It was on Tuesday November 30th, 2021 that the Honorable Minister of the FCT, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello and the Honorable Minister of State, FCT, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu inaugurated and swore-in the Mandate Secretaries, Heads of Departments/Boards and Agencies to oversee and administer the affairs of the SDA’s on behalf of the Administration.
Hajiya Hadiza Mohammed Kabir was appointed as the Mandate Secretary of the FCT Social Development Secretariat (SDS).
The Secretariat which was established in 2004 by the Fourth Schedule of the FCT Regulations was saddled with the following functions:
• Providing a nurturing environment, protecting rights, and providing advocacy for Women, Children and other vulnerable groups in the territory.
• Overseeing important social imperatives and poverty alleviation programs for the vulnerable and disadvantaged groups and communities.
• Promoting Arts, Culture and Sports activities within the territory as well as such other functions as are incidental to the furtherance of these objectives.
In line with above functions, the Social Development Secretariat arguably the second largest is often described as a cross-cutting and troubleshooting secretariat. It provides excellent and accessible social services to the residents of the FCT, Providing Secondary social services by protecting rights and enhancing social well-being of FCT residents and ensures the implementations of policies and programs that guarantees the rights & social wellbeing of FCT residents.
Equipped with above responsibilities and the burning desires to consolidate on existing achievements in the secretariat, the Mandate Secretary, Hajiya Hadiza M. Kabir, on Thursdays March 10th, 2022 clocked 100 days in office and within this period, has achieved the following landmarks thus making her one of the few Secretaries that has engraved her name in the SDS hall of fame within the shortest possible time.
Some of these noble achievements include but not limited to the following, Visited on the same day of her inauguration, the temporary settlement of People Living with Disability at Karamajiji to interface and share with them her excitements as the Mandate Secretary of the SDS. She donated various relief materials and support to the people while promising them that it is a new dawn, she noted that their welfare will be of paramount interest moving forward.
Within the first week of her assumption of duty, Hajiya Hadiza took briefings from the various Departments and had a face-to-face meeting with all members of Staffs of the Secretariat. She painstakingly articulated the various observations, challenges and solutions proffer to some of the issue raised. This was the very first signs that the Secretariat was in good hands.
Next on her itineraries within the 100 days of her stewardship was the tour of facilities and project sites of the Secretariat across the Area Councils to get acquainted with such facilities, the assets and as well as the liabilities of the Secretariat. The facilities visited include as at today, the Women Agro-allied Food Processing Centre at Gwagwalada; Women Development Centre, Zuba, FCT Sports Facilities across the Area Councils to mention a few with others cued on for visiting as soon as possible.
She also met with several stakeholders like the National Youth Councils of Nigeria, Civil Society Organizations, Faith Based and Community Based Organizations, Groups of people living with disabilities who are major stake holders that have direct dealings with the Secretariat. she has been listening to them and meeting the needs of these groups and other stakeholders as much as possible and availability of funds.
After this meeting, she has within the period under review engaged those living with disabilities, with relevant skills acquisition programs and empowerment programs in line with the core Mandate of the Social Development Secretariat (SDS). She also facilitates at intervals the distribution of welfare packages to the poor, the physically challenged and indigents in the territory.
Worried about the plight of People living with HIV/AIDS, she expeditiously revived the earlier abandoned blossom engagements of selected groups of People living with HIV/AIDS, she ensured contemporary and important information about the virus was passed on to them, few drugs including immune boosters was distributed to them with financial empowerment at the end of the event.
In demonstration of her friendly disposition to the media, she quickly approved for the end of year 2021 media parley with the FCT Press Corps and other critical stake holders in the Media field to relieve on her vision which she mentioned as an open-door policy, transparency, improvement of service delivery and infrastructure and welfare of staff, as well as to showcase the score card of the Secretariat. She used the occasion to forge a cordial relationship with the Press.
Mrs. Mohammed had engaged commercial sex workers in the FCT through the Social welfare department on skills acquisition and Empowerment drive as they are being trained in the acts of soap making, cream making, detergents, beads, shoes and bags to ensure that they earn a decent living for themselves and by extension become employers of labor.
Furthermore, and through the Social welfare department, the secretary has ensured the successful registration of over 800 repentant Commercial Sex Workers and other indigent students across the Six Area Councils of the FCT for the 2022 WAEC, NABTEB and NECO free of charge and those registered students are currently receiving tutorials at the Jabi Primary school, Abuja.
