For eight months, we have been denied our legitimate monthly wages by the current government of Osun State. Several pensioners have died due to the failure of government to fulfil its obligations to its employees. The economy is comatose as people continue to starve as a result of maladministration and profligacy of the government.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 We have heard that the state government is mooting the idea of reducing our monthly salaries by 50 per cent. The last that workers were paid was half the salaries of December, 2014, yet the Osun State government has embarked on massive propaganda that it has fulfilled its contractual obligation to workers. This is far from the truth and our creditors, including landlords and food sellers\u00c2\u00a0have been running after us to pay our mounting debts.<\/p>\n
It is for this reason that we have decided to cry out and to implore well-meaning people to prevail on the State Government of Osun \u00c2\u00a0current government of Osun State not to continue its callous and wicked posture to the people of the State, particularly the working class that has continued to bear the brunt of profligacy, lack of planning and vision. So far,\u00c2\u00a0the Aregbesola administration\u00c2\u00a0has been\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0insensitive to the feelings of the people of the state, with the government, through all its actions, indicating\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0that it is committed only to enriching the pockets of members\u00c2\u00a0 and sympathisers of the All Progressives Congress, majority of whom are resident outside Osun State.<\/p>\n
Osun State has never had is this bad. For over\u00c2\u00a08 months, salaries of public servants and monthly pensions of retirees\u00c2\u00a0have not been paid as they receive succour from outside the State in terms of relief materials as if they are refugees in their own state.Since\u00c2\u00a0the inception of the current Government of the State of Osun\u00c2\u00a0in 2010, the trend of capital flight to Lagos has been massive and disturbing, while the people of Osun State, who are owners of the state\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s resources continue to be impoverished through deliberate neglect and siphoning of resources of the state\u00c2\u00a0by people who are not indigenes of Osun State, and who no stake in the development and future of the state. Sadly, government\u00c2\u00a0has given preference to contractors and suppliers from outside Osun State, to the detriment of the State’s economy. For instance,\u00c2\u00a0the neglect of qualified\u00c2\u00a0businesses in the state is one of the reasons for the comatose\u00c2\u00a0 economy of Osun State with the attendant inability of the state government to pay not only\u00c2\u00a0salaries and pensions of workers, and retirees for\u00c2\u00a0eight months; but also. its\u00c2\u00a0inability to settle its contractual debts running into several\u00c2\u00a0billions of naira, owed various\u00c2\u00a0financial institutions.<\/p>\n
The latest in the series of atrocities that is designed to rob the people of Osun State is the planned forceful acquisition of government lands at the Government Reserved Area, Gbongan road Osogbo, and the Property Development Corporation Estate, Akoda, following alleged inability of owners to develop. The lands in question are about 500 hectares and were allocated to different people, mostly workers\u00c2\u00a0by government. Most of the allottees are\u00c2\u00a0employees\u00c2\u00a0engaged in the\u00c2\u00a0the public service of Osun State, teachers and retirees.\u00c2\u00a0We do not know the propriety of this planned\u00c2\u00a0forceful take over of our lands\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0in spite of the fact that government has failed to\u00c2\u00a0provide no infrastructure on the areas occupied by these parcels of land being earmarked for reallocation to people from Lagos State.<\/p>\n
Workers note with regret that Osun State government now plans to acquire the lands and allocate these to private developers from Lagos, who are prepared to pay those in government bribes and illegal sizeable amounts, as part of the underhand deals that would enrich the pockets of a few people in government. According to complaints, the plan is to use the governor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s power to revoke all certificates of occupancy of those having titles on the lands under the pretext that the lands have not been developed by those to whom they have been allocated.<\/p>\n
The questions now on the lips of\u00c2\u00a0workers and people\u00c2\u00a0of Osun State are: Why revoke titles to lands at a period when the state government\u00c2\u00a0cannot pay salaries and pensions to its workers and retirees? Why has Osun State government not provided infrastructure on the land it is planning to acquire illegally for outsiders from Lagos State to be able to move in to take possession and develop\u00c2\u00a0our\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0lands? Why take this action when people are starving and dying? Why\u00c2\u00a0take over\u00c2\u00a0the lands of poor people with intent to allocate\u00c2\u00a0to outsiders with business interests. Sadly, these intending beneficiaries\u00c2\u00a0have no stake in the development of Osun State.\u00c2\u00a0Is it right and sensible to start revocation of titles on lands mostly owned by workers and retirees\u00c2\u00a0by a government that is insensitive and has not paid salaries and pensions for\u00c2\u00a0eight months?<\/p>\n
Other posers requiring answers are: \u00c2\u00a0Will the land developers from Lagos\u00c2\u00a0to whom the lands\u00c2\u00a0are to be re-allocated\u00c2\u00a0bring residents from Lagos, other places outside Osun State, or even the moon, or other planets\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0to purchase lands genuinely owned by workers and retirees who have been denied their entitlements for eight months? We have discovered that the questionable underhand deal is coming at a time when Osun State workers who own large parts of the lands are\u00c2\u00a0currently impoverished as a result of maladministration.<\/p>\n
We wish to point out that Sensible people know that it is wrong for any government to acquire lands forcefully without providing infrastructures for development ,and also giving notice to owners to develop. How can a reasonable government embark on this senseless exercise at this period? Is it not the responsibility of sensitive governments to provide housing laons t its workers as done by Obafemi Awolowo whom they now ape today? What will the people of Osun State gain from this exercise that is designed to benefit outsiders? What becomes of Ede people from whom the lands were acquired? We say it is patently wrong and callous for any government to deprive people of their lands for the purpose of enriching a few collaborators from outside Osun State, and a few people in government, \u00c2\u00a0under the guise of development.<\/p>\n
\u00c2<\/p>\n
It is very clear that there is no worker in Osun State today who can afford to develop any property as a result of the failure of government to fulfil its obligation to workers and the people. Is it reasonable to deprive workers and people of Osun State their lands at this sensitive period for self-serving interests? Will those people who have the means to purchase houses under the proposed wicked plan come from the moon or mars, or any other planet\u00c2\u00a0because the economy of Osun State at the moment cannot support such a venture?<\/p>\n
\u00c2<\/p>\n
We understand that some of the former state commissioners who served in the last Aregbesola administration still come to offices surreptitiously\u00c2\u00a0to work and supervise civil servants in spite of the fact that their appointments have lapsed and they have not been screened for fresh appointments by the Osun\u00c2\u00a0State House of Assembly. One of these Commissioners\u00c2\u00a0who resides outside Osun State, in collaboration with a very top official of the Aregbesola administration in the Governor’s office\u00c2\u00a0that was re-appointed, is said to be the anchor of this senseless exercise designed to rob the people of Osun State of their legitimate entitlements and provide slush funds for people in power.\u00c2\u00a0 It is sad that a government that claims to be progressive is taking retrogressive anti-people policies for pecuniary considerations.<\/p>\n
We ask well-meaning people, other political parties apart from the APC whose leaders\u00c2\u00a0appear to be conspirators, traditional rulers, opinion leaders\u00c2\u00a0and other stakeholders in and outside our state,\u00c2\u00a0to please call the Osun State government to order. It will not be long from now, when the All Progressive Party comes back to solicit for our votes. How we wished all these anti-workers and anti-people\u00c2\u00a0polices had been enacted before the last general elections in Osun State. We are waiting for the local government elections, if there would be money to stage it, before using our votes to show APC our strength.<\/p>\n
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For eight months, we have been denied our legitimate monthly wages by the current government of Osun State. Several pensioners have died due to the failure of government to fulfil…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n