The international civil society organization, ActionAid Nigeria, has urged the Kwara state government to replicate its achievements in selected vulnerable local government areas in the last 15 years in other rural communities for improved growth and development.

Speaking at the close-out ceremony of the Local Rights Programme project of the organization in Ilorin on Thursday, the Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Ene Obi, also encouraged communities to continue to safeguard facilities and structures provided and to remain vigilant in demanding their rights and hold government accountable.

Represented by Mr. Kehinde Arowosegbe, the country director said that the state government should take over the projects executed in the selected communities of Kaiama and Asa local government areas, replicate them in other communities and listen to communities needs.

The organization said that it had, through collective efforts with the Centre for Community Empowerment and Poverty Eradication (CCEPE) and the people, built and renovated health centres and schools, provided motorized boreholes to communities, and improved livelihoods through training and sustainable agriculture practices. “We have empowered communities to demand their rights, take ownership of projects, and participate in the democratic process.

“As we bid farewell to the Local Rights Programme in Kwara state, let us not view it as an end but rather as the beginning of a new chapter. The legacy we leave behind is not measured solely by the number of projects implemented, but by the sustainable change, we have ignited in the lives of individuals and communities. Let us carry forward the spirit of partnership, activism, and social justice as we continue our collective journey towards a more inclusive and equitable society”.

ActionAid Nigeria, which identified security as part of its challenges during the project period, said that many plans were distorted due to insecurity in some areas.

“We encountered various challenges, and one is inadequate funding as the fund is not always enough to tackle myriads of issues in the vulnerable communities. We could only do what we did. On insecurity, there are places we were supposed to go but couldn't. So many plans are distorted due to insecurity in some areas.

Also, the issue of bad roads. Many communities are inaccessible. Sometimes, we drive like eight hours for a journey that should not last more than two hours. For instance, Ilorin to Kaiama. It's so challenging. However, he said the people had been so wonderful to work with”.

Also speaking, the board chairman for CCEPE, Alhaji Kareem Adebayo Ishola, said that the organization had, in the last 16 years, made its contributions to the growth of humanity.

“With technical and funding support from ActionAid Nigeria, we have changed lives and transformed communities; we have established workable and beneficial partnerships. Through our deep-rooted intervention in communities across Asa and Kaiama LGAs, we have shown how working with people, especially the vulnerable, can engender lasting and sustainable developments.

“Since the commencement of our intervention in 2007, we have worked with community women, children, men, groups, traditional institutions, and CCEPE-initiated/reconstituted structures (Community Development Committees, School Based Management Committees, Girl's Clubs, Women Peer Education Circles, Ward Health Development Committees, Disaster/Conflict Action Response Teams, Women Farmers Cooperatives, and Women Community Based Organisations) to build trust and impact-driven development.

“Working on different thematic focus ranging from Education, Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Health, Women's Rights and Empowerment, Agriculture and Food Security, Good, and Open Governance as well as Human security in emergencies, we have constructed several classrooms, several boreholes, provided agro-processing equipment and improved varieties of seeds/seedlings, constructed two health centres, and carried out regular capacity-building training on livelihood enhancement and engagement with duty bearers (the government).

We have transformed lives, changed orientations, and created new possibilities in all these. However, the above seems a drop in the ocean compared to the vision of CCEPE of a “poverty-free and egalitarian society where everyone will live a life of dignity”.

The event was graced by Governor Abdulrahman Abudulrazaq, who was represented by his deputy, Mr. Kayode Alabi, community leaders from local government areas of the state, and officials from state ministries.