Where is the #10bn BDIC Investment gains in South Africa & UK, your poor economic policy has impoverished Bayelsans, Dei badou tells Dickson
AS WRITTEN BY DEI BADOU:
Develoment as a means of setting up structures such Airports, Flyovers and Tourism Institutes etc without human capital development amount to nothing as far as development of a State is concerned.
Dickson's administration whom promised to turn Bayelsa to a construction site and also to the Jerusalem of Ijaw Nation and Dubai of Africa, has become a statement of self-deceit and illusion due to his administration's lack of economic policy for the people right from its inception in 2012.
For instance, Bayelsa Restoration 2012, A Message from Contriman, My Blue print for Bayelsans on page 6, "Our administration will ensure that water will flow into every household in Yenagoa metropolis and also integrated water schemes will be introduced in every LGAs of the State", yet no water flowed into every household in Yenagoa metropolis in the past four years of Dickson's administration.
Even the water reticulation project embarked upon by predecessor administration that flowed in parts of Yenagoa metropolis was delibrately destroyed by Dickson's road construction company with little or no respect for the people.
On power generation and supply, Dickson said in 2012, power would be a priority for his administration to stimulate economic development and as such the administration will tap into the vast gas and oil resources of the state to ensure power generation and supply will make the rehabilitation of existing power generating plants a priority.
But to the bewilderment of Bayelsans, none of the above promises were either adhered to, fulfilled or carried out between 14th February 2012 and 14th February 2015 by the Restoration government.
Unlike the late Chief Alamieyeseigha's administration that augmented power generation and supply that enabled Bayelsans maximally conduct their small businesses, the reverse is the case with the Dickson's government.
Development in human society is a many-sided process. At the level of the individual, it implies increased skill and capacity, greater freedom, creativity, self discipline, responsibility and material well-being, yet, none of the above development indices are embedded in the restoration agenda, hence, human capital development in Bayelsa atrophied while everybody both old and young, illiterate and literate got themselves into politics to earn a living and only disengage to joblessness, resulting in even a two-time commissioner begging for menial appointments such as SSA, SA and even local government errand man etc to survive.
It is only in Bayelsa State that a commissioner for Finance appointee after relinquishing such cabinet appointment takes up servile or lesser appointment in the same government that sacked him or her.
That is why political-never-do-wells see every money that comes to the state as political slush-funds to share among themselves leaving others in private sector.
No wonder the #2bn Federal Government intervention fund meant to grow and develop SMEs in the state were crimimally vulturised by the Imperial power and his sycophantic parasites, leaving none for our ever increasing plantain roasting women population as support for their businesses. For how long have we heard of the Peremabiri and Isampou rice farms that successive governments from the late Alamieyeseigha to Dickson that can not produce a single grain of rice for Bayelsans to eat, despite huge budgetary provisions were made to them in the past?.
Even the Plastic Industry, that machineries and equipment were purchased and are now lying prostrate on the site and rottening away over the years due to lack of skill and expertise on the part of governments to put into proper use of such an Industry that would generate huge internally generated revenue (IGR) to the State coffers.
When will Bayelsans do away with governments of kleptocracy?
What of Bayelsans who have enjoyed various political appointments for several years and disengage: only to be recycled because they have nothing to contribute to the economic growth of the state except in politics, where they serve as either election box snatchers, riggers, criminals, militants, sea-pirates, abductors, and pipeline vandalizers etc.
It is aso a thing of shame to see people in their late 70s in Bayelsa carrying handbags and dancing at political rallies just because they are no where in the economic sector of their State.
Even the where-about of the #200m monthly, the restoration government said to have been saving since its inception in 2012 to date is unknown. Whereas jonathan said, his political ambition is not worth any man's blood, Dickson's political ambition is worth the blood of every Bayelsans, he swore on Oath to restore Bayelsa to the Glory of All Lands.
But Bayelsa under restoration government is in disarray following Dickson's refusal to pay legitimate salaries and benefits of civil servants and retirees leading to the rough handling of retirees at Government House Gate, Yenagoa.
This is unprecedented in the twenty-year-old history of Bayelsa State where an indigenous governor would treat his fellow Contrimen as slaves in the cruelest form. Even the late Chief Alamieyeseigha, an enlightened benevolent Governor-General was magnanimous in his days as governor in the treatment of even rioters and public disturbers, not to talk of Bayelsans who only needed their legitimate salaries and benefits, Dickson has deliberately impoverished, after having carnibalised the #12.85bn bailout fund meant for them.
Instead of restoring Bayelsa, Dickson's excessive desire for power at all cost and by fear of others without the capacity to rule, turned Bayelsa to a Hobbessian state of nature where lives of Bayelsans become poor, nasty, brutish and short.
Only an insensitive government would turn its eyes from his people, while the people wallow and starve in abject poverty in a land flowing with honey and milk twenty-four hours.
Bayelsa State politics should not be about politics of segregation and winners take all but about politics of support about the suffering of the people. While politics of cruelty, man's inhumanity to man highly manifest in the State, restoration mantra has gone into oblivion and excessive desire for power takes centre stage within the circle of operation and has remained the dominant factor which has led to the current economic crisis in the State.
Chief Obooh once told Bayelsans at a campaign rally in Yenagoa that a vote for Dickson's second term is a vote for hunger. And that has come to reality as hunger, disease and sickness now pervade the length and breadth of the State, Obooh is indeed vindicated.
Crime rate increases due to the current hardship with hunger driving young men and girls to steal from even a boiling soup pot on fire to satisfy the stomach desire just as prostitution becomes the order of the time among girls and even unmarried women as a result of hunger and hardship, which then ends in girls and women being infected with deadly disease or being impregnated with no known fathers.
