Sir: In the twilight of the Amosun-led administration in Ogun State, the media was awash with the heartrending stories of the sufferings of the staff of Tai Solarin College of Education, Ogun State.
We were made to understand, through incontestable facts and figures, that the Ogun State government owed TASCE staff about 60 months salaries. This revelation, coupled with some other excesses of former Governor Amosun, was a major factor in the defeat of his anointed governorship candidate, Adekunle AbdulKadir Akinlade of the APM, at the polls.
Despite gross intimidation, people voted for the incumbent governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun with the belief that he would undo all the evils of Amosun, especially with his electioneering promise of giving the much needed succour to the staff of TASCE.
Shortly after the inauguration of Governor Abiodun, I was amazed to find the staff of the college still protesting the non-payment of salaries! My amazement turned into pure horror when I later learnt that five of the staff at the forefront of the protests were arrested and incarcerated!
My bewilderment grew in leaps and bounds when the governor, in a media chat, actually acknowledged that he ordered the arrest of the five staff of the college to instil discipline and respect for constituted authorities. I was greatly disturbed by the governor’s statements and position on the TASCE issue.
While I will not support anarchy in a system, it is simple logic that a man or woman that is being owed 60 months salaries cannot be expected to be rational. The fact is that the government actually created the state of anarchy through the non-payment of their salary arrears.
In the same vein, the best way to instil respect for constituted authorities is not through draconian actions but through consultations. Respect is different from fear. A government that toes the Machiavellian usage of fear, instead of love, to put the citizenry in a state of bondage will reap a harvest of pure and undiluted hatred.
With the aforesaid, I was greatly elated when I stumbled on an article in the Nigerian Tribune of October 23, titled ‘Dapo Abiodun: Silent restorer of education lost glory in Ogun’. TASCE featured prominently in the said article and the writer made us understand that the governor had done the needful to return normalcy and sustainable peace to the college.
I immediately called one of my friends in the college to rejoice with him but to my utmost dismay, I was informed that the governor has not paid a dime out of the accrued salary arrears and that since his inauguration on May 29, he has only paid half salaries for the months of June and July, despite the fact that the first semester examination has been held and that the second semester is also about ending.
There is also heavy police presence in the college and anyone who dares to protest the inhumane situation in the college is either molested or queried.
If indeed the power strategy is the government’s plan to ensure peace in TASCE, then God should have mercy on all of us in Ogun State.
- Ade Balogun, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.
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