Political Godfatherism and its Impact on National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) in Ogbomoso South Local Government

to other States of the federation such as Oyo and Enugu. Birkland (2019) wrote on introduction to the policy process, the theories, concepts and models. As laudable the work of Birkland, the practical aspect of the policy process will be useful if he tried to combine the two together. What is the essence of a policy without the usefulness and practicability of such policy? Chistoph & Gerhard (2014) wrote on policy evaluation as an essential step in the reinforcement learning approaches. They did not write something relating to policy feedback neither they wrote on policy determinants nor wrote on policy outcome. Finally, David & Aidan (2017) wrote on policy analysis, concepts and practice. Their work did not focus policy makers and policy executors which the study considers very helpful and useful whenever issues relating to policy is being discussed and addressed. Gerston (2014) wrote on public policy making, process and principles. Here, we understand his work based on process and principles. There are other aspects such as implication, practices, challenges and aftermath. Mthethwa (2012) wrote on critical dimensions for policy implementation. He forgot that there is critical dimension in policy formulation. He supposes to dwell more on formulation before embarked on implementation. When the formulation stage of a policy gets faulty, we should not expect a better result from the implementation stage. Sidney (2017) wrote on policy formulation design why not based his work on policy formulation evaluation, policy formulation feedback and policy formulation analysis. Seniwoliba & Abdallah (2025) discussed perceived godfatherism in Higher Educational Institutions in Ghana. They used qualitative and quantitative methods. Their finding was that godfatherism promoted mediocrity and failed to apply the principle of the merit system in recruitment and positions as well as promotions. Their study on godfatherism in higher educational institution in Ghana failed to juxtapose the impact of godfatherism in higher educational institution in other part of Africa country such as Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone. 7 Theoretical frameworks 7.1 Elite Theory Elite Theory was propounded by Vilfredo Pareto who divided society into a minority ruling class and a majority (the masses). He emphasized that the minority ruling class (the so-called elites) manipulate power and resources at all cost while the majority (the so called masses) are governed by the minority. Essentially, the local elites (godfathers, godsons, stakeholders and gladiators) hijack any programme from the government. They hijacked all matters revolved around National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme. Elite Theory will help the study to understand how godfathers, godsons, stakeholders and gladiators hijack the NHGSFP, divert public funds, monopolise food vendor slots and inflate supply contracts to benefit their preferred candidates and schools and thus increase their influence and fame at the expense of the vast E-ISSN 2504-883X P-ISSN 2695 2432 majority in the society. They serve their pocket and ideology instead of serving the pupils and the society. Essentially, it is the duty of federal government to find means of increase in enrolment rate of pupils into the public primary schools and thereby ameliorate poverty in the country and solve the problem of mal nutrition. Without education state may end up in conflict and without employment in the land socio vices is looming. Also, without good nutrition, a state will suffer and experience different kinds of diseases and sicknesses. All these negate the principles of godfatherism in the content of Nigeria’s politics because godfathers, godsons, stakeholders and gladiators hijack and manipulate any programme from the government and do whatsoever they like concerning the programme without any trace of punishment or severe penalty. 8 Methodology The study adopted correlation, descriptive survey research and multi stage sampling technique. The total population for the study was twenty-eight (28) primary schools that cut across the nooks and crannies of Ogbomoso South Local Government while 100 respondents were randomly selected from 10 public primary schools in Ogbomoso South Local Government. Put categorically, 10 respondents from Ayegun Baptist Primary School I, 10 respondents from Ijeru Baptist Primary School II, 10 respondents from Methodist Primary School III, 10 respondents from Saint Ferdinand Catholic Primary School I, 10 respondents from Soun Primary School I, 10 resdpondents from Molete District Primary School II, 10 respondents from Kajola Primary School, 10 respondents from Onpetu Primary School I and 10 respondents