Osun is in a mess
Let’s say it the way it is: no matter how the Osun State governor and his supporters spin it, the state is in a mess. A big mess for that matter, with something close to apocalypse going on in my home state unless we don’t want to speak truth to the government. Last September after Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s victory at the polls, this column, in an open letter congratulated him for a hard-fought electoral battle where he dug in and defeated the Peoples Democratic Party blitzkrieg. Unfortunately, he has not displayed the same energy in facing the poverty monster ravaging the state.
Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in Aregbesola’s government failure in paying civil servants’ salaries in the state. At the moment, the All Progressives Congress-led government owes seven months salary arrears with civil servants on strike and the machinery of the state in coma only being sustained by a life support machine. Three different incidents show the level of degradation ongoing in Osun. First was a suicide attempt by a local government staff last month that could not keep up with the demands of life as a husband and father. Fortunately, he was stopped before he could carry out his intention but this did not stop a spokesperson of the governor from saying that there was no nexus between the suicide attempt and non-payment of salaries.
The second one was an encounter I had with an octogenarian in Abuja few weeks back. He told me of how he and a friend went to visit their old senior in secondary school in Osogbo, the state capital, and they met his private schools under lock. Shocked by this, they asked why he decided to close the schools to which he responded that students could not afford to pay fees because their parents have not been paid just as it was getting difficult for him too to keep up with financial obligations. The third was that of a pastor requesting that members of his congregation should bring food items and money for those who have not been paid their salaries. Apart from the personal encounter, the other two were well reported in the media.
But what happened to the lofty ideas and dreams of our dear governor? What happened to the dream of turning Osun into a food basket for the western part of Nigeria? What about the Dagbolu international market? By now, the governor must have discovered that governance is more than sloganeering and singing solidarity song across the length and breadth of the state. As commendable as infrastructural development is and Aregbesola’s government tried along this line, nothing sums up his government more than the expression: good intention gone awry. Wonder who or what pushed him to build a cargo airport in the state? It is clear that he has not been served well by his cabinet, especially the former finance commissioner.
As at January this year, the governor presented a budget of N197billion to the House of Assembly, which adjusted it upward to N201.74billion to cover for the non-inclusion of salaries of the middle school teachers. Did the government not want to pay these teachers when it re-classified schools? Students sat for WASCE and NECO examinations without having the benefit of teachers preparing them for those examinations.
An analysis of the 2015 budget also revealed that N18.6 billion was budgeted for the Governor’s office with N6.925billion for recurrent expenditure and N11.7billion for capital expenditure. Interestingly, N2billion is meant to pay salaries of the governor, deputy governor, judges and the state independent electoral commission that has not conducted any election since its inception. There’s also a provision of N1.159billion for salaries, allowances, remuneration of career officers and political office holders in the governor’s office while N3.775billion is for general administration of bureaus and agencies in the governor’s office. While inaugurating the House of Assembly last week, Aregbesola said that he was the first to raise the alarm about dwindling allocation to the states in 2013, yet his government went ahead to propose a budget of N197billion for 2015. How did he hope to finance it without a corresponding increase in the revenue of the state? The Nation newspaper of January 27 reported an official of the state saying that the budget will be implemented. “Government of the State of Osun has said despite the dwindling resources of the state, its 2015 budget is implementable, as all the machinery have been put in place to ensure its implementation.
The Permanent Secretary, Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Segun Olorunsogo stated this on Tuesday while giving an overview of the 2015 budget estimates before the joint House of Assembly Committee on Finance and Appropriation and Public Accounts.”
By the way, what about the helicopter purchased for security surveillance in the state? What better security than the welfare of citizens, especially the workers who are being denied their due?
It’s most unfortunate that Osun State could get to this level of rut under Aregbesola? I a supporter of good governance under any party. I hereby suggest that Aregbesola should be impeshed, bcos he has totally lost control of Osun State.
