Japan Releases $462,000 Grant to Tackle Socio-economic Problems in Nigeria

As part of its commitment to supporting Nigeria as declared at the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI), the Japanese government has released $462,283 grant to tackle urgent socio-economic problems at the grassroots levels.

Speaking at the signing ceremony of Grant Assistant for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP), the Ambassador of Japan to Nigeria, Mr. Sadanobu Kusaoke, said while his government supports large-scale projects ranging from infrastructure to health, it also attach great importance to the role that local communities have to play in social and economic development.

He noted that through the GGP, his government had spent a sum of $10,928,041 in Nigeria from 1998 to 2016 and had implemented 152 GGP projects.

The breakdown of the GGP projects according to Kusaoke include; the construction of palm fruit and cassava processing facility in Akinyele area in Oyo state. The project, which would cost $61,517 would be implemented by Christian Broadcasting Network Africa.

He said the project was aimed at helping the famers reduce the physical burden and increasing processing capacity and efficiency.

For the second project, he said his government was partnering Umuago Rural Development Union on the construction of a bridge at Kuje Area Council in the FCT at the cost of $75,906. The project he noted, would ensure safe access for local farmers by linking the living and farming areas.

The ambassador stated that the third project was the construction of Local Education Authority Primary School, Lambata, Gurara Local government in Niger state at the cost of 82,742, which would be implemented by Centre for Leadership and Partnership.

Others include, construction of Igbala vocational training centre in Obudu local government area, Cross River state, at the cost of $81,520. Construction of cassava processing facility and provision of a set of cassava processing machine in Yewa local government, Ogun state at the cost of $78,402, and also construction of primary health care clinic in Abuja Municipal Area council (AMAC) at the cost of $82,096.

Similarly, the Chief representative of Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), Mr. Nakamura Hirotaka said Nigerians should be aware of what is happening in the world, pointing out that African countries like Ghana, Kenya, Ivory Coast are doing better than Nigeria.

He disclosed this while speaking at a one day seminar on promotion of small and medium scale enterprises organised by the JICA Alumni Association of Nigeria, (JAAN).

According to him, “Nigerian people should not only be looking inward but also outside, what Kenya, Ghana, Cote de’viore are doing, they are doing much better than us (Nigeria) . That is where I have concern.”

On his part, First Vice President of JAAN, Emmanuel Okonko Nden said the federal government must lay the foundation for the proper take off of SMEs in the country by providing infrastructure, particularly in the area of power which has shut out many small scale businesses.

“The thing that we ought to do and we are not doing is laying the structure, the government must tackle the energy problem, for instance, we could go solar, we could go wind. Diversifying the economy is a good route we are taking and if we have this structure on ground we will get there,” he said