Barwa: Another Abuja community begging for government presence

Barwa is a community located on the Airport Road in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). PAUL OKAH recently visited the community and reports that life is agonizing in Barwa; where basic amenities including potable water, electricity, medical facilities, schools and access roads, among others, are lacking.

A visit to Barwa community of the FCT would convince one that indeed people live in different worlds in Nigeria. For a community situated very close to Nigeria’s seat of power one would have expected some of the best facilities government can offer, but the reverse is the case.

When Blueprint Weekend visited the community on Saturday, October 17, this year, it was a firsthand experience of the challenges faced by residents of the community, who live in near subhuman conditions.

For a 21st century community, Barwa lacks basic amenities including potable water, medical facilities and a near absence of police or any other security agents with residents living in constant fear of attack by armed robbers and kidnappers, even as those who can afford education have to trek many kilometres to seek secondary education among other issues. Residents who spoke to our correspondent were unanimous in their demand for government to look into their situation in a bid to make life more bearable and measure up to their counterparts in the FCT.

Bad road

The first thing a visitor would notice while visiting Barwa community is the bad road. The community, which is linked through the road which stretches to about seven kilometres from Gosa, another community along the Airport Road as well, is cut off from other developed communities like ACO by the bad road.

Blueprint Weekend gathered that the community becomes inaccessible during the peak of the rainy season because of the bad road as cars and motorcycles are bogged down while trying to access the road.

Expectedly, the bad road formed an issue of concern for the residents who told our correspondent in separate interviews that reconstruction of the road would add economic value to the community as well as ameliorate their sufferings.

A resident, Simon Jeremiah, who earns a living as a commercial motorcycle operator, told Blueprint Weekend that the road is nightmarish to okada riders and residents alike as they are completely cut off from other parts of the FCT even as visitors are discouraged from plying the road.

He said: “The village is inhabited mostly by Tivs, Gbagyi, Bassa, Hausa, Koro, and Fulani. However, we have problem of road in Barwa Village. I have a Diploma certificate from NTI in Kuje, but I am not making use of it. I survive on okada business with my family.

“I used okada and farming to train myself in school. Okada is N200 from Kuje Bridge to Barwa because of the bad road. The bad road is particularly very disturbing during rainy season. The quagmire and mud even bog down motorcycles let alone cars. No car owners here would use it on the bad road. Some will pack their cars at Gosa and use okada to enter here.

“The bad road is very disturbing. Even at night, once it is 9pm, people don’t walk about for fear that thieves may even snatch our bikes because there is no security presence.

“Apart from the road, other things bother us in the community. Since we can’t afford transport for our children daily, they trek miles to and back from school. Sometimes they have accidents while going to Gosa in search of secondary education.

“Due to lack of basic amenities, no educated or enlightened person can live here. Teachers in the primary school here are visiting teachers from Gosa and other places, because they cannot live here comfortably.”

Water palaver

Continuing, Jeremiah said: “Though we have power supply, getting potable water is a problem to us especially during the dry season. At the moment, we are making use of rain water, but you need to see us trekking in search of water in the dry season.

“Owners of motorcycles would go to Gosa for water, but others are left stranded. Even those who have borehole, you have to join the queue for hours just to fetch water. However, the sumo of the public borehole was stolen by thieves one night and that compounded our water problems. Even the well water people drink is not healthy, so you can imagine the situation.

“This is the first time we are being visited by government and NGOs. It is surprisingly and we have hope of being remembered. Government should help us. We are poor farmers.”

Porous security

For the commander of a 10-member vigilance group in the village, Obadiah Podo, establishment of a police outpost in the village would help to curb crime, even as he implored for security gadgets to be provided for the vigilance group.

He said: “There are many thieves in this village who come to our farms to dig up our yams. Many people throng this community and we don’t even know how they enter or exit as there is no police station or outpost here to checkmate crime. Therefore, we make use of this vigilante group.

“I have a complete uniform for identification, but my members don’t have. We don’t have rifles of any kind, so we need catapult, cutlass, flashlight, and rain coat to work effectively.

“We are 10 vigilante members and we work in the night. We usually do shifts, but with development of insecurity in the country, especially kidnapping, we involve all members. We are not paid salaries, it is a voluntary work. We need a police outpost here to complement us. If we catch a criminal, we take him to chief palace before taking him to the police station at Iddo or Kuje.”

Healthcare challenges

For a woman in her late thirties, Mrs Halitha Christopher, life in Barwa will be tolerable for residents if they could be provided with a healthcare centre for the treatment of basic ailments, especially for the safe delivery by pregnant women.

She said: “If a woman is in labour, she is taken to Gosa Clinic several kilometres away because we don’t have a clinic here. It is affecting us because the labour is sometimes in the night. Sometimes, we deliver at home. You can’t see a motorcyclist at night to convey you to the clinic, coupled with the bad road.

“We are mostly farmers and petty traders, but even the market is not large enough for us. We have to develop a woman society for this village, because we are suffering.

“Also, many of our children trek long distances to attend secondary school in Gosa and we are not happy. After trekking for hours, the children fall sick due to the weather. If we had a secondary school here, our children will not be trekking to as far as Gosa. Even the primary school lack lacks teachers, because some transferred are not replaced.

“We live in fear of kidnappers, as there is no security here. The vigilante members are powerless without weapons and there is no police outpost.

“The Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (MHADMSD) should develop our market and provide other facilities for us.”

