I want to reiterate what many Nigerians already know — things are tough for ordinary citizens in this country. Just last week, I saw a teacher in my son’s public school by the side of the road, and I suspected he was trekking home, so I beckoned on him to join me; I was on a commercial motorcycle, popularly called Okada, but he declined, saying he wanted to see someone. Later, I got to where I was going, and had to wait a while to see the person I had gone to see, and after some minutes, the teacher walked past; he was obviously walking home, and I instantly looked the other way so that he won’t be embarrassed.
Civil servants who have not been paid for several months are suffering, and despite not being in support of state governors obtaining loan every now and then from the Federal Government, I hope the new N90billion loan will be used to offset the arrears of civil servants and retirees.
It is not a secret that many of our state governors are bad managers of financial resources, and it is as a result of this that I want the Federal Government to monitor how the bailout fund will be disbursed.
The Federal Government should ensure that the fund is not used to pay contractors, but to settle the arrears of civil servants and retirees, and any government that diverts the fund should be punished.
- Idayat Kassim,
and then