In reality desperation is a good motivator, which should be harnessed for positive ends. But when it gets overboard, it sure leaves sour and destructive taste. This is exactly what most Ndi Anambra are deducing since the ugly incident of some youths who were being hounded and paraded as criminals for working legitimately for a company owned by a legitimate revenue collector went viral online.
The development clearly leaves everyone wondering why all involved cannot put their hands on the deck in order to move our state forward.
For starters, everyone understands that one of the most serious issues affecting most states in Nigeria, including Anambra, is revenue generation, which is why it is a thing of joy that the state has been structured in a vibrant way by Governor Chukwuma Soludo and his men, to harness the gains of the state in terms of IGR.
In doing so, a few credible IGR Partners have been selected and authorised by the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the AIRS, Greg Ezeilo, after being urged to identify their revenue hubs, from where government would be expecting incomes from. It is pertinent to note that the dreams of the state in terms of health, education and even security will generously rely on these incomes trickling in. That is why it is befuddling to think that some of the participants are busy tackling the other partners in the project in order to run them out of business, instead of keeping their eyes on the goals of the Prof Soludo-led government.
It is disheartening to say the least that the team, employed and mobilized by Bigly Oil and Gas Services, which is one of the most reliable partners approved by the state government through the mandate of the governor and the helmsman at AIRS is being witch hunted with all manners of powers, just to portray them as illegal. People say, sometimes when a dog is penciled for killing, the conspirators give it a bad name. That is essentially what is going on at the moment.
In the past couple of days, all manners of ugly assault have been directed at Bigly and his men, from intimidation with Ocha Brigade Boys, to physical arrest with the Police and lately and sadly, being paraded like common criminals with a video of them being made and posted on the internet.
This is a sad thing and the governor must urgently look into it to forestall breakdown of law and order. The government can always refer to those who have competence and are authorised to do the job rather than the rat race, orchestrated by Christian Madubuko, which is undermining the gains of Soludo’s government.
Barr Cyprian Emeka Igbokwe(JP) writes from Nnewi.