In the African culture or tradition, it is indeed a taboo to unmask a masquerade, more so in the public. To do this is calling for one’s head or irredeemable curse of the gods on the author of such desecration of the age long native tradition.
Yes, the intruder of such action has stirred the hornet nest thereby incurring the wrath of the gods and must be prepared for the repercussion. However, penultimate week, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State stated unequivocally in Maiduguri that he knows the “consequences” of unveiling the masquerade and was prepared to do this even at the point of death, provided it is in the interest of Borno.
Shettima, who spoke extempore while reading the 2017 State Budget before the State Assembly, made reference to divisive forces in the State striving hard to undermine the stability of his administration.
Distinguished personalities including National Assembly members from Borno and other stakeholders had all converged at the State House of Assembly in the State Capital to hear of the performance of the 2016 budget and the way forward as contained in the 2017 budget estimates.
However, Governor Shettima took a swipe on those he described as “paper tigers,” who are in the habit of running his government down and inciting the people against his administration.
According to him, this group of mischief makers from Borno “who have abandoned the state for the past four years” has with deep rooted prejudice against his administration constituted itself into a block of acute subversion against the state government through fanning embers of hatred, bitterness and suspicion between the government and the people.
He made reference to the on-going biometric verification exercise of workers in the State, alleging that some workers from the state are being engineered by a group of people, who hailed from Borno but “abandoned” the state for some years now to cause dissatisfaction between the state government and the workers.
The governor warned the concerned workers to be weary of being used as agents of destabilisation, warning that he was prepared to unmask the “masquerade” when it becomes imperative and “dare the consequences.” Governor Shettima stated that the dreadful and most vicious Boko Haram has been “tamed,” talk less of any other situation.
Giving insight into the findings of the on-going workers’ verification exercise being conducted by the State Government, Shettima wondered how a driver in one of the tertiary institutions in the state would be on N96, 000 monthly salary, and also why a nine-yearold would have his name on the monthly pay roll in a government department.
According to the governor, “One of the attendant outcomes of the Biometric exercise is that it would finally put an end to the ghost-workers syndrome, which has been bedeviling the civil service for long and also create various opportunities for self employment for our teeming unemployed youths”.
One of the attendant outcomes of the Biometric exercise is that it would finally put an end to the ghost-workers’ syndrome, which has been bedeviling the civil service for long
He stated that no amount of blackmail would make him abandon his resolve to clean the Augean stable of Borno, adding that out of the debris of catastrophe shall emerge a stronger and prosperous State within the Nigerian nation.
He explained that as of June 2016, the total workforce of the state was 27,368 persons, inclusive of “political office holders, students and ulamas,” adding that as a result of the on-going biometric verification exercise, over 18,000 workers representing 80 per cent of the total workforce have been cleared and paid.
Beside this, “2,295 are absentees who have not submitted even their forms” while “3,441 have outstanding issues to clear and they represents only 12 per cent”. Governor Shettima explained that to put the verification exercise to a close soonest, the committee responsible for this has drawn up a timetable to visit various ministries and departments to clear all the outstanding cases and authenticate the genuine workers.
While stating categorically that he would not allow the minority to take the majority to ransom, the state chief executive said that at the end of the exercise, any person who is found to have engaged in any act of illegalities or irregularities or illegal employment, replacement, receiving double salaries and any other breach or violation would be brought to justice in accordance with the State’s extant laws or public service rules and regulations.
It would be recalled that the verification exercise, which started about three months back, has generated good, fair and bad comments. Besides, unconfirmed reports indicate large scale fraud in the payroll system of some ministries and departments involving the rank and file, which might run into billions at the end of the exercise.
Victor Izekor, a journalist and public affairs commentator, writes from Maiduguri at victor_izekor@thepointing.com