Also lending voice to the discourse, Simon Jeremiah said pregnant women in the community have lost their lives while in labour, while others have been delivered of stillbirths because of the unavailability of a healthcare centre in Barwa Village.

“For instance, last Saturday, my wife was in labour and couldn’t even enter the bike for me to take her to the clinic in Gosa. We had to invite a drug store owner who helped her to deliver. I was lucky, some others have not been this lucky. Just last month, a woman’s baby was still born because the distance of the clinic is much. She was operated upon before the baby was evacuated.  We have lost many pregnant women because of this issue of unavailability of a health centre,” he said.

Head teacher speaks

Also speaking with Blueprint Weekend, the Head of the Local Education Authority (LEA) Primary School in Barwa, Mr Salami Sikiru Oyewole, said government is doing its best, but like Oliver Twist, the school needed more, especially more classroom blocks, teachers and other amenities.

He said: “We need the intervention of the federal government to change the location of the block of the primary school, which is under high tension wires.

“The school is not fenced and lacks security, especially in this era of kidnapping of Nigerians. Our pupils go to toilet in the bush, since the school lacks toilet facilities. There is also no computer in the school. If these children go into the town and see computers, they will be strange to them.

“We don’t have adequate teachers here too. This village is far away from town and our situation is peculiar. We are only being assisted by PTA staff. Government is trying because teachers are supposed to live in the area where they teach and stay in the classroom with pupils. But when they come from afar, all the obstacles of transportation may make them forget some things. Our supposed toilet is an eyesore, that’s why we go to toilet in the bush.  There is no facility for a library.

“We thank God that the government of today is paying monthly salary on time, unlike before.  One classroom is under high tension, while one is an uncompleted building by UBEB. One building by PTA has collapsed, so we are appealing to the government to remember us.

“We need more classrooms for our primary 1 to 6 and nursery classes. However, we are grateful to the MHSDDM for the visit on Saturday, October 17. We are grateful that government now come here, instead of sending representatives.  I know that the MHADMSD will have us in mind in this regard.”

Village chief laments

In an interview with Blueprint Weekend, the Dakachi of Barwa, Chief Monday Kogi, also lamented the lack of basic amenities in the community, appealing to government for urgent intervention in order to lift the people out of penury.

He said: “We have many challenges in this community. I believe you came here by road and saw the pitiable situation.  From here to Gosa is about 7 kilometres and that is where we go to access medical care, as we don’t have a healthcare centre here. Sickness may happen at any time, especially emergency, but there is no single clinic here.

“The issue of insecurity is also a serious thing in Nigeria today, but we don’t even have a police outpost to secure us here. Our children suffer a lot to trek to Gosa for secondary education.  If ten year old children trek 7km to school, they will be too tired to pay attention to infrastructure.

“Therefore, I plead with government to establish a junior secondary school here. Ten years ago, a borehole was sunk for us by government, but Barwa community is growing daily and the borehole is not enough for us now.  We have shortage of water and need another borehole because water is life.

“We will be happy if government can hear our cry. Today is Poverty Eradication Day and the community has been facing poverty. We need government to empower children. Let them study up to the university level to compete with others. The community will be happy to be remembered.”

Continuing, he said: “The population of the primary school is increasing and we lack amenities for the pupils like water. They normally get water from home; they need additional teachers for different subjects. Electricity should be extended to the primary school too. It needs fence. Two years ago, LEA said they will come and fence the school, but we have not seen any sign.  The uncompleted building there should be completed so that our children will have enough classes.

“We are all farmers. There is no villager here in government. That is why I said they need to be empowered to study up to the university level so that they can be lifted out of poverty. When our women are in labour, they either go to Kuje or Gosa to be delivered of their babies, or have unprofessional women deliver them at home. It is unbearable in the day time because of the distance so you can imagine how it will be at night.  We don’t even have a steady drug store here so we also have to go to Gosa to buy drugs.”

FG promises interventions

During a visit to the community as part of activities to mark the International Day for Eradication of Poverty, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq, said the federal government, through the ministry, will intervene in some of the challenges facing the community, especially in lifting them out of poverty, in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s plan to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.

She said poverty is often driven by a victim’s mindset resulting from the difficulties faced by poor people, their families and communities, and often steals their hopes and dreams of a bright future, maintaining that such mindset had often kept them from seeing the possibilities and opportunities around them, which they could leverage upon to help themselves out of poverty.

“The ministry has poverty eradication as a fundamental part of its mandate and will drive the fulfilment of Buhari’s vision to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years. Under my watch, the ministry will attempt to empower every child and adult living in poverty by putting in place strategic programmes and interventions that will aid economic growth.

“The programmes will also address social needs like health, social protection and education in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to end poverty in all its forms by 2030. Already, commendable efforts by the National Social Investment Office have impacted 12,887,207 beneficiaries directly, and 44,588,628 secondary beneficiaries.

“These have been achieved through programmes like the National Cash Transfer Programme where monthly cash transfer of N5,000 are made to the poor and vulnerable households. As we celebrate this year’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, we are here in Barwa community not as experts who have all the answers. Rather, we are here as fellow travellers and learners willing to engage both children and adult.

“We will, therefore, work with selected teenagers from this community to help them develop positive mindset and values while providing skills acquisition and business skills programmes over the next couple of months.

“We are optimistic that one year from now, some young people from this community will have been lifted out of poverty and be able to fend for themselves based on our engagement with them. Using information gathered here from the exercise, we hope to replicate it in other parts of the country,” she assured.

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