Your Excellency,
There is a cry in the land. A cry that rises from the children of those who once built Kogi State with their sweat and strength. A cry that should not be ignored.
Yesterday, I received a call from a young lady, her voice breaking with sorrow. She told me she had tried everything to claim her late father’s gratuity, but the people, she met about 4 years ago, demanded half of the money and sexual intimacy before assisting her. Since then, she has given up. She and her siblings are suffering—left stranded in a state their father served.
Your Excellency, is this the reward for a life of service?
Her father was a teacher, a man who shaped the future of this state by educating its children. Now, his own children cannot even afford to eat. He gave his life to the state, but the state has given nothing to his children. They were supposed to inherit his labour’s reward, but instead, they inherited his suffering.
Some of these children watched their parents die in debt—pushed to the grave by hardship while waiting for their rightful gratuities. Others struggle with hunger, lack of shelter, and no means of education. Their parents served with loyalty, yet their families are left to beg for what is rightfully theirs.
But Governor Ododo, you once said, “No citizen should go to bed hungry under my watch.”
This is the time to fulfill those words.
The millions meant for these retired workers are still locked away, while their children live from hand to mouth. How can money that belongs to families remain untouched while those same families suffer? Does the government not see them? Does the system not hear their cries?
Ecclesiastes 5:10 says, “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.” If the government hoards these gratuities, what meaning is left in service? Why should any worker believe in a system that does not care for them even in death?
Your Excellency, the Igala people say, “An elder does not stay at home while a goat gives birth in chains.” You are the father of the state. You cannot let these children remain in chains of poverty while their parents’ hard-earned money remains locked away.
Some retired civil servants are still alive, but what kind of life do they have? Some live in houses with leaking roofs, others sleep in borrowed rooms because they cannot afford shelter. They spent their years working for the government, but now, they are abandoned by the same system.
What is the worth of service if it ends in suffering? What message does this send to the young workers of today? The late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua once said, “A nation that does not reward hard work cannot develop.” If we do not pay our retired workers what they are owed, how can we expect dedication from those still working?
In my attempt to help, I have encountered more stories of frustration than hope. The people I have met so far—those in charge of processing these funds—speak in hushed tones, making quiet demands before they “help.” They demand kickbacks, ask for percentages, and place hurdles in the path of grieving children before they can access their parents’ hard-earned money. Is this the system we have built? Where corruption feeds on the suffering of the weak?
One retired teacher once said, “We did not serve to beg. We did not work to suffer. Our sweat should not be wasted.” Their children are not asking for charity. They are asking for justice.
The Bible reminds us in Proverbs 3:27, “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.” Your Excellency, it is within your power to act. You can release these gratuities. You can end the suffering of these families. You can restore faith in the system.
This is not just about money. It is about dignity. It is about fairness. It is about humanity. Do not let history remember your administration as one that ignored the cries of its people. Let history say that under Governor Usman Ododo, Kogi State honoured its workers, even in retirement and beyond.
Your Excellency, if you hear nothing else, hear this: The children of Kogi State’s retired workers are waiting. Their parents served. They deserve what is theirs. Could you please answer their call?
Respectfully,
– Inah Boniface Ocholi writes from Ayah – Igalamela/Odolu LGA, Kogi state.
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