By Kingsley Fanwo
Many have written a lot about the ascension of Governor Yahaya Bello to the governorship of Kogi State. Raging arguments for or against have burnt many minds, many “heads” and many fingers.
To those who decided to test the legality in the law courts, the Governor never saw them as enemies. Beyond the rhetorical macabre dance of political orchestra, Governor Yahaya Bello is a refined politician, leader and fearless agitator for the connectedness of the system which was bedeviled by a chemistry of idiocy, corruption, mediocrity, ethnic jingoism, religious bigotry and a people who have developed into failure mentality.
Kogi needed a Yahaya Bello and they got one. A few days after his inauguration, Governor Yahaya Bello instituted a staff verification panel to ascertain the actual strength of the state’s workforce.
I remembered receiving many calls from far and near, advising that the Governor should have waited for the outcome of his tribunal cases before venturing into such a “dangerously sensitive” venture. What made a simple exercise to ascertain the actual strength of the workforce dangerous and sensitive?
They were right. They know the enormity of the rot and the calibre of people behind the filthy lucre. They beneficiaries of ghost workers are established forces with rocky connections within and outside government. They tell every government staff verification is a no go area. And the rot kept robbing us of where we should be as a people.
He dared to tread where giants fell. He held on to his belief. He believes the need to save the State which was surviving on oxygen when he took over was more important than political exigencies. A dehydrated state began to wax stronger.
Before the tribunal judgement, many postulations were advanced. Rightly so, the case was novel. It was on a legal pseudopodium which direction was unknown. Beneficiaries of ghost workers syndrome, cankerworm of eminence, defeated and deflated political fiefdoms and other categories of exasperated political gangsters mounted a ceaseless campaign against the divine government.
And the judgement day came. Governor Yahaya Bello recorded unabatedly, electoral victories from Monday to Friday. What he didn’t fear didn’t kill his aspirations for a better Kogi State.
After the judgements, attention shifted to the screening exercise. He was called names. He was misconstrued. His patriotic zeal to serve was put to test. But he stood his ground. He remained adamant on doing that which is right.
Despite the challenge of the screening committee, the determination to succeed made him set up a back up committee of people with unbroken integrity to ensure the exercise is successful. Today, we have recorded a huge breakthrough that will shock the people.
Let me state here that Governor Yahaya Bello is not insensitive to the plight of the people. On many occasions, he lamented the hardship the people went through during the period of the screening when salaries were put on hold pending when a clean payroll was ascertained. He felt the pains of the people. He cares. Behind the steely look of the bespectacled Governor is a human affection and care.
A surgery is aimed at saving lives. Kogi needed one and that was done. In surgery, there is usually so much pain. But the end justifies the means. I saw what the people went through and I applaud their patience and perseverance. It was tough. But the odd days are going away. Whenever surgery is on, rights are suspended. The decisions to use both Zenith Bank and Access Bank to pay salaries before a new database is built, is aimed at controlling the system before the workers may choose to go back to any bank of their choices. The administration of Governor Yahaya Bello believes in the rule of law and constitutionalism.
With the thousands of ghost workers that have been discovered, Kogi State will be able to save hundreds of millions of naira for infrastructural development. We are aware many were unjustifiably removed from the payrolls. We also know some were erroneously cleared. Someone who claimed to hold employment letter purportedly issued in 1983 was cleared. All of these are currently receiving the attention of the back up committee.
Through our feedback mechanism, we have also discovered more complaints. The Governor has directed the banks to resolve those challenges. The banks will even be working on weekends to ensure genuine workers are not made to suffer.
On Monday 25th July, 2016, the report of the back up committee. To ensure transparency and defeat the fallacies of distractors, the Governor has directed that the presentation should be broadcast live on television and radio stations around the country. This is in line with the premium importance the Governor attaches to getting the Kogi people informed about his efforts.
Having won another of his battle against ghost workers, labour leaders in the State went on strike to demand for salary payment, even as the State had paid over 60% of the MDAs before they went on strike. Though the strike failed as a result of workers’ revolt, it is instructive to know that the people of Kogi State have keyed into the New Direction Agenda of the present administration.
Except in few cases of omission, every cleared worker has been paid arrears of salaries ranging from three to four months.
While the failed strike was in its skeleton, the long drawn leadership tussle in the House of Assembly was resolved. Concerned citizens of the State, led by the Peace Ambassador, Comrade Oladele Nihi and Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan waded into the crisis and got it resolved through cooperation from all parties involved.
A lesson here: when a good leadership is enthroned, the citizens start to take their place. With the court victory, screening success, Assembly peace, cleaner and safer Lokoja, better Lokoja township roads and the mechanism against graft; detractors were washed to the last bank of the river which was the ASUU strike.
ASUU members were owed salary arrears before the present administration came on board. On assumption of office, the Governor assured the academia that he would defray salaries as soon as he was able to secure bailout. But even before the bailout , the Governor paid the lecturers two months salaries within his first 57 days in office! This is a clear declaration of respect for the academic community.
But to the Governor’s surprise, ASUU went ahead to declare strike when students were preparing to start their exams. The Governor appealed to them to resume and consider the plights of the Kogi students. But they remained adamant and unyielding. On securing bailout, the Governor paid the lecturers four months salaries.
And when they refused to resume, the world knew the strike had other intentions. The Governor should be applauded for standing by the economic rights of the Kogi people. No one should go on strike to demand tax exemption. It is an affront against equity and justice.
Again, a listening Governor said he would look into whether they were overtaxed in the past. But he remained determined not to be stampeded into mortgaging the future of the State despite his unimpeachable desire to get the students back to their classrooms.
Even when the students were misguided to storm the street, government acted responsibly by defending the rights of all. This is epochal, honourable, commendable and worthy of emulation.
As we speak, the last cloud is gone as the lecturers have agreed to go back to the class.
Light has come. The Governor has shown how a leader should react. Together, we are moving forward.
The key to excellent leadership is the ability of the leader to take decisions based on the common good.
From now, we know that Kogi cannot be taken for granted anymore. We now know that every force against good will get bad. We now know that responsibility is the mother of greatness. We now know that Kogi is in safe hands.
Fairplus has shown that he is courageous enough to defend our values and interest.
With Fairplus, all Kogites have won fairly.
– Kingsley Fanwo, a journalist, is the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Kogi State.