So salary payment is your yardstick. Have even verified other claims in the article? How could a private school close down because civil servants are owed salaries? How many civil servants enrol their children in private school? In scientific critical analysis, the purported close down of just a single private school out of hundreds of such scattered across the state is unjustifiable and renders such claim as falacious. One thing the state Osun people enjoy today is good security. Part of the strategy behind this is the procurement of state of the art APC vehicle among other security logistics in 2012. 21 of them were procured, coupled with a chopper for air surveillance. Nobody made any complained against these efforts of government by then. In fact workers in the state and other citizens hailed Aregbesola. The opposition then lost their antagonistic voices then. No worker or anybody, including the writer of above piece, saw anything bad in the purchase of the chopper among other security arrangements. They didn’t because workers in the state got SMS alert of their salary account between 26-27 day of every month that Aregbesola had paid salaries. This I laws even when allocations had not been received for that month. By then, Osun’s allocation was N4b plus; with the largest civil servants in Nigeria after Lagos State! The last allocation of Osun is less than 700 million Naira. How would that, plus IGR of about N1b settle the salaries of close to N4b per month. It should be noted that overheads must also be settled monthly unless the state would be run quite aground! And it is ridiculous, more so mischievous that anybody would ever imagine that an chopper made available since 2012 should be sold to pay workers. By such imagination, the individual has only displayed deep ignorance of the cost of a chopper within the range of what Osun government procured 3 years ago. The Internet would assist in this wise. If anybody is looking for how much a helicopter costs, it’s anywhere from USD $250,000 – $1,700,000, depending if it is a little 2 seater up to a five seater. Converting that to Naira leaves one with a poultry sum.
A big question that should have been addressed is why would allocations to states continously reduce since last quater of 2014 amidst daily loss of 400,000 barrels of crude oil under Jonathan? How about the indiscriminate spending of the indiscriminate spending from the crude oil account by Okonjo-Iweala? What happened to the sovereign wealth account -i.e monthly deductions from allocation of states?
I mean to write “why would allocation continously reduce from last quarter of 2013…” Not 2014 please.
The gov. in 2011 said “I don’t need Federal Allocation to pay workers” http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/aregbesola-i-don-t-need-federal-allocation-to-pay-workers/103799/
Another reason for the reduction in the state allocation is all the debts incurred by Ogbeni’s administration. Check and verify Osun state debt profile on the debt management Office website. Deductions from Osun state allocation is to the tune of 1B. I have been looking for someone to help me make sense of the govt mathematics, probably you can help me. Osun’s total income in the last 4 years is N204B and the budget for 2014 is N234B, 2015 budget is N202B, who is deceiving who?
Need to know if all these choppers have operators and are they still getting paid for the past 6-7months?
Oga Patrotism, Jona & his entourage are gone, the lives and welfare of the Osun people should be the Concern of the leadership!!!
An adage says’To’je bati kuro ninu Ise, Ise bu se’
Let the people eat, money to meet dr basic needs, even if its a-10th of dr salaries per month, they need it.
If ure a salary earner, ur boss owes u o month, ao will you cope with a family.
Pls, lets put ourselves in these peoples shoes, de are weeping & dying silently & gradually.
Am not an anti- any party, am just a concerned individual dt feels d plight of these voiceless people, dt need no Chopper but food on dr table
Need to know if all these choppers have operators and are they still getting paid for the past 6-7months? Oga Patrotism, Jona & his entourage are gone, the lives and welfare of the Osun people should be the Concern of the leadership!!! An adage says’To’je bati kuro ninu Ise, Ise bu se’ Let the people eat, money to meet dr basic needs, even if its a-10th of dr salaries per month, they need it. If ure a salary earner, ur boss owes u o month, ao will you cope with a family. Pls, lets put ourselves in these peoples shoes, de are weeping & dying silently & gradually. Am not an anti- any party, am just a concerned individual dt feels d plight of these voiceless people, dt need no Chopper but food on dr table
Every society gets the kind of leadership it deserves, so it serves Osun people right. Not too long ago Osun people had opportunity of sending Aregbesola away but they reelected him,so they deserves what they are getting now, they should stop complaining and disturbing us because we have more pressing national issues to attend to.
