Every government that comes prioritises road infrastructure as if it was all there is to do to gain public accolades and acceptance. As good as it is to open up access roads to make transportation of good and services easier, it shouldn’t be seen as the only yardstick for performance assessment of any government.
On the basic scale of human needs, construction of roads, building of flyovers, bridges etc are at the last rung.
At the first rung of the essentials are security and food. Life preservation very top-notch, it drives others, remove it, or rather down play on it , whatever infrastructure one is building becomes more of a round peg in a square hole.
From Abia to Imo, from Enugu to Anambra down to Ebonyi, road constructions have been relatively top-notch. Dr. Alex Otti’ joker is road construction. His popularity and the praises from the masses are more as a result of the number of roads constructed within a short period of time in office. Same could be said about Governors Hope, Soludo, Nwifuru and Mba in varying degrees.
As good as it sounds, preservation of lives and properties though very key and sensitive seem overly non effective and non performaning in these states.
The preposterousity of constructing beautiful road networks, building of bridges, state of the art multi purpose halls, institutional houses etc in an environment that is ravaged by insecurity cannot be measured.
One is by day being confronted with the audacious and barefaced invasion of South East by the Fulani herders. No day passes without one or two distressed voice notes on how people’s crops are destroyed by the cows of the Fulani herders and the indiscriminate dumping of young Fulani boys at strategic points around South East. What of the gory, oftentimes dismembered bodies of victims of ritual killing and kidnapping making rounds?
The reason for such not known and the main agenda of those behind such, very hazy. In all these craziness, our Chief Security Officers take a terrible posture of being bereft of solutions in ameliorating them.
From Ihiagwa to Emekuku, to Mbano, to Ngor Okpala, down to Ejemekeuru etc the story about Fulani dumping, killings and kidnapping , leaving indigenes in horror, fear and trepidation is by day climaxing.
Same in other parts of South East. Ravaged and taken over by Fulani herders, the recurrent news on social media.
What are the Governors doing? Roads construction and other provision of social amenities would surely wane at the face of terrible insecurity challenges. A zone where people live with their hearts pounding in fear, food certainly would become bland, houses however palacial would be abandoned for safety.
Only a heart that is in peace, a heart that does not skip and kick in uncertainties of safety can savour the beauty of road networks and fine engineering works.
Recently the FCT Minister, Dr. Nyesom Wike was roundly commended by the Senate Committee on FCT during his budget presentation. Roads in FCT are wearing new looks.
As true as this is, Road constructions and rehabilitation isn’t all there are . What about security? How safe is FCT? What is the reduction level of kidnapping, ritual killing and robbery? What is Wike’s score card on that? It seems muffled, silenced and down played, having only his Road Infrastructure trumpeted and flounced.
Is insecurity so intractable it can’t be tackled head on in the manner they are tackling bad roads?
I challenge all South East Governors to brace up and give security the premium attention it needs. What do they do with their security votes? If any Governor is incapacitated in securing lives and properties of his people however ingenous he is in construction of roads, building of state of the art institutional houses, provision of jobs and other basic amenities, such Governor would be on the hall of shame not fame, on the hall of failure not fortune. On the hall of incompetence not competence. What is life without its security ? What is good road network, employment etc without life? Make all the roads in Nigeria shine and glitter like diamond, if there is no security of lives and properties, it makes no sense.
If there is any thing that should be prioritised over everything else, such should be security. It stands at the centre, on it everything else thrives. Remove it , like pack of cards every thing else would crumble.
South East is raped! The police rapes it by its one kilometre interval road blocks, harassing Innocent citizens, extorting of money and watch them kidnapped, robbed and killed by unknown gun men.
Every other zones go to work, school and open for businesses on Mondays, except South East.
Insecurity magnanimously but sadly gave them extra day of rest and it is normal?
In Politics and national sharing of resources, positions and appointments, South East is equally disadvantaged.
This though the sad reality of South East, it is not a death warrant signed and sealed. If the Governors elected have shown incompetence in handling this, the masses should raise up and defend themselves. Nobody stays in their houses while the balls of their scrotum get smashed.
Either by hook or by crook, the lives of South East people won’t be used for suya undefended.
Cows and the Fulani herders can’t be terrible terror to our peace, safety and progress while we watch like weaklings, crying like babies at the face of millipedes.
Moan no more, wail no more, pull yourself by your shoe strings and help yourself. Very obvious, government and its systems have failed in this regard, having greed and selfishness as the cause and fueling element. What do we do? Sit and stare in an empty atmosphere doing nothing? Or move like the lepers in 2 kings 7 who moved in search of survival disregarding the thought of being killed. If we die we die, our condition isn’t better than being dead they told themselves. They took a step, in that step their salvation was gained seemlessly.
Jarlath Opara can be reached via Jarlathuche@gmail.com