from The Apostolic Primary School I. Each of the public primary school selected in Ogbomoso South Local Government Arowomole was clustered into two categories Group A and Group B. Group A: Teachers: 03 respondents and Pupils: 02 respondents and Group B: Educated Elites: 03 respondents and Masses: 02 respondents. Feasibility and accessibility were the justification for 10 samples randomly selected throughout the ten public primary schools in Ogbomoso South Local Government. Secondary data was used to gather and collate data and questionnaire was administered on selected respondents of one hundred (100) in Ogbomoso South Local Government. It is of the opinion that the sampled will be capable of justifying political godfatherism and its impact on NHGSFP in Ogbomoso South Local Government. Questionnaires were distributed to the selected respondents of one hundred (100) and were retrieved by the researcher with all avenues at his disposal. The title of the questionnaire distributed to the respondents was PGAIIONHGSFPIOSLGQ. Four research questions were raised for this study and answered with 4 – 5 Likert Scale. Strongly Agreed (SA), Agreed (A), Strongly Disagreed (SD), Disagreed (D) and Neutral (N). Decision rule was made on any mean that is from 2.50 was accepted while decision rule on means less than 2.50 was rejected. Graph, pie chart and histogram were used to illustrate the results. 9 Empirical Analysis Objective 1 Examine the contribution of National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme in eradicating poverty among the pupils in public primary schools in Ogbomoso South Local Government E-ISSN 2504-883X P-ISSN 2695 2432 Table 1 showing the responses of the respondents on how National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme eradicating poverty in Ogbomoso South Local government S/N ITEMS SA 5 A 4 D 3 SD 2 N 1 N MEAN DECISION 1 NHGSFP has reduced poverty and mal nutrition among the pupils in public primary schools 45 225 15 60 10 30 5 10 25 25 100 350 3.50 Accepted 2 There is high rate of unemployment 36 180 38 152 10 30 6 12 10 10 100 384 3.84 Accepted 3 There is production of processing aggregation and packaging distribution 30 150 40 160 5 15 10 20 15 15 100 360 3.60 Accepted 4 The policy did not improve fish farming and poultry business and investment. 30 150 40 160 10 30 10 20 10 10 100 370 3.70 Accepted 5 The policy failed to increases the live hood of butchers / meat seller and fish out growers. 29 145 45 180 12 36 4 8 10 10 100 379 3.79 Accepted Author’s Survey 2025 Table 1 showed that 45 (225) respondents out of 100 strongly agreed that Home-Grown School Feeding Programme has reduced poverty and mal nutrition among the pupils in public primary schools while 40 (160) respondents out of 100 agreed that the policy did not improve fish farming and poultry business and investment. These responses were in collaborated with Salisu (2018) in his paper on National Social Investments Policy: The potential to achieve the sustainable Development goal on poverty eradication. Figure 1 showing the benefits of National Home-Grown-School Feeding Programme in Ogbomoso South Local Government 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 NHGSFP has reduced poverty High rate of unemployment Aggregation and Packaging distribution Policy did not improve fish farming Policy failed to increase the livehood E-ISSN 2504-883X P-ISSN 2695 2432 Objective 2 Analyze the impact of National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme on enrolment rate of the pupils in public primary schools in Ogbomoso South Local Government Table 2 showing the responses of the respondents on the impact of National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme on the enrolment rate of the pupils in public primary schools in Ogbomoso South Local Government S/ N ITEMS SA 5 A 4 D 3 SD 2 N 1 N MEAN DECISION 6 There is poor management of the policy 40 200 10 40 15 45 30 60 5 5 100 350 3.50 Accepted 7 Lack of capacity of the institutions to see the full implementation. 15 75 20 80 20 60 40 80 5 5 100 300 3.00 Accepted 8 Policy gives little attention to the community participation and involvement. 40 200 4 16 20 60 27 54 9 9 100 339 3.39 Accepted 9 There are insufficient funds to the full implementation of the policy. 30 150 18 72 32 96 10 20 10 10 100 348 3.48 Accepted 10 The policy itself lack political will to back up of its action. 