Kogi State Governor’s Snail-speed Approach to Job Creation and The Abuse of Human Dignity by Private Schools Owners in Kogi State – Odih Daniel

Containing people’s plight and
creating an agreeable living
environment through
meaningful programmes are
the hallmark of a good and
commendable government. When the
government’s policies are people
oriented, the beneficiaries will have no
choice but to pride in their government.
The joy, the pride and the self
identification that are supposed to be
part and parcel of the lives of people of a
state have long been rubbished in the bin
of neglect in Kogi State. It is without
doubt that an average Kogite does not
take glory in his own state, let alone in
his government. The rationale behind
the denial or the apathy is not far from
the fact that of all the states and cities in
the North Central region of Nigeria, Kogi
State, and, precisely, Lokoja is the
poorest and the dirtiest. This is due to a
total neglect of the administrative
responsibilities of the new government.
Job creation has always been the
political anthem of most Nigerian
political office holders. The Minister of
Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala once
stated She stated that the government of
President Goodluck Jonathan had
created 1.6 million jobs within 12
months; that 431,021 jobs were created
in the first quarter of 2013, showing an
upward trend in job creation and an
increase of 11.69 per cent from the fourth
quarter of 2012. This anthem is sung so
loud that you will wonder who the
beneficiaries of these jobs are. In Kogi
State, billboards, celebrating the
Governor and his wife stated that the
governor created jobs for Kogi women.
But where do these women live?
In some cases, promises are handed out
on the need to develop the state. But to
match the words with the corresponding
actions is the basic tool that is missing in
the lives of my governor. On June 24,
2014, according to the KogiReports
website, the Governor promised to “keep
the state in better environment to give a
good impression to visitors”. We have yet
to see any changes.
In terms of job creation by the Kogi State
government, singing the song is
intended, as I see it, to deceive the
helpless, homeless and hapless people
and to make them believe that the
domant government is working.
Illiteracy and half-
education were once
used as bases to
blame the first two
governments of Kogi
State of poor
performance. Yet,
these governors
established many
lofty and commendable projects that
people are enjoying today.
Our first educated governor, years after
mounting the throne of leadership and
singing the song of employing a mere
hungry 500 teachers, has yet to make us
see the fruits of his anthem. The process
of employing these teachers, apart from
being slow(starting from early 2013 till
now without success or a headway),
tedius and annoying, it is also oscillating
and without a ray of hope as many
political office holders injected their
candidates and are even selling off the
slots at so high a cost. What about the
advert published in the Graphic
newspaper, requesting applications for
various positions in the Kogi State
University, Anyigba? Has the governor
till today said a word or two about that?
Why is he so indifferent when it comes to
welfare and job creation?
Following the high of rate of joblessness
in Kogi State, many graduates find
themselves in many private schools in
the state where they are paid whatever
the proprietors wish. Apart from an
outright delay in salaries payment, many
private schools owners exploit their
employees from 7am to 5pm for just a
pittance. From time to time, the threat of
laying employees off over a slight
provocation is a recurring decimal. If
Governor Wada had done what he is
constitutionally supposed to do, the
abuse of human dignity as is very
prevalent in Kogi State, especially in
private schools would not recorded.
Elsewhere, private schools teachers
enjoy better pay than government
schools teachers. The reverse is the case
here because the government has no
developmental policies.
If Wada’s first attempt at creating a job
for mere 500 teachers is moving at snail
speed, and even without a faintest hope,
then it is clear that he may not be the
“Messiah” the people have long been
waiting for or have been earnestly
seeking; and the possibility and the
ability to take care of the million people’s
jobs and creating even a better, bigger
ones in the land in the next round of
governance is not assured.
Odih Daniel N.
Lokoja, Kogi State.
Odih4sure@gmail.com