By Moses Ayodele ORJI
My painful experience yesterday evening wading through the murky sludge at Ariaria International Market, ABA,took me down memory. I reflected on Abia and our loud claims to having transformed. And I remembered Governor Otti’s campaign promise to the traders at this market that he would commence his “transformational journey” from Ariaria. And I remembered that we are on the threshold of yet another campaign period.
One of the great tragedies of our lives is that we seldom bridge the gap between practice and profession. This persistent moral gulf leaves so many of us tragically dividend against ourselves
On the one hand, we proudly profess certain noble and enticing principles, but on the other hand we sadly practice the very antithesis of these sublime principles. We make promises that whet the appetite, but serve forlorn hope as dinner.
Not quite long ago, the media was agog with an open letter written by Candidate Alex Otti to the immediate past governor of Abia state, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu.
The crux of the letter was an appeal for compassion, ” in view of the plights of our dying pensioners and the living conditions of Abia workers whose meager salaries are not regularly paid as at when due”. The letter was arguably a treatise on compassionate leadership written by a concerned citizen who was apparently sensitive to the plights of the the poor workers and pensioners of the state.
But while going through the letter with tongue in cheek, the internet dropped a shocking news:”Abia under Governor Otti still pays some of its workers as low as #22,000 naira, despite jumbo allocations” And this claim was supported with a strong evidence.
For a while I went silent and reflective, and several rhetoric questions came crowding my mind.
Why do men who hanker after good reputation always find it difficult to match words with action? Why do we always notice this agonizing gulf between what ought, and what is? What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but the people around him grind the stone with their teeth just to eke out a living? Where is the compassion and the empathy that warmed candidate Otti into the hearts of many voters?
Going through the campaign rhetorics of our governor, of what he promised the people, and the reality of our experiences today leaves one in doubt of the integrity of the human person. Every decent mind seeing what is happening in Abia today must be worried and skeptical about who to trust.
Our Governor promised Transparency and Accountability, and buttressed himself with disdainful and despicable remarks about the corrupt tendencies of those who were there before him. He wrote letters to contractors wanting to know the real cost of ongoing jobs. He gave us the impression that he was a straightforward leader who abhors underhand deals.
But today what do we see.For two years now, Governor Otti has been struggling to explain to Ndi Abia the whereabout of our Recreational Facilities, our Boundary Pillars, our ICT tech-hubs, our Smart Schools and lots more. Yet hundreds of billions have been removed from our common Treasury for these purposes. True or False?
On the issue of having compassion, can we say that our governor has matched words with action since he assumed office? Of course the Governor has never left anyone in doubt where he belongs.Governor Otti comes across as the very portrait of a tough-minded capitalst with little patience for those who have chosen a salaried career, anyway. To him,those who have chosen a career in the civil service deserve no dignity of life,or a decent living.
Or how else would you justify the payment of #22,000 at the end of the month to a living soul? Yet the same workers are required to come to work every working day.
How do you justify the payment of #40,000 to our able bodied men and women whom he employed and drafted to the Abia State Homeland Security Service?
How do you justify the Governor’s insistence that Abia pensioners forfeit their earned Pension and Gratuity arrears even as all the other states in the South East have cleared theirs.
How do you justify the fact that a Grade Level 14 officer in the Imo state civil service today earns three times the salary of his colleague and counterpart in Abia under Governor Otti?
Why would a Labour party Governor declare in public that “Passing a promotion exam is not a guarantee that you will be promoted” Will such a policy statement boost the morale of any worker, or will it demoralize and discourage him?
The gulf between Candidate Alex Otti and Governor Alex Otti is a chasm indeed. The Governor spoke eloquently about his commitment to certain ideals only to vigorously purse the negation of these cherished values. The one singular phrase for it is: betrayal of trust.
But our greatest concern has always been the governor’s nonchalant attitude towards the living conditions of Abia workers and the other vulnerable members of the Abia society.
Compassion is nothing but a strong feeling of sympathy for people who are passing through difficult times and a desire to contribute to the amelioration of their situation. I don’t think that extorting commercial motorcyclists to pay exorbitant registration fees argues compassion.
We must brace up and tell ourselves the obvious truth. Abia state today is in dire need of a leadership that is softened with social conscience. Going forward, the social temperament, and not just some academic attainment, should begin to define the character of our leaders.
Our leaders should equally sit up and begin to make the efforts to bridge the gap between what they promised at the polls and what they implement while in office. The one phrase that defines integrity is: keeping to your words.
It doesn’t speak well of a leader to see him brag about with his visible baggage of corruption and lack of integrity.Lack of integrity demystifies a leader.
This is also a wake up call on our leaders both civic and ecclesiastical. A time like this calls for leaders who will not shrink in silence nor hide in the crowd. We owe it a duty to challenge every deliberate act of oppression against the people.
A government that reneged on its campaign promises have lost the sanctity of the people’s mandate. And a government that is not sensitive to the sufferings of many cannot quality as a government of the people.
Unfortunately,these gaps are very visible in the present Otti administration.