5 25 12 48 43 129 30 60 10 10 100 272 2.72 Accepted Author’s Survey 2025 Table 2 showed that 40 (200) respondents out of 100 strongly agreed that NHGSFP gives little attention to the community participation and involvement. However, 12 (48) respondents out of 100 agreed that NHGSFP lacks political will to back up its action. The submission of respondents on the impact of NHGSFP in Ogbomosso South Local Government corresponded with Action Health Incorporated Reports (2023) when reported that National Home-Grown School Feeding Policy surrounded by partisan politics and this singular factor endanger the policy to function effectively and efficiently. E-ISSN 2504-883X P-ISSN 2695 2432 Figure 2 showing the distribution of impacts of National Home-Grown-School Feeding Programme in Ogbomoso South Local Government Objective 3 Examine the effects of National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme on the nutrition status of the pupils in public primaries schools in Ogbomoso South Local Government Table 3 showing the responses of the respondents on the effects of National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme on the nutrition status of the pupils in public primaries schools in Ogbomoso South Local Government S/N ITEMS SA 5 A 4 D 3 SD 2 N 1 N MEAN DECISION 11 NHGSFP failed to improves the health and educational status of pupils in rural area. 50 250 20 80 10 30 10 20 10 10 100 390 3.90 Accepted 12 There is increase in enrolment of the pupils in the public primary schools 45 225 15 60 10 30 10 20 20 20 100 355 3.55 Accepted 13 There is still mal nutrition among the pupils in public primary schools. 60 300 5 20 10 30 15 30 10 10 100 390 3.90 Accepted 14 Absentees and irregularity of the pupils in public primary schools persisted. 50 250 15 60 5 15 15 30 15 15 100 370 3.70 Accepted 15 The policy failed to improve extra-curricular activities. 30 150 15 60 25 75 10 20 20 20 100 325 3.25 Accepted Author’s Survey 2025 Table 3 showed that 50 (250) respondents out of 100 strongly agreed that absentees and irregularity of the pupils in public primary schools persisted. While 45 (225) respondents out of 100 strongly agreed that there is increase in enrolment of the pupils in the public primary schools This agreed with National Bureau of Statistics Reports (2020) on how National Home- Grown School Feeding Programme contributed immensely to the increase in enrolment rates of pupils in public primary schools and through the policy there are employment generation to the cooks and the chefs. 10% 20% 20% 10% 40% Lack of Political will Little attention to the community participation and involvement Lack of the capacity of the Institutions Insufficient funds E-ISSN 2504-883X P-ISSN 2695 2432 Figure 3 showing the effects of National home Grown-School Feeding Programme in Ogbomoso South Local Government Objective 4 Assess the impact of Godfatherism on National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme in Ogbomoso South Local Government Table 4 showing the responses of the respondents on impact of Godfatherism on National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme in Ogbomoso South Local Government S/N ITEMS SA 5 A 4 D 3 SD 2 N 1 N MEAN DECISION 16 Godfatherism has hindered the full implementation of NHGSFP 45 225 15 60 10 30 5 10 25 25 100 350 3.50 Accepted 17 There is favoritisms among the head of primary schools in Ogbomoso South Local Government. 36 180 38 152 10 30 6 12 10 10 100 384 3.84 Accepted 18 Godfatherism takes the centre stage during the implementation of NHGSFP 30 50 40 160 5 15 10 20 15 15 100 360 3.60 Accepted 19 The programme is just a waste of resources. 30 150 40 160 10 30 10 20 10 10 100 370 3.70 Accepted 20 The programme designed to enrich the godfathers, godsons, stakeholders and gladiators. 9 145 45 180 12 36 4 8 10 10 100 79 3.79 Accepted Author’s Survey 2025 Table 14 showed that 45 (225) respondents out of 100 strongly agreed that godfatherism has hindered the full implementation of NHGSFP while 40 (160) respondents out of 100 agreed that godfatherism takes the centre stage from the federal level down to state level and down to local level. These responses were in collaborated with Salisu (2018) in his paper on National Social Investments Policy: The potential to achieve the sustainable Development goal on poverty eradication. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 NHGSFP failed to improve health and educational status of the pupils Low in the school enrolment rate of the pupils in public primary schoools mal nutrition among the pupils still persisted Absentees and irregularity of the pupils The policy faiel to improve extral curricular actitivities E-ISSN 2504-883X P-ISSN 2695 2432 10 Discussion The first objective is on the contribution of National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme in eradicating poverty in Ogbomoso South Local government. It could be seen from the study that 45 (225) respondents out of 100 strongly agreed that Home-Grown School Feeding Programme has reduced poverty and mal nutrition among the pupils in public primary schools while 40 (160) respondents out of 100 agreed that the policy did not improve fish farming and poultry business and investment. It could be seen from the study that there are high rate of unemployment and the policy failed to