And again, due to inability to pay rents, tenants are forced out of their apartments while sea-piracy on our waterways, abduction of important personalities and criminal militancy have become astronomically high in crime, so also stealing of foodstuffs to meet the stomach desires remain the order of the time.
While sycophantic-parasites, recycled politicians and idliers continue to gallivant about in their adorned attires, the people they promised to govern suffer in absolute squalor, denigration and humiliation.
It is aso a thing of shame to see people in their late 70s in Bayelsa carrying handbags and dancing at political rallies just because they are no where in the economic sector of their State.
Even the where-about of the #200m monthly, the restoration government said to have been saving since its inception in 2012 to date is unknown. Whereas jonathan said, his political ambition is not worth any man's blood, Dickson's political ambition is worth the blood of every Bayelsans, he swore on Oath to restore Bayelsa to the Glory of All Lands.
But Bayelsa under restoration government is in disarray following Dickson's refusal to pay legitimate salaries and benefits of civil servants and retirees leading to the rough handling of retirees at Government House Gate, Yenagoa.
This is unprecedented in the twenty-year-old history of Bayelsa State where an indigenous governor would treat his fellow Contrimen as slaves in the cruelest form. Even the late Chief Alamieyeseigha, an enlightened benevolent Governor-General was magnanimous in his days as governor in the treatment of even rioters and public disturbers, not to talk of Bayelsans who only needed their legitimate salaries and benefits, Dickson has deliberately impoverished, after having carnibalised the #12.85bn bailout fund meant for them.
Instead of restoring Bayelsa, Dickson's excessive desire for power at all cost and by fear of others without the capacity to rule, turned Bayelsa to a Hobbessian state of nature where lives of Bayelsans become poor, nasty, brutish and short.
Only an insensitive government would turn its eyes from his people, while the people wallow and starve in abject poverty in a land flowing with honey and milk twenty-four hours.
Bayelsa State politics should not be about politics of segregation and winners take all but about politics of support about the suffering of the people. While politics of cruelty, man's inhumanity to man highly manifest in the State, restoration mantra has gone into oblivion and excessive desire for power takes centre stage within the circle of operation and has remained the dominant factor which has led to the current economic crisis in the State.
Chief Obooh once told Bayelsans at a campaign rally in Yenagoa that a vote for Dickson's second term is a vote for hunger. And that has come to reality as hunger, disease and sickness now pervade the length and breadth of the State, Obooh is indeed vindicated.
Crime rate increases due to the current hardship with hunger driving young men and girls to steal from even a boiling soup pot on fire to satisfy the stomach desire just as prostitution becomes the order of the time among girls and even unmarried women as a result of hunger and hardship, which then ends in girls and women being infected with deadly disease or being impregnated with no known fathers.
And again, due to inability to pay rents, tenants are forced out of their apartments while sea-piracy on our waterways, abduction of important personalities and criminal militancy have become astronomically high in crime, so also stealing of foodstuffs to meet the stomach desires remain the order of the time.
While sycophantic-parasites, recycled politicians and idliers continue to gallivant about in their adorned attires, the people they promised to govern suffer in absolute squalor, denigration and humiliation.
It is shameful that Bayelsa State in her 20 years of her existence cannot complete the construction of a 500-Bed Hospital to take of the requirements of people, yet governors continue to shower encomiums on themselves as giants of infrastructural development in the State.
Even the Five Star Hotel and Towers commenced by the Jonathan's administration years back that gulped billions of Naira is still a shadow of itself today in Bayelsa, yet an imperial government continues to deceive the people and called itself the best form of government that has come to restore the State.
It would be recalled that Dr. Jonathan during the campaign for Dickson's governorship in 2012 at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex told Dickson that should he failed to complete the construction of the Hotel, he will join Bayelsans to throw pure water sachets on him, yet Jonathan did not find any wrong with his beloved godson's inability to complete the Hotel to date.
This was probably a grand design to jettison Sylva from Government House just because Sylva probably is Jonathan's political foe. Despite Dr. Jonathan-led Federal Executive Council awarded 38 contracts for different projects in Bayelsa totaling (#209,690,779,771.75k), which are meant to benefit the Bayelsa people, they were all abandoned after due payments made to Jonathan's contractors, Jonathan is still unable to compel the contractors to refund the money or send tham to jail.
This is another form of imperialism which is highest stage of capitalism, Jonathan and his contractors conspired to deny Bayelsa of her hard-earned money that would have been used to improve the economic well-being of the people. When will the Imperial Government tell Bayelsans, the gains made so far from the #10bn BDIC Investment in South Africa and United Kingdom since 2013 to date or could this be a conduit pipe for siphoning and enriching the ruling class in Bayelsa at the expense of the down-trodden people of the State?
It would be recalled that Governor Dickson while inaugurating the Bayelsa Development and Investment Corporation with an initial take-off grant of #10bn said, the gesture was to enable the state to diversify from oil and gas sector of the economy, yet Governor Dickson has not told Bayelsans the gains that have come to the State coffers, Bayelsans would want to know.
It is said of old that the avaricious man is like the barren sandy ground of the desert which sucks in all the rain and dew with greediness, but yields no fruitful herbs or plants for the benefit of others, so let this not be the case where an avaricious government sucks in all the gains with greediness from the #10bn investment from South Africa and United Kingdom.
These are all governance challenges, peoples-oriented government would sincerely tackle in the overall interest of the people and not torment and exploit them.
It is now left for Bayelsans to take their destinies in their hands and tell whosoever that is tormenting and exploiting them that enough is enough.
No comments