It is very unfortunate when a polity is infected with the virus of acute motionlessness and visionlessness garnished in the oil of maladministration, mis-governance and embezzlement. This is the situation we find ourselves in Kogi state. No wonder, the Catholic Bishops refer to Kogi state administration and Yahaya Bello as a tragedy in democracy, government and governance.
In democratic setting, governments are supposed to have a scale of preference where vital needs of the society are given first priority before other needs.
Here is a state where salaries are not been paid, poverty, hunger, collapsing educational system, decaying infrastructure, insecurity, to numerous to mention, are on the rise.
In fact, according to current statistics, Kogi is among the leading economic non-viable states, with a high potentials of humanitarian crises.
With all these myriads of problems, the only thing the government can think of is to renovate the government house gate, not building a new government house, with the whooping sum of over 800 million naira, which is about 20 percent of the state federal allocation. Just imagine if the over 800 million naira is injected into vital sectors such as education, rural infrastructure, poverty alleviation and human empowerment. But because of their natural quest to embezzle state resources via inflated contracts, they will not use their common sense and administrative scale of preference.
It is now clear that from the intellectual analysis angle that the problem of Kogi state is not the thinking per say but the ability and capacity to think right by the governor and his cabal. The virtual absence of the use of fundamental concept like cost-benefit analysis, cost effectiveness analysis, scale of preference, prudent ecological analysis as well as human resource management are other contributing factors are the real problems.
The whole scenario has made governance and government to look as a case of the ‘Beautiful But Worthless Policies’. Their policies looks beautiful outside but its contents are administrative and politically worthless to the people/masses.
From the political cum social analysis perspective, the problem of the state is simple; the problem of political greed. A situation where you have a leader that is obsessed with power and seeking for re-election without performance. He forgot that re-election is a product of actual performance. This whole scenario has turned the governor into an administrative Zombie unto himself and subjecting the state into avoidable socio-economic hardship and ordeals.
The solution is simple. Mr. Governor, Kogi state is not in need of a government house gate but eradication of hunger, poverty, payment of salaries, infrastructural revamping and well as human and social security.
– Sam Enemama Akubor