increases the live hood of butchers / meat seller and fish out growers. The second objective is on the impact of National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme on enrolment rate of the pupils in public primary schools in Ogbomoso South Local Government. It could be seen from the study that 40 (200) respondents out of 100 strongly agreed that NHGSFP gives little attention to the community participation and involvement. However, 12 (48) respondents out of 100 agreed that NHGSFP lacks political will to back up its action. There are insufficient funds to the full implementation of the policy and it was revealed from the study that there is poor management which is attributed to poor planning, poor coordination and lack of control over the implementation. In sum, mis management of funds inhibited successful implementation of the policy. The third objective is on the effect of National Home-Grown School Feeding Policy on the nutrition status of the pupils in public primaries schools in Ogbomoso South Local Government. It could be seen from the study that 50 (250) respondents out of 100 strongly agreed that absentees and irregularity of the pupils in public primary schools persisted. While 45 (225) respondents out of 100 strongly agreed that there is increase in school enrolment of the pupils in the public primary schools. Finally, it could be seen from the study that the policy failed to improve extra-curricular activities and there is still mal nutrition among the pupil’s public primary schools. The fourth objective is on the impact of godfatherism on National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme in Ogbomoso South Local Government. It is obvious from the study that 45 (225) respondents out of 100 strongly agreed that godfatherism has hindered the full implementation of NHGSFP while, 45 (180) out of respondents agreed that the programme designed to enrich the so-called godfathers, godsons, stakeholders and gladiators. This agreed with Adekunle (2025) when he sees the danger the godfatherism cause on Nigerian political system especially in Kaduna and collaborated with Alamin (2025) when he quarry the relevance of godfatherism in Kano State. 11 Conclusion The essential purpose behind examining political gofdfatherism and its impact on National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme is to answer the following questions; Does NHGSFP fulfills the vision and mission for being formulated?, To what level has the activities and administrative arrangements hinder the successful implementation of NHGSFP? What are the roles of godfathers, godsons, stakeholders and gladiators towards NHGSFP? Is NHGSFP not experiencing set back like the other polices formulated by the federal government? To what degree has NHGSFP objectives can bail out pupils in public primary schools out of poverty, mal nutrition and low enrolment rate? These questions are fundamental in nature and it is pertinent to stress that the purpose of NHGSFP was to solve low enrolment rate, unemployment, poverty mal nutrition among pupils in public primary schools in Nigeria. Apparently, we should not forget that there are foes, corruption, godfathers, godsons, stakeholders and gladiators and environment E-ISSN 2504-883X P-ISSN 2695 2432 that hindering any policy formulated to reach and get desire result during the implementation stages. There are corrupt practices among public officers that in charge of implementation of the NHGSFP. Nigeria is experiencing economy recession, inflation, banditry and crisis of policy especially among the policy makers/ formulators, policy implementers and policy analysis and evaluators. Invariably the country is facing with political competition and educational system that full of corrupt practices and these and many more in one way or the other greatly affecting NHGSFP during implementation stage. The challenges of NHGSFP to achieve its stated objectives and goals must be ameliorated thereby solve poverty, low enrolment rate and mal nutrition among pupils in public primary schools in Ogbomoso South Local Government. 12 Recommendations At the end of the study, the following recommendations were made to see the successes of NHGSFP in alleviating poverty, increase enrolment rate and thereby solve the problems of mal nutrition among the pupils in public primary schools in Ogbomoso South Local Government. i. There should be monitoring and evaluation system on the allocation and utilization of funds meant for policy, ii. Accountability and community participation to full implementation of NHGSFP. iii. Government policy should be implemented without fear of favour through the non- Involvements of partisan politicians. iv. Public private partnership to solve the problem of low enrolment rate of the pupils in public primary schools. v. 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