It is no longer news that the education of our primary school pupils in public schools, which is the bedrock of development in every society, and for which Delta State was once proud of, is now undergoing serious threat under Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s administration.
The government has been churning out innumerable anti-teacher policies for quite some time now, and it is obvious that Okowa either wants our teachers to remain in abject poverty or does not want our children to secure a strong stepping stone to a brighter future. The reasons for coming to these conclusions are not far fetched.
Since his assumption of duty as Governor, Okowa has been seriously engrossed with a systematic exercise that seems to have one singular objective, which is to reduce teachers’ salaries; and he has continued to do just that. Governor Okowa set up a screening exercise that is ordinarily supposed to help in making our teachers more effective, but in essence, this has become a ploy to undermine the teachers, as it has been used to pave the way for the implementation of obnoxious deductions from teachers’ meager salaries.
These deductions are not only unwarranted, wicked and mostly unjustifiable; they have now resulted in avoidable crisis that has sent both teachers and our children out of public schools. As we speak, our public primary and secondary schools are under lock and key as a result of the strike action embarked upon by the teachers. The Governor did not need to wait for public school teachers to go on strike, before attempting to right the wrongs that he introduced.
Who can stand the pain of watching a child been deprived of such an important aspect to life as his or her education? Has the Governor become so insensitive to matters of relevance to the people he governs? To rub this in, he has since ordered the demotion of a large number of Primary School Teachers from Level 12 to 10, and many others from Level 9 to 8, yet he has not found it necessary to truly convince the Nigerian Union of Teachers and the teachers themselves of the proper rationale for these demotions.
Teachers have shouted themselves hoarse at these oppressive and authoritarian policies of Gov. Okowa, but to no avail. Not done, he also imposed the cost of a laptop on each teacher and ordered further illegal deduction of monies from their meager salaries to cover this cost without their express consent. It has been suggested, and it is quite nauseating, that these laptops were supplied by one of Okowa’s acolytes at hyper inflated rates, which further pauperizes our “downtrodden” and long suffering teachers.
In fact, most teachers are left with barely anything to keep up with the normal challenges of life after such illegal deductions. When you add the fact that Okowa has again stopped teachers legal emoluments such as Leave Transport Grant and Promotion arrears, and that he has not paid teachers’ salaries since December 2016, then it is more than obvious that Gov. Okowa’s agenda will push our dedicated school teachers off the cliff.
These policies are draconian, inhuman and unacceptable. Teachers and their families in Delta State are now in a state of despair, yearning for a government that has some human milk of kindness and understanding. This self centred government is definitely not working in the overall interest of Deltans; rather it is finding ways and means of “obtaining” more money to fund its own selfish agenda.
Evidence already abound that Gov. Okowa does not have the interest of Deltans at heart. We have not forgotten how he has been emasculating DESOPADEC, the only agency of government that was set up specifically to work in the interest of our various oil producing communities and give them a sense of belonging. Therefore, these actions against teachers do not come to us as a surprise.
It is important to emphasize that Gov. Okowa has continued to show utter disdain for the working class in Delta State, while raising a super toast to his political cliques and clans. Civil servants are owed salaries without end, and they are also experiencing the brunt of his misrule. The question that comes to mind is: What does Gov. Okowa really do with the tons of money that accrues to the State every month from the Federation Account and the vast internally generated revenue?
What happened to the bailout funds from the Federal Government and the London-Paris Club loan refunds that were made available to cushion the pain of our teachers, civil servants and pensioners? What happened to the billions of Naira that has been due to DESOPADEC that has now perhaps been “allocated” to some bogus projects and probably siphoned through some back door?
Today, government’s thirst for internally generated revenue by way of rent and the multiple taxation of businesses (goes as low as “keke-riders”, commercial drivers, micro and small businesses) has made life very unbearable for Deltans. Gov. Okowa does not seem to be sensitive to the difficulties in the land and the harsh business climate in the state, especially since the departure of major oil companies and related businesses as a result of the situation of insecurity.
Clearly, this government has no capacity to turn around the fortunes of Delta State because instead of creating more opportunities, it is choking the few businesses that remain, and making life difficult for our workers. Since 2015, Deltans have been waiting for Gov. Okowa to live up to his promise of “prosperity for all”; but thus far, what they are witnessing are the very opposite. His actions and policies are causing more pain and poverty throughout the state, and rather than focus on creating a more conducive environment for business to thrive, he seems determined to scrape off the little that hardworking Deltans have put aside to sustain their families.
We, Delta State Chapter of All Progressives Congress, will continue to speak against the many challenges and injustices in the state today. We stand with the ‘silent majority’ of Deltans. We stand with and will speak for the rights of our teachers and their families. We call for the implementation of agreements that were reached in good faith. We demand for payment of outstanding salaries to civil servants, the emoluments of pensioners and the payment of teachers so that our children can go back to school and get the education they deserve.
Many well meaning Deltans cannot reconcile why Governor Okowa cannot pay teachers, civil servants, etc; yet he has been appointing and paying countless Special Assistants and Aides that he has assimilated from all the nooks and crannies of the State and buying exotic cars for them just because he hopes to depend on them to support his now myopic and futile political future. Well, let Okowa be told that his days at Government House Asaba are numbered. We are convinced that his actions and inactions are very well calculated to scrape the state dry and leave it much more impoverished, just as every previous PDP administration in the state.
We enjoin all good-hearted Deltans to prevail on Okowa to review his oppressive policies against our teachers and civil servants. We say “ENOUGH” to his toying with the future of our children. We must remind him that education remains the sure pathway to the future survival of our state, and that our teachers, civil servants and pensioners cannot be so severely punished at the detriment of sustainable development. This must be why many Deltans continue to look forward to a worker-friendly government that will put away these cruel tendencies and usher in a ray of hope for the future.
The recent embarrassment that followed Governor Okowa’s endorsement by a former Governor who was jailed for tampering with our treasury and stealing our common patrimony is not worth our saliva. History has shown us that “birds of same feather flock together”, and as it is said, “Show me your friends, and I will tell who you are”. We know who Governor Okowa is standing with already. He is not standing with the hard-working people of Delta State. He is not standing with our teachers, not with our civil servants nor the pensioners that slaved for the state. In summary, our public workers must receive better and fairer treatment.
The future of Delta state must be protected by all men and women of goodwill from the vices of yesterday and today’s PDP maladministration.
Delta State must be free!!
APC-Committed to Rescue Delta State.
Signed:
Engr. Leonard Obibi
State Publicity Secretary (Ag)
All Progressives Congress
Delta State.
