Kogi gov, please help out

An air of disenchantment currently envelopes the land and the people desire nothing more than a speedy flicker of hope.

At this auspicious time, I am using this medium to appeal to the governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, to pay the over 12 months’ outstanding salaries of workers, gratuities and arrears of monthly pensions of retired teachers under the purview of the Kogi State Universal Basic Education Board.

In the last 13 months, I had written several pieces on this issue but no action has so far been taken to end the suffering of the workers who have been subjected to regular verification exercises.

Sadly, this is coming against the backdrop of high-profile expectations of a new direction in the state.

The masses of our people have, for years, lived on a pittance, earning wages that they could barely subsist on.

The cost of living has stretched their incomes farther than can be reasonably endured. Inflation is galloping.

Power supply is epileptic, and many have no idea where the next meal will come from. Our communities need roads, water, modern health facilities and better schools.

Many parents cannot afford a decent meal for themselves and their children.

Workers who spent their entire life serving the state are consigned to a life of scavenging in old age because their pensions are not paid.

Some die while standing in pension queues, struggling to get their legitimate dues.

These salient facts are not secret: the government is aware of  the situation.

The Kogi scenario can be best captured in that evergreen folklore, where it is said that the people, having become tired of the needless squatting of the dog, got annoyed and decided to sell the dog to buy a monkey, only to then discover that the squatting of the monkey is even far worse than that of the dog they thought was a burden.

Governance is about political wisdom and political wisdom is summed up in the ability of a leader to manage diverse political interests, no matter how primitive and disgusting.

Therefore, the Kogi State government must get down to radically restructuring the state.

Balogun Funsho,

Kabba, Kogi State.