Governor Oyetola of Osun. Photo: TWITTER/GBOYEGAOYETOLA Osun food support scheme was recently launched with fun and fanfare and many were excited. As the reality of socio-economic conditions of living are right now in Nigeria, people who will need this intervention are many. Osun, with a population of over-4 million, per capital of $2,076, Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.609 (14th of 37) and 15.3% unemployment rate, can pride itself in being the best in the Southwestern part of the country. Yet, the demographic delineation of the beneficiaries of the scheme may need to expand to reach more of the needy population.
One of the major needs of man is for him to be fed, which means, ‘ti ebibakuroninuise, ise buse’ (poverty minus hunger equals poverty demystified). That Governor Gboyega Oyetola is thinking in terms of food supply to the most vulnerable of the people of Osun has again attested to the fact that he is a pragmatic man. This is because, notwithstanding its shortcomings (real or imagined), the food supply scheme will feed a certain percentage of people, who, otherwise, would not be fed. Yes, there are many of them, most especially, those who don’t get any largesse of any form from the system; and they are hungry. They will benefit from the scheme.