The picture below shows in details the amount of funds that accrued to the Yahaya Bello administration from January-August 2017.
Over 180 billion Naira received so far this year if we add September and October allocations plus the internally generated revenue (which is put at 1 billion naira monthly according to Kogi governor).
The pathetic question that most of us Kogites ask has now transcended from the level where we ask whether the money actually accrued to the state to a realm where we ask whether the money has been utilize toward the development of the state.
The utilization question which is anchored on the principle of accountability and transparency in governance becomes a mirage and a perfect impossibility in the New direction era headed by Yahaya Bello.
Any sociologist entering Kogi state from any point will appreciate and conclude that Kogi state is a state of great socio-economic potentials but unfortunately its heading toward a great Humanitarian Crisis all caused by a non- willing and democratic-less government and governance.
A further socio-economic cum political biology analysis will show that Kogites are in hot and unintended romance with poverty, hunger, infrastructural decay, insecurity, oppression, etc.
Virtually all sectors of the state have left the stage of comatose to a state of near or complete collapse. A situation where poverty has now made the people a laughing stock, instead of the people making fun of poverty.
From Confluence of Opportunities to Confluence of Misplace Priorities!
With over N180 billion received so far this year, no meaningful project has been executed. I can categorically tell you that the present administration has not successfully completed a 5km road in any of the geo-political zones of the state since the inception of the administration.
All what we read in papers and Facebook is that so so road has been awarded, sometimes even flag-off ceremonies are conducted. After the ceremonies contractors abandon the site for lack of payment of mobilization fees after it has been approved.
Kogi state, if my statistics are correct, has the highest number of abandoned socio-infrastructural projects in Nigeria. The pathetic condition is what is witnessed in the labour sub-sector of the state where the government has successfully confused itself via undertaking a non-intellectual and valueless screening exercise. The screening and verification exercise has thrown the administration into the highest level of confusion up to the extent of not knowing the number of workers it has paid, those waiting to be paid and how much is to be paid.
This singular and socio-economic cum political un-progressive act has led to the death of many civil servants in the state, with the latest been the suicide committed by a Director in the civil service as a result of non-payment of salaries. This led to the call for the donation of bags of rice by the God-sent Senator representing the state at the National Assembly. At the end, over 2000 bags of rice was donated for onward distribution to the state government workers in order to salvage them from hunger and poverty and subsequent suicide or an attempted suicide.
Also, a lawmaker from another state observed that the only way out of these predicament that Kogi state finds itself in is for the state to be merged with another state.
So many took such act and advises to be politically calculated insult on the integrity of the state, but to me it is the fundamental reality. Workers need to eat and survive, hence the bag of rice is a welcome development and any state that cannot pay its workers salaries for over six months is deem to be financially bankrupt and non- viable, hence the need for such a state to be merged with other viable state.
If this present administration continue in this manner, the state will be submerged in serious humanitarian crises and might be declared bankrupt.
What is the essence of having a government that cannot pay its workers salaries?
Apart from the above, despite huge allocation to the security sub-sector in the state, the state still remain the virtual headquarters of insecurity; with kidnapping, armed robbery and killing being the order of the day. The simple way out of this mess is for the current administration headed by Yahaya Bello to become serious with governance for once, avoid wasting scare resources on propaganda, tolerate opposition, become labour friendly, advocate and implement pro-masses policies, revitalize the critical sectors of the state economy like education, agriculture, health, rural development and transportation. Most especially, government should dwell on the concept of performance before seeking for re-election, not seeking for re- election before performance. For re-election is a pure product of your performance.
– Sam Enemama Akubor
