Yuletide and President Buhari’s directive on workers’ salaries

President Muhammadu Buhari recently directed the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; the Minister of National Planning, Udo Udoma and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele to work with the state governors to ensure the payment of salary arrears to workers across the county ahead of the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

This type of directive which is not common to hear from that high level, has however, showed that this president has the feelings of average Nigerians particularly the working class at heart.

For if not, he would have cared less if worker’s salaries were paid or not after all there are officials and ministries whose functions are meant to see to the payment of workers’ salaries at the various government agencies across the country.

However, as palatable as the news is, its contradiction is made manifest in the lawlessness being displayed by majority of the officials occupying the concerned agencies when it comes to discharging their duties like paying workers their entitlements including monthly salaries.

The display of arrogance and ungodliness often displayed by the so called officials is rather left unimagined and has led to the untimely death of many retirees and civil servants as such officials negatively use their positions to frustrate the payments of the deserved people.

Therefore, for President Buhari to have directed workers to be paid before the Yuletide only showed that he understood the importance of wages to a labourer/worker particularly in a time like this.

It is, however, unfortunate that the president may likely be on his own in view of the manner most of those responsible for paying workers, either retired or still in service, throw justice and fairness to the wind in contradiction to the principle of ‘a worker deserves his/her wages.’

While the President deserves to be commended for reminding the affected principals the need to pay the workers before the Christmas and New Year ahead arrive, it is another thing to see that his sincere wish is fulfilled by them.

It is only in Nigeria that when the number one citizen in the country makes a pronouncement that other people dare sit on the order based on flimsy excuses and power show.

This played out in the case of the former workers of the defunct national airline, the Nigeria Airways, whose jobs were abruptly brought to an end 13 years ago based on unwise decision made by the then government.

Thirteen years after the controversial liquidation, over 1,000 of the workers have died without reaping the fruit of their labour.

Though the government of Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua did its best by ensuring part payment of five years out of the expected 20 years to them, it took another seven years under the present administration of Buhari to remember them.

The final good news came over two months ago when the Federal Executive Council (FEC) led by Buhari granted approval that the former workers be paid N45 billion though short of N33 billion as their entitlements.

Surprisingly, rather than commence the payment, there is an ongoing bureaucracy between the ministry of finance and the (PICA) officials on whether to comply with the FEC approval or not.

Unfortunately, as they continue with this muscle flexing, over 20 of the former workers have died since the approval was given two months ago due to lack of access to medical attention as they could not afford the financial requirements.

As cheering as President Buhari’s directive to his officials on the need to pay the workers before the Yuletide is, the probability that the affected officials will be humane enough to bring smiles to the faces of the workers is blowing in the wind. Should God touch them and they choose to do the needful, they should please remember the former Nigeria Airways workers so that their families can also have a sense of belonging after years of abandonment and frustration.