three major phases: the basic rural development support services, temporary and ancillary support services. The basic rural development support services comprised mainly of extension, input supply, credit and marketing. The temporary development support services consisted of supplying plants, installing machines and setting up handicrafts and cottage industries. The ancillary support services were mainly for the research and training of personnel on behalf of programme beneficiaries; and the provision of other social services like health, education, social welfare, and organizing enlightenment and mobilization programmes.
8The programme funding varied according to the individual projects. The basic rural development support services were financed by rural based self-help organizations through resources mobilized by members from cooperative, thrift and credit schemes. These resources were supplemented by loans procured from the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), the Peoples’ Bank and other financial institutions. In most cases, these programmes/projects were granted price subsidies on inputs such as seeds, seedlings, fertilizer and credit facilities. These subsidies reduced the cost of inputs considerably. The temporary development phase and ancillary support services were financed by grants from state and local governments, as well as from such Federal Government development agencies as the NDE, DFRRI and the agricultural development programmes (ADPs). In addition, foreign governments, multilateral organizations and foundations provided support in cash and kind for the programme.
The Better Life Programme (BLP) and the Family Support Programme (FSP)
9The Better Life Programme, like other government programmes, suffered from the problem of succession after the demise of the Babangida regime. The experience of the Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) programme is a good example of this. The OFN was initiated by the Obasanjo regime in 1976 but was replaced by the Green Revolution Programme immediately after Shagari took over the administration in 1979. Perhaps an important reason for this phenomenon is that each regime desires to be identified with specific (new) programmes rather than continuing old programmes initiated by previous administrations. The Babangida regime was replaced by the Abacha regime in 1993. The new First Lady, Mrs. Abacha promptly initiated the Family Support Programme (FSP) to replace the Better Life Programme. Although FSP incorporated all the goals of the Better Life Programme, the objectives were much wider. The Family Support Programme is not limited to rural women or even women in general. It incorporates the entire family in both rural and urban areas. The FSP took over all the activities of the Better Life Programme including the projects, staff and officials.
10The organizational structure of FSP remains the same as it was for the Better Life Programme. There is, therefore, little difference between the two programmes, which explains why the two names are often used interchangeably.
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