HURRAY! Bayelsa State at 27

We give God all thanks and Glory for giving us a State that is homogenous with abundant resources

By Surv. Furoebi F. S. Akene

In about a week from now precisely on the 1st of October, 2023 Bayelsa will be 27 years. Without prejudice, taking a retrospective view, considering the facts behind the figures, is it worth celebrating? If so, what are we celebrating? This question becomes necessary because, taking a critical evaluation of the level of development of the State from creation till date, it is all about lamentations, regrets and blame games, because, there is nothing to celebrate in terms of our achievements as a State considering the revenue that have come into the State over the period, however, we give Glory to God for giving us a State.

Please, understand that failure doesn’t mean the assessed scored zero. A state where moral and deductive reasoning have become an anathema, sound so absurd, the reason sycophancy has become a thriving business, hence every administration has been propagated as God sent in the media waves and processions organised by sycophants, yet the state remains a glorified ghetto. The State cannot get the needed development because, competence, professionalism and productivity are not considered as primary concerns, instead political expediency of loyalty and sycophancy are the primary considerations. How can the State develop when personal gains that play upon our insatiable vanities are placed above State development? Please, do not be deceived, there is no truth in the so-called transparency briefing but concocted. Truth is that, it is a misnomer to celebrate the slum state capital in the country and the undeveloped ghettos of the hinterland. It is an anathema to celebrate a State without light and water; most embarrassing is the situation where even government offices patronise water vendors. Let us stop the application of the empty drum principles; also remember that deep rivers flow in majestic silence.

There is a wisdom statement that says “You cannot develop beyond the qualities of your knowledge”, but the development here is not a proof of the quality of knowledge of well-meaning Bayelsans, but problem of leaderships. Until we appreciate the culture of knowledge and ideas, we cannot make any development that will be meaningful to the deductive minds. Knowledge is power and ideas rule the world is still real. Let leadership in the state activate the philosophy of utilitarianism in Bayelsa State and good conscience instead of dancing to the songs of sycophants.

If you compare the rate of development of Bayelsa State with Delta State, Rivers State and Akwa Ibom State, who share cognate revenue profile with Bayelsa State from May 1999 to date. It is so disappointing that you begin to imagine what kind of leaderships have been ruling the state from the inception of this democracy till date. While each of these states can boast of over 2000 kilometres of road including dual carriages, bridges and flyovers across the cities in their respective states, Bayelsa cannot count up to a total distance of 300 kilometres for roads, streets and closes within the same period under review, with some of them failing within six months of post construction, meanwhile some of the lengths of these streets are not up to 500 meters as they count the number roads and streets in a mixed manner. In the area of housing, till date Bayelsa State doesn’t have up to 1000 housing units putting all categories of government housing together, whereas, other states within our neighbourhood producing tens of thousands of housing units in their respective states. Apart from the civil servant’s estates in Ovom, and residential housing estates in Ekeki and Okaka built by the DSP Alamieyeseigha and Goodluck Jonathan’s administrations, and the new commissioner’s and the new quarters for the State house of Assembly members built by Chief Timipre Sylva’s administration, there is no other till date. In the area of education, most of the primary and secondary schools in the rural areas don’t have teachers, so what can we do when the foundation is not laid properly? I can categorically state that, many of these communities use communal efforts or by the goodwill of some individuals, engage teachers on their own to teach the pupils and students. The list is endless and disappointing to the good and patriotic minds.

There is no doubt that Bayelsa State has intelligent and brilliant scholars in all spheres of human endeavours, but leadership of the state at different times deliberately ignored the exploitation of the potentials of such people, instead, they patronise the unproductive ones in the name of political loyalty. The most profitable business in the state is sycophancy and political scavenging, so development plans and development drive is their tertiary consideration. How can we develop with the mindset? It is a known fact that government gives appointment not on the basis of intended productive outputs and this is the reason thousands of appointees are evolved in every administration in the name of senior special assistant (SSA) on special duties, special assistant (SA) etc. on special duties without offices and duties attached but for elections. May God help us.

It is disheartening to note that even employment into the state civil service is not based on merit but selective recommendations based on nepotism, favouritism and political loyalty. For now, most of the serious-minded brilliant youths from the state are migrating to other states for fortunes that come with pride of service, leaving behind the political loyalist that are famously known as the “IWEEH” group, chanting IWEEH always to earn a living in a demeaning and derogatory manner.

The various UNDP Human Development Reports of the Niger Delta region continue to indicate a deepening of the poverty indices in the region with Bayelsa having misery Index despite the growth in the sizes of fiscal resources deployed.

