By Ademola Adeeko

Sequel to last week’s article on Kwara State and the self-plague of poverty published in this column, I got served a rejoinder. Shall I really call it a rejoinder or a defence tactic gone wrong?

That’s what it seemed like to me when one Mr. Rotimi Ogungbola in an article published on Ynaija last week claimed I was trying to manipulate the mind of Nigerians towards seeing Kwara State Government as a failure by making it seem as though poverty was the exclusive preserve of Kwara. He claimed poverty is a global phenomenon which I quite agree with, but shall we call that a justification for the extra poor standard of living of Kwarans despite billions that go into the coffers of the state government every month?

Apart from his personal vendetta on my person and that of the entire EkekeeeDotCom crew, he went ahead to claim that Kwara State is in the process of bringing palliative measures to the people and that poverty alleviation is systematic and not an event. This is exactly what caught my attention. If the people of Sie Olorunsogo village could be in their present inhumane state of living in the year 2013, what could have been their living conditions 13 years ago since the inception of the current democratic dispensation? 13 solid years and palliative measures are yet to reach Irepodun LGA which is just a 30 minute drive from the state’s capital? He admitted that Sie-Olorunsogo indigenes are living below the normal standard of living but asked why I should paint the picture of poverty being synonymous with the whole of Kwara state. I personally challenge the Kwara State Government to step forward and show Nigerians how far they have gone in infrastructural/human rehabilitation and development in all the other 14 LGAs in the state apart from the main Ilorin and Offa LGAs.

Visiting a remote or rural area of a state and seeing the presence of government there is different from the scenes I saw in Sie-Olorunsogo. In that particular area of Irepodun, the only presence of government I witnessed were in the mould of old paper posters competing for the people’s votes during the 2011 elections adorning their mud and thatched houses. If it wasn’t for those posters, one would have been forgiven for thinking that these people never had visitors from the outside world.

The much acclaimed KWABES, UN MDGs, LEAH Foundation and Alaafia Kwara Foundation do not have any presence in these remote villages. Villages that have only bush paths serving as roads to both pedestrian and the few motorists who dare ply their roads can’t claim to have the wherewithal to fight poverty. Nothing developmental was visible in that place. As a matter of fact, it was so glaring that the government might not even be aware that those areas are still on the map. It is not for me to do any further research. If what I saw in Sie-Olorunsogo is still a given in 2013 under a self-trumpet-blowing regime like the Sarakis and Abdulfatahs, then I see no reason why my article shouldn’t be on-line.

Finally, Mr. Rotimi Ogungbola summoned me to join hands with government to fight poverty by proffering solutions. It bothers me when someone apparently in government occupies a comfortable office in a government parastatal, earns ungodly salaries/allowances and then has the guts to turn to ordinary citizens for solutions to problems they were paid to solve. This may sound unpatriotic but how fair will it be on me when I feed my own family, educate my kids, generate my own electricity, repair my own roads, build my own shelter, constitute my own security and then somebody who depends on public money to provide all he needs will go clueless and ask me for solutions? It says a lot about the ‘jugheads’ and sleazes we have occupying the seats of leadership.

It is only in Nigeria that development is measured by how much we have in the treasury not how happy the people of the nation are. With due respect to macro economics and economists, I personally believe the development of a country depends on how much the government is willing to invest in infrastructural and human resources development. How much the government is willing to invest in the lives of its subject is what matters most. The standard of living of the citizens is the yardstick for measuring the performance of government. And until the nooks and crannies of the entire citizenry is touched and developed, no government should raise their heads to celebrate mediocrity!

Back to you, Mr Rotimi Ogungbola. You claimed my previous article was filled with grammatical errors and weak sentences. I scoffed as I read the mumbo-jumbo assemblage you called a rejoinder. I assume you’re not only a pro-Saraki propagandist but also a paid employee of his government. Well, if that is what you call doing your job, then I guess you need a rethink because you were so poor in defending your boss. I know you may have noticed how much I have desisted from mentioning the name of the present governor. That’s because I know he’s just another extension of the Sarakis who has got nothing to offer Kwarans than distribute free UME forms.

Despite all of these, I quite agree with you that poverty is a global phenomenon but shall we use that as an excuse for our own performance in government? We can stand out from the rest of the world because we have what it takes. I also look forward to the day when those in government will start seeing political critics as a mirror and not an enemy, that way you won’t have to jump into defense mode whenever your bosses are challenged.

And please mind you, this is not a Rejoinder!

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