Babatunde Osho is a civil servant in Ondo State. For eight months, he had not received his salaries. That was during the tenure of the immediate past administration. Things were really very tough and rough for Ondo State’s civil servants. But that seems to be consigned in the trash can of history.
Quite recently, the unusual happened. The father of four received an unusual message on his phone; which turned out to be a credit alert.
At first, he was not sure what type of alert it was. But when he looked closely again, he realised that it was yet another credit alert for his salary for the month of March, less than one month when he received that of February.
As if that was not enough, he received credit alert for that month’s salary and a week after, there was another credit alert for August, last year’s outstanding salary arrear owed by the past administration.
As a civil servant in the employ of the Ondo State government, it was the first time Osho would get his salary for two straight months since eight months because of the failure of the immediate past administration to pay the workers.
Like other civil servants in the state, his life took a turn for the worse as days turned into weeks and weeks into months without any hope of getting his salaries.
His children changed schools because he could not afford their fees, while the entire family survived on the meagre earnings from the wife’s petty trading.
For months, Osho, the usually boisterous fellow, had become a shadow of himself. Aside from his inability to take care of his family, the father of four was also battling with some serious health challenges.
The credit alerts received by the workers, which notified them of the payment of their salaries marked the beginning of a new dawn for civil servants in the Sunshine State.
“For seven months, we were not paid our salaries. Most of the civil servants had lost hope of ever getting paid. But, with the fulfilment of the promise that Governor Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) made to us, by paying the salary for the month of February and the vow that he would not owe workers, I am sure that the hopes of civil servants have been rekindled once again,” Osho said.
Eniola Ajewole is another worker whose joy knew no bounds when he received the credit alert for his salary.
It would seem that the alert he received lifted a heavy load off his shoulders. With the February and March salaries paid, he was able to pay his two children’s tuition and meet other domestic needs without stress–a feat he could not achieve for months under the immediate past administration.
“I couldn’t believe it when I received the credit alert. But my cynicism began to wane when my neighbour, who is also a civil servant, confirmed to me that he had also received credit alert,” Ajewole said.
The narratives of the duo and many other workers in the state have dispelled fears of sceptics about the readiness of Governor Akeredolu to develop the state with priority placed on welfare of the workforce.
The payment of the workers’ salaries, beginning from February, has confirmed that Akeredolu is ever ready to keep his promise.
The effect of Akeredolu’s message of hope during his swearing-in on February 24 to make life easy for the people has therefore started reverberating cross the state.
The governor, who had set a clear agenda for himself on how to place Ondo State on the map of economic and industrial development, appears set to work with the available resources to move the state forward.
Akeredolu’s inaugural speech entitled “Journey to Redemption,” had clearly shown the path the governor is now towing.
Before the people of Ondo State and dignitaries that attended his inaugu ration at the popular Akure Township Stadium, Akeredolu had said: “I come to you this day, with a message of hope, a clear agenda of prosperity and vision of life abundant.
“I believe the greatest expression of faith in our ability is to be strong enough to look upon imperfections and decide that it is in our power to remake our society to align with our highest ideals.
“We can rise out of this dust and build a new Ondo State where honesty, prosperity and confidence can, once again, be our self-identity. We can pull ourselves by the bootstraps and shake off our current frustrations and disappointments.
“We must recognise the need for a cohesive platform, indispensable to an effective and efficient implementation of policies and programmes of both government and party, respectively.”
With the latest development, it is certain that the governor will take the Sunshine State to a greater height.
This development is an indication that all the businesses that have gone moribund for years due to poor management of the state’s resources by previous administrations would soon get back on track.
This is because the governor has assured the workers of his determination to pay the backlog of salary arrears he inherited.
The ripple effects of the governor’s attempt to meet this important people’s need (payment of the backlog of workers’ salary arrears) will, no doubt, contribute to peaceful co-existence among residents.
Without doubt, the road to achieving this lofty objective demands co-operation of all, including the civil servants and those in the informal sector such as traders and artisans.
