The rural parts of Plateau State are changing, thanks to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) projects. The ambitious plan by the United Nations to raise the standard of life in remote areas is yielding fruit in the state, as primary schools and health clinics are being built. A local council chair and traditional rulers have hailed the projects, which include furnishing schools and giving soft loans to rural women to boost their businesses.
The Chairman, Management Committee for Wase Local Government, Dr Ado Abubakar Buba said, “I wish to, on behalf of the entire Wase people, express our deep appreciation to MDG and Plateau State government. We have received a lot of interventions that will change the lives of our people for good.”
Speaking further, Buba said, “MDG has, within the last one year, constructed seven primary schools; they have constructed four clinics, they have also provided ambulances to convey sic people from the remote villages to hospitals at the council headquarters. In some of these villages, pupils sit on the bare floor of their school to receive education, many of our clinics don’t have drugs to give patience, and so on. But today, we are not just celebrating new schools and clinics, we are receiving equipment like desks, books and instructional materials to furnish the schools. We have also just received drugs and a lot of medical equipment to furnish the new clinics constructed by MDG, we have never seen this kind of interventions in the history of the local government. We don’t know how to express our joy as a people, but we know these interventions will serve as a major transformation in the lives of rural communities.”
Dr. Buba promised to take the items to the various communities that deserve them.
He also said, “What we cherish most is the financial grant allocated to women cooperative societies to carry out agricultural related ventures; this is because the local government is 90% farmers populated. This will translate into more food for the family and financial sufficiency of families”
The Emir of Kanam, Alhaji Muhammed Sambo Haruna, who was represented by the Wazirin Wase to recieve the items said, “This is a dream realized, because when these construction began last year, we doubt its completion, our people thought it will be like every other government projects that are likely to be abandoned along the line. But today we are celebrating its completion and furnishing. Our people are full of gratitude, these are projects that will directly touch the lives of our people. And for this, the people of Wase emirate will continued to support and pray for the Governor Lalong led administration as well as the state MDG”
The Chairman Management Committee for Shendam Local Government, Hon Alex Miskoom Nantuan, in his appreciation said, “We consider this day as unique day in the local government, simply because it is now that the rural communities in Shendam understands what MDG stands for. Because of the dare need for school desks in our village schools, we had to distribute mist of the desks provided by the MDG even before they could hand them over to us formally. We only left some few for this symbolic presentation. But with this presentation today, we shall go ahead and distribute these drugs to our various clinics as well as the instructional materials to schools. The people are so pleased because it is the first of its kind, our people may have been hearing of MDG, but today we have seen practical actions of MDG through what they have provided for villages in dare need of social amenities in areas of health and education.
While handing over the items to the council boss, Plateau state Coordinator of the MDG, Hon Samuel Damla said, “The completed MDG projects was that of 2013 which was neglected by past administration in the state, but Give Lalong saw that the project would change the lives of the down trodden when completed, so he thought the project back for completion, and indeed we are witnessing the last stage of the project which is the formal handing over of the projects for the end users.
Hon Damla said, “This 2013 MDG intervention was specifically for projects that has to do with education, health, water and sanitation, which was why we embarked on construction of primary school blocks, construction of health clinics and provision of boreholes. But the good thing is, the project was not just empty constructions, there is equipment to furnish them for the benefit of those using them.
In addition to the project, Wase LGA and Shendam LGA will be given four mobile Clinic Vehicles which are expected to be used to convey emergency health cases from the rural villages to the local governments for medical attention. These mobile clinics are fully equipped with medical facilities including Oxygen facilities that can sustain the patients four hours until it got to the closest hospital. These vans are no meant to be used as ambulance, he warned.
“The handing over of these projects now marked the end of MDG program which terminates in 2015. The UN has entered into the 2nd phase which is now known as Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The SDG is expected to last 15 years within which period it is expected to close the gap between the rich and the poor in the world,” said Hon Damla.
