I am not unaware, neither will I pretend not to know in advance, that this piece or article would sound sour to some, if not all the workers in the Borno State Civil Service. Neither would I escape castigation or outright condemnation for having the guts or effrontery to embark on this exercise.
I can understand the extreme disposition of the concerned, moreso when this unexpected (or do I say ugly?) thing has to happen at a time it should never have happened.
However, I plead with the concerned, especially the workers, to look at the message conveyed in this writing or article and forget the messenger whose ugly face or person might after all be detestable to them. However, the message or plea might make sense and help to douse whatever tension or anger triggered by this unfortunate incident, which was in the first instance unintended, judging from the reaction to the unpleasant situation by Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State. He, in statesmanlike dexterity, accepted responsibility for the failure of the Ministry of Finance to pay the June salaries to the state workers before the Sallah break and apologised to the workers for this.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Information Communication and Technology (ICT), Mallam Abba Mohammed Bashir Shuwa, in a statement, clarified the situation. He pointed out that Governor Shettima, in his administration’s human face posture, had directed before the last Sallah celebration, payment of salaries to all categories of workers, adding that it was unfortunate that the Finance Ministry couldn’t make it owing to certain technical hitches in its system.
Bashir further explained that having discovered the inability of the ministry to pay as directed, Governor Kashim gave subsequent directive that payment must be effected immediately after the Sallah break. The governor’s aide regretted that on Wednesday June 28, instant on resumption of duty, the failure persisted until the following day Thursday, 29 when the Ministry’s system started responding gradually and workers’ salaries effected in their various banks.
Bashir who himself admitted that he like other colleagues were victims, appealed to the workers to show understanding as this was the first time a thing of this nature ever happened since the inception of this administration. The governor’s aide stated that the only period salaries were slightly delayed was recently, during workers’ verification exercise, an action aimed at eliminating ghost workers.
Immediately this was completed, normalcy in salaries’ payment was restored. He, therefore, warned mischief makers who might wish to capitalise on the situation to incite or foment trouble, that they would end up disappointed as blackmail or falsehood could not rubbish the good work of Kashim’s administration. He added, “You cannot pull down a good man as evil can never triumph over good.”
No doubt, the workers least expected this trauma or disappointment more so when since the inception of Kashim’s administration, salaries were paid as and when due, inclusive of festival periods like Sallah and Christmas.
Therefore, the outburst of some of them should be expected or excused. This must, however, not degenerate to bitterness and rancor, having in mind the existing good rapport between labour and the state government. In spite of the security challenges, the state government never defaulted in salary payment. As a matter of fact, Kashim’s administration was one of the first state governments to honour the current salary structure of workers when it was introduced. The same due was given to leave grants and related allowances of
workers.
Neither, was a single worker retrenched since the life of this administration in the name or guise of re-organisation or otherwise, nor promotion impeded. Training and retraining of staff remain some of the priorities of the administration while owner-occupier housing programme mostly for the workers is on-going.
There is, therefore, the need for better understanding between the two parties, especially, from the workers, bearing in mind the apology of the governor and other efforts by the government aimed at enhancing workers’ welfare.
Only recently, the national leadership of Association of Local Governments of Nigeria commended the state government, rating Borno as one of the states that was up to date in payment of workers’ salaries. Earlier, the state branch of the Nigerian labour Congress had commended Governor Kashim for keeping the peace with the state’s workers.
For sure, any system operated by man, who in the first instance is an imperfect being, is prone to defect and error .That there was a system failure in the state ministry of finance resulting in the delay in the salaries of the workers, is, therefore, understandable.
This is, however, not an excuse. It is expected that the ministry in anticipation of such hitch, must at all time put in motion, preempting measures to counter possible failure in the system.
*Izekor, a journalist and public affairs analyst, writes at thepointng.com.
