Another sin of the governors is their failure some to pay their employees’ salaries as of when they were due. Their recent hesitation to accept a minimum wage above N60,000 is worrisome. Why are they refusing to pay workers a living wage? Since the withdrawal of fuel subsidies, the statutory allocations have increased by a significant percentage. Except for Borno, Yobe, and one or two other states, there is nothing to show that states receive higher statutory allocation under this dispensation compared to before fuel subsidy withdrawal. Several roads remain in shambles, hospitals remain consulting clinics with no drugs, and there is a dearth of health professionals as they have massively moved abroad. Insecurity is fatally devastating rural communities and travelers.
Browsing: Prof. M.K. Othman
“I can wine all I want without worrying about waking up early; I am retired”, and “When you come here next to two/three years, you will not see me, I will be in so, so place enjoying my retirement holiday”.
The solution to the ongoing decadence of the public universities is President Tinubu’s lending of his listening ears to the cries of the university workers, particularly the Academic Union of the Universities (ASUU).
Unlike many ministers who are content with occupying and warming their seats, Engr Umahi has been tirelessly crisscrossing the entire country, inspecting active, non-performing, and abandoned road projects.
The feelers from the field indicate agro-dealers short-changing the farmers by giving them cash in place of inputs, the political farmers camouflaging as genuine farmers, thereby hijacking the subsidies, the extension services are still ineffective, and many farmers are not aware of the program, among others.
The fact that hunger is destroying the Country is infuriating and frustrating. The cost of a 50 kg bag of rice has skyrocketed, ranging from 60 to 77k, out of reach for the average Nigerian.
Senegal has over 30 languages, but Wolof is the most widely spoken one, with 80% of the population speaking it as a first or second language, and it acts as Senegal’s lingua franca alongside French. Unlike other immigrants, the Senegalese people are restless and hardworking, earning a living from multiple jobs in France but hardly seen in crimes.
As a result of insecurity, between February and March 2024, about 500 people were kidnapped in a series of mass abductions in Borno and Kaduna States alone. On February 29, suspected Boko Haram members abducted over 150 people, primarily women and children living in IDP camps.
Three years after my article, the security situation has escalated to a higher level, with kidnappers demanding billions of Naira as ransom as they operate in broad daylight with impunity. So, I am paraphrasing and updating my article with recommendations for the way forward.
Three groups of terrorists are holding and squeezing the nation making it move in a calamitous movement (manner). In the northeast, Boko Haram is calling shots. With the possible exception of Maiduguri town, no town or village is safe in Borno state.