She played a major role to ensure a seamless and hitch free hosting of the 9th Edition of the African Personality Forum on behalf of the FCTA and the Hon. Minister of State, FCT, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu as the Secretary of the host Secretariat in December, 2021. The APF is an organized cultural integrated program that brought together young female university students across 55 African countries which seeks to preserve the rich African culture and its heritage, Women Empowerment, Promotion of Tourism, campaign on decent dress culture and young ladies inspired to excel in their career field.
Another great event in which Hajiya Hadiza put to bear hear wealth of experience was the National Peace Concert Rally organized by the Ambassadors of the Voice of Change in collaboration with the FCT. As the Chairperson Organizing committee of the event anchored through the FCT Social Development Secretariat and other SDA’s of the FCT Administration, witnessed several Nollywood and Kannywood Artists, Top Musicians, Ace comedians as well as Ex- International Footballers coming together to reinforce the need for peace, sending & preaching the message of peace in the across the entire County, advocating for tolerance and peaceful coexistence among the different tribes, ethnicity, tongues, religion and culture of the Nigerian People. The maiden Mega rally held in Eagle Square, Abuja was flagged-off by the Hon. Minister of State, FCT, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, who appealed to residents of the FCT and indeed all Nigerians to continue to live together in peace and unity.
She masterminded through the Youth Department, the “Moral Re-Branding of FCT Youth” at the Cinema Hall, of the SDS, where the youths were taught values, orientation against societal evils, peer group pressure (bad influence) and insulated against the effects the bad parenting. Everyone will agree that these are the dominant moral issues plaguing our nation as espoused by the actions and inactions of the Youths.
Hajiya Hadiza recently facilitated the approval of The Hon. Minister of State, FCT, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu through the FCT Social Development Secretariat, a collaboration with an NGO, African Centre for Global Entrepreneurial Leadership (ACGEL) in partnership with The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to present to the youths, women, Artisans, business owners and would be business owners, the Leadership Entrepreneurial Game Show (LEGS). The LEGS initiative is a platform where above mentioned persons are expected to go and register on their website www.legs.africa and a special voting link will be sent to you upon completion of registration. Through LEGS, you are to be empowered with business tools and working capital worth N5, 000,000,000 was you are able to generate a token of six thousand votes (6,000,000) through friend, relations and well-wishers who genuinely want to support your business and grow you into an independence, job empowerment, income generation, self-sufficiency and empowerment.
Through her proactiveness and major support, the social welfare department has greatly improved in the apprehension and evacuation of destitute, beggars, under aged children hawking, car windshield cleaners at major road inter section, etc and rehabilitated at our Bwari vocation and rehabilitation Centre, thus riding the streets off destitutes.
She recently organized a sensitization and capacity building workshop for the entire management and staff of the Social Development Secretariat. The workshop which was the first of its kind for over a decade had guests and resource speakers from some of our West African countries who delivered lectures on “Motivation as a tool for Organizational enhancement”. She ensured that every staff received a combo packed welfare package while encouraging them to put in their best in their respective official chores, noting that the best of welfare and appreciation of staff is yet to come.
Commemorating the 2022 annual International Women’s Day celebration, the Mandate Secretary ensured through the Gender Department of the Secretariat, that a tree planting exercise as a prelude to the IWD celebration was organized in a section of the FCT football pitch located at the old parade ground, Abuja. The FCT Hon. Minister of State was on ground for the flag-off and she used the opportunity to encourage women across the country to strive hard to “break the barrier” an artificial barrier created by the male gender to dominate and restrict the progression of women in their different field of endeavors.
A deserving dinner in commemoration of the International Women’s Day was organized by the Secretary at the community hall of the Social development Secretariat. The dinner hosts the cream la cream in the FCT and beyond including the Hon. Minister of State, FCT, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, The FCT Permanent Secretary, Mr. Olusade Adesola, Director of Human Resources, FCTA, Malam Bashir Mohammed mni and other top management staff of the FCT Administration.
According to the South African Theologian and human rights activist, Desmond Tutu said, “Your ordinary acts of love and hope point to the extraordinary promise that every human life is of inestimable value” .This quote summarizes firmly and affirms the perception of the Mandate Secretary of the FCT Social Development Secretariat, that no matter how little our modest contribution maybe, it adds value to someone’s life especially within a short space of time, if given more time and opportunities, Hajiya Hadiza will most certainly do more and touch more lives in the FCT. We are all therefore encourage to support and encourage her so as to spur and challenge her to do more.
By Shaka Sunday