It is unfortunate to note that the State has no blue print/work plan or programmes that set targets of physical and human capital development in a sequential order to achieve within the tenure of an administration. No succession plans for development based on adopted blue print in phases or sequentially, and time lapse reviews, except cut and nail approach. It is also on record that every administration in the state globe trot and waste our resources in the guise of scouting for foreign investors but till date nothing has been visibly and physically achieved, instead state monies are used to acquire personal properties in the diaspora. We should note that no investor is attracted to a place where there are no potentials and propensity for development. They only have plans for elections, but no plans for development and that is the reason youth mobilization is for elections only and not for youth development, and the reason thousands of appointment letters are given out on the approach of elections as SSA’s and SA’s on special duties.

The only antidote to this lack of development in the state despite the huge resources as inflow is for good spirited people to objectively speak out truth to authorities particularly the executive and the legislature to work according to the oath they took before assuming their various offices. Bayelsa is being mocked all over the Federation and beyond for what we have done to ourself as a state, so, why celebrating the mockery? We shamelessly enjoy outings in other states with pride because of the developments and settings in these states, but nobody come from other states to have nice outings in Bayelsa. For the iweeh group, sit down, ponder and act critically; and for the sycophants, though, it is a profitable business to you for now, but at the peril of the development of the state; think about the others and the yet unborn and be critical and earnestly yearn for the development of the state above self.

For the elders, are we comfortable about the progress of the state over time? If no, please, with all sense of humility, I appeal to you to rise up to your responsibilities. And for those activists whose voices were loudest during the military administrations in the State, why the silence and complacency? Is it because leadership is in the hands of our brothers and sisters (indigenes) that they don’t see anything wrong that their voices are not heard anymore despite the huge resources that are being wasted due to maximum corruption and ineptitude in the State? Posterity will judge all of us on our roles in this carnage of social delusion.

As Bayelsans, and as elites and elders as we pride ourselves, we are all on trial, for by our actions we have denigrated our State and jeopardized the future of our children. As we subscribe to the sub-normal and accept down standards, as we lie and cheat openly to get favour, as we sing praises and protect injustice and ineptitude, and elect to make ourselves the slaves’ and prisoners of conscience, we should not forget that no outsider will come and help us change the narrative. What are we going to tell our children and the yet unborn when they come to see the strides made by our neighbouring states with the same environmental setting and cognate revenue inflow? Note that the only catalyst to development and improvement of internally generated revenue IGR is development, for nobody wants to invest in an unproductive environment.

Note: For those who want to justify their pay because their job is to blackmail and insult those who stand for the truth and speak the truth, please, sit and ponder for one minute, find out the details of the true revenue that have accrued to the State within the periods (not the infamous transparency briefing) in question before you do your job. Also, travel and see what is happening in other States with even multiple cities particularly the ones created the same date with Bayelsa State with revenue inflow of about 30% of what comes into Bayelsa. Moral justice requires that you know the truth before you react. Unfortunately, moral reasoning and respect for elders including uncles, aunts and sometimes parents have been eroded by the antic of political leaders in the state who instructed and mandated their recruits in the name of aides to insult and blackmail anybody that express contrary views to their actions. A notable case was the insult without the fear of God given to a globally renowned personality (now of blessed memory) Prof. Kimse Okoko for his voice against the shrouded way the African university issue was approved by the State assembly. These and many more cases making the elders to be quiet not to attract the insult from these aides who in some cases are not up to the ages of their children and in some cases grandchildren.

Political campaigns in the State are no longer issue based, but insults, blackmails, character defamation, falsehood etc as instructed by their leaders who in real sense mortgaging their future. This has not been the culture of the Izon man and we should not forget that we don’t know what tomorrow have for us. Insults and counter insults and blackmails cannot solve our problems, but it is only imbibing in their so-called supporters unhealthy and unethical characters which hitherto was alien to an Izon child. Already, they are fully in action and all parties are also firing and countering in like manner rumination of cultism and rivalries.

●Quotes of the piece: The South African Nobel Laureate winner Bishop Desmond Tutu, aptly put it that “if you refuse to speak against injustice, you are on the side of the oppressor”.
●” The worlds will not be destroyed by those who do evil but by those who watch them without doing anything”. (Albert Einstein)

Finally, the word of God said in Eccl 7:5; “It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools”.
Proverbs 26:28 says; “A lying tongue hated those that are afflicted by it, and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.”
MAY GOD HELP AND BLESS BAYELSA STATE WITH GOOD AND PATROITIC LEADERS.

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