ABIA:DO WE HAVE A GOVERNMENT?

By Anya C. Anya

"Do we have a government in Abia State ? He asked me , " yes I responded, we have a government in power ably led by HE Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu" , he sighed then look at me closely and said " if we have a government , then why are they insesitive to our plight and suffering " , at this point I was speachless, what do I tell this man who is among the protesting Abia line workers owed salaries for months ?

For those who may not know , the Abia line workers are protesting the inability of government to pay them thier salaries for months now . The protest had continued today and I decided to meet one of them to reason with him on why they are still protesting after days. " They have not said anything yet and that is why we are still protesting, we have worked for this salary , our life depended on it and that of our children.  We simply cannot go home and stay while watching our families cry on our head " the Annonymous protester told me

Why put so much confidence in government I asked myself ?, Why not  look for something to do with your life? When you have the strength  , hunger is in the land ,joblessness everywhere , insecurity all around the country and you are lying down waiting for government to do something , my dear except a miracle occur, what we call  government in Abia State will not improve .I wonder why and how they behave the way they do with insensitivity to peoples plight and tears ,to the point that until you do something funny ,the government will not respond

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These were my exalt words to him as he sat with me today narrating everything to me from childhood ,how he lost his parents at tender age , without anybody to take care of him , how he had no food but struggled to train himself as a driver with necessary licenses  , he has a diploma but there is no job for him , he was already exhausted and  frustrated protesting, maybe he might consider something irrational to help himself if the government will not do something “is there still hope for me he ask and should I continue to hope and depend on this government to pay us the salary we already worked for ?  “this question form the basis for this article

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Those days in school when I had the privilege of sitting and being taught government theoretically. I was told that among the definition of government include a group of people appointed and assigned the roles and responsibilities of managing state resources for the common interest and benefit of all .
It therefore means that those in government as a appointed or elected have the responsibilities of managing state resources to meet the needs of the citizen ,it was also in economics I discovered that human want are insatiable , our wants will continue to increase as each day passes and so also will our needs also increases
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But so unfortunate that our want are too numerous and increase daily while this resources needed to satisfy the needs is scare . as citizens We have very much expectation from the government having elected them into government but it is unfortunate that they will continue to tell us that the resources is not there to meet all our needs , but the allocation from the Federation account and report available concerning the state IGR is saying otherwise.
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Assuming it is true that the resources are not there to execute necessary infractrutural project cum pay workers thier entitlement, why can't the Government explore available options to source for fund and clear the salary arrears bringing shame and disgrace to Abia State?,   otherwise iam tempted to re-consider the scarcity of resources which is an excuse from the government to explain their inability to source for  resources and clear this shame as irresponsibility
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Yes there is scarcity of resources but what if the Scarcity of resources is an excuse to explain and cover up the wide spread waste of government resources we see . our resources is scare but yet the government and their functionaries waste the available on project and mission which will not in any way affect the life of the citizenry , contract are awarded for none existing project ,substandard project are constructed and little project prices are over inflated which convincingly indict the government of waste of state funds
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But irrespective of this, a lot of people still put hope in the government to provide them with the basic amenities they need , we expect the government to give us free education ,build infrastructure . pay salaries .pensioners among other including security of life and property ,and also provide job opportunities but they have all fallen short of all this things , the more we expect development from them ,the more backward they take us ,
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A sensible government that have the heart of the  people will unavoidably provide job, Protection for life and property ,build infrastructure ,educational facilities ,pay salaries among other but an irresponsible government like these one we have in Nigeria will do none of the above but will tell you that resources is in short supply ,they cannot pay minimum wage of #30,000 .they will excuse their irresponsibility and blame scarcity of resources
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It is irresponsibility to mismanage state funds ,it is irresponsibility to waste resources ,it is irresponsibility to siphon resources meant for infrastructural development ,it is irresponsibility that will inflate contract prices ,it is irresponsibility that stay for months without paying staff salaries ,it is irresponsibility that will owe pensioners ,it is irresponsible government that will engage in electoral malpractice and it is irresponsibility that brutalize its citizens and then it is irresponsibility that will kill and main those lives it is supposed to protect
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Having considered all this As we see in our present day government ,do you still have hope in them , are you lazying about waiting for them to give you job and pay your salaries ,give you scholarship , build infrastructure and do every other things as expected from them ,no you do not have to do so , it is a waste of time and energy to wait and depend on government ,infant an irresponsible government that is not listening to the yeaning and cries of its citizens ,infant it is irresponsibility to trust in an irresponsible government ,it is irresponsibility to defend and campaign for an irresponsibility government ,it is irresponsibility to believe that our resources in Nigeria is scarce and cannot take care of us
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They have succeeded in telling us this lies and why then depend on the government ,why wait for them while their irresponsibility tarries .you are waiting and praying for them while the same people you are praying for are increasingly everyday getting worst and getting more irresponsible , if a man cannot take care of his household ,we will say that he is worst more than an infidel and i want to tell you that any government whether local, state or federal that cannot take care of its people is more irresponsible than irresponsibility itself.
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Therefore stop depending on government, look for something to do with your life , hunger is in the land ,joblessness everywhere , insecurity all around the state and country and you are lying waiting for them to do something , my dear except a miracle occur the government will not improve.I wonder why and how they behave the way they do with insensitivity to peoples plight and tears ,to the point that until you do something funny ,the government will not respond

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Maybe my words are too hash but my encounter today with this protesters nevertheless motivated me to write . I want to plead with Abia government to as a matter of urgency do everything possible to clear this salary arrears issue because it is bringing shame to Abia State. Iam even ashamed myself . See you next time