Osun: Between refugees and civil servants

in from Chukwuma Michael…

Osun, the cradle of Yoruba civilization is gradually degenerating to a state of ridicule over the inability of the Rauf Aregbesola-led government to pay the salaries of workers in its employ.

Though the state is not alone in the issue, its matter is made worse by a huge debt profile. The state is ranked 9th in the list of the most indebted states in the country. According to a recent report released by the Debt Management Office (DMO), the Land of Virtue has an external debt stock of $74 million. There is another claim of N480 billion domestic debt by members of the opposition in the state.

Meanwhile, the state government has debunked the latter (N480 billion debt), explaining that it only collected a N14.5 billion Sukuk loan and raised another N30 billion from the Capital Market.

The precarious situation in the state has prompted some public spirited individuals and religious bodies to offer helping hands. They include Senator Ben Murray Bruce, representing Bayelsa East in the National Assembly and the Living Faith Church, AKA Winner’s Chapel.

Senator Murray Bruce, promised to donate his wardrobe allowance to Osun workers and widows in his senatorial district. He announced this in a series of tweet, saying: “Ben Murray Bruce will not sit down idly, while my fellow citizens die because salaries have not been paid. As a first step, I am immediately donating my wardrobe allowance to unpaid workers in Osun State and widows in my constituency.”

He added: “We are starting in Osun, but we will not end there. I will do as much to help workers who’ve not been paid in other states. I call on all my friends and followers on Twitter and Facebook to donate non perishable food items for these our brothers in need. As soon as my wardrobe allowance is paid, I will divide it into two. Half will be publicly given to the NLC chairman Osun. The other half will be publicly given to the head of widows association in my community of Akasa.”

Living Faith Church, on its part, distributed food items and money to the workers in a bid to cushion the effect of unpaid salaries. This was followed by a three day fasting and prayers for divine intervention in the salary palaver declared by the state Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Elisha Ogundi. He also called on other churches in the state to donate generously to members as palliative to the salaries crisis.

However, the seemingly good intentions, especially that by Senator Murray Bruce, has irked the Osun State government, which said he is making a mockery of the workers.

Governor Aregbesola’s spokesman, Semiu Okanlawon, said it is saddening and tragic that Senator Murray Bruce, whom many had accorded a lot of respect for is too early in the day joining the fray of politicisation and trivialising the salary issue affecting more than half of the states of the federation in a ridiculous manner.

While the arguments persisiy, the workers who have been feeling the pains of the situation have adopted different strategies including begging for money from friends and relatives, securing loans from different sources and doing menial jobs to survive.

While Okanlawon may not be speaking the minds of the affected workers, who are likely to welcome more of such gestures, Governor Aregbesola, in a face saving measure, has pledged to pay the workers at the end of the month.

However, how he intends to raise the funds that will clear the backlog of salaries and pensions running to billions of naira remains unclear as the federal government has ruled out a bail option for the indebted states.

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