Where are the likes of Dele Momodu, what happened to his pen or has it suddenly become blunt and cannot write anymore. We read countless letters of advice from Dele Momodu to GEJ via his pendulum, its time for Dele to write to Aregbesola, his pen must not become blunt now.
Unfortunately Osun people will live with this mess for long before they can make a CHANGE because Aregbesola’s four yr term has just begun.
APC!!!…………CHANJI!!!!
Iam strongly in support of your write up The Government is not only in a peculiar mess but in disarray while the innocent people are in disaster. It’s extremely difficult for people survival in the very poor condition. Some people must have passed away in the hash condition How can a family man contemplating of building a new mansion without feeding wife and children.The. Government failed in considering the salary earners and pensioners before embaking on white elephant projects.Our Governors should learn from Baba Awolowo and Chief Bola Ige of blessed memory.
OSHUN has lost her bearing Long long Ago!!!!! They destroyed and confused the justifiable philosophy of SLA AKINTOLA for the Parochial and Sectional philosophy of Chief OBAFEMI AWOLOWO !!! This led to the Gestapo reaction of NNDP and altimately the Collapse of the First Republic . We are squarely back to the same Spot…..TINUBU …..AKANDE …..AREGBESOLA ?……The Dog has gone back to its Vomit? NPC…AG ALLIANCE …..NO…1959,1963 ?…..AC…APP..APGA…Alliance ….2015….YES BUHARI ? That is Why the Steel Rolling Mill and The Machine Tools are now Moriibond and selling Osun River Water !!!! OSHUN RONU!!!!!!!
Gibberish
It is most unfortunate that the people of my dear Osun state have found themselves in this situation. But, alas, we brought it on ourselves! I have always maintained (and I still hold the view) that APC in Osun State is a fraud. It is a fraud on the people of Osun. Most regrettably, my dear people in Osun did not realize it. It pains to always have to say this. With a well planned propaganda, APC media arm in Osun successfully managed the dirty, unspeakable aspects of their administration. An outsider would think Osun should be next to paradise!
The indications were there before the elections: payment of salaries late into the next month. When the governor suddenly started paying salaries promptly about two months to the election, I told my people, ‘this is deceit’. The Opon Imo project had long collapsed despite the huge money spent on it.
He follows the footsteps of Chief Bisi Akande when he was governor. They both prefer to have good roads that will be littered with dead bodies, poverty-stricken and hunger-marooned souls.
It is most unfortunate that the people of my dear Osun state have found themselves in this situation. But, alas, we brought it on ourselves! I have always maintained (and I still hold the view) that APC in Osun State is a fraud. It is a fraud on the people of Osun. Most regrettably, my dear people in Osun did not realize it. It pains to always have to say this. With a well planned propaganda, APC media arm in Osun successfully managed the dirty, unspeakable aspects of their administration. An outsider would think Osun should be next to paradise!
The indications were there before the elections: payment of salaries late into the next month. When the governor suddenly started paying salaries promptly about two months to the election, I told my people, ‘this is deceit’. The Opon Imo project had long collapsed despite the huge money spent on it.
He follows the footsteps of Chief Bisi Akande when he was governor. They both prefer to have good roads that will be littered with dead bodies, poverty-stricken, hungry and marooned souls.
Unfortunately, we are talking to a deaf, sturbon and arrogant governor who listen only to himself here.
I believe APC is thriving under the poverty mentality of the people of my State when they share N1,000 and 2 “congos” of rice to the during the last House of Assembly election just to have them thumbprint their candidates. Now it is getting out of hands as they go on strike.
Well, no one who has never gotten to the battle front can claim to be a MAN. I’ve not been there so I can’t blame him too much but he should do something fast, the state is in a ruin economically.