Protesting retirees and Paris Club refunds

Th ink of what it would mean if everybody is of the same intelligence quotient (IQ) and then, think of what it would have meant if everybody were to be part of the epidemic protests by retirees, playing political blitzkrieg and putting all manner of spanners in the sure disbursement of the Paris Club Loan refunds in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

By that, the pensioners in some States in Nigeria have only drawn the sword of partisan wrangling from the scabbard and appropriated the task of aggressive mobilization of themselves and the citizens against the state governments. And as the nation has not recorded really impressive growth and development, such over-ambitious protests over money would not trade-off harsh realities of expedient hardship and sacrifice the development process entails, but could regrettably push the state government to the elbow room of facile options in the loan refunds disbursement issue.

It is important here that money is but one element in the complex process of growth and development, other crucial elements, including discipline and rational resource management, are sure to thrust the states’ economies to being self-sustaining, away from the fragility of their current status in the face of global economic recession and tight reins in Nigeria. Th e more reason, Nigerians across the federated states must have to make necessary sacrifi ce for real economic growth and development. In the State of Osun exampli gratia, retirees ironically ignited thundering rumble of earblocking rancor, bitterness; and precipitated high decibel of ear-shattering murmurings over the loans refunds. Osun retirees under the aegis of 2011/2012 Pensioners Forum have clearly acquired the reputation and attribute of incomprehensibility as the forum, last month, June 2017, characteristically acted political opposition to the Rauf Aregbesola government in the State when its groups of protesting retirees ad nauseam, swooped on the offi ce of the Governor, violated the serenity of the premises, chanted war songs, and openly incapacitated the civil servants on duty. Th e protesters infra dignitatem, misled the Osun publics on the loan refunds when they claimed, albeit erroneously, that the second tranche of the loan refunds had been released to Aregbesola by the federal government and alleged that he had diverted the refunds. Th e Osun people’s aspirations increased dramatically in more ways than one as consequence. But the Osun retirees goofed. Th eir claim was a fl awed refl ection of the abysmal, dizzy and miserable plunge into the nation’s current aff airs, a dismal, lopsided and gloomy profi le that practically misguided the general public. Th at is the preponderance of opinion against the retirees’ street protest. The claim was nothing but a flotsam of damaged truth, debris of misinformation, baseless allegation, unpolished lie and a mere chunk of noises from supposedly senior citizens of the State. It is more a case of the retirees sinning against Osun than being sinned against. And, when a few days ago, Monday July 17, 2017 the second tranche of the loan refunds came and Osun government promptly announced the receipt of the refunds, the governor literally escaped the retirees’ scalpel. But the protesting retirees had themselves shamefully pulled down from the pedestal of seeming integrity to the denizen of shame. Th e Government convincingly declared its commitment to deploy the refunds “in the best interest of the concerned stakeholders.” What care from the Osun pensioners with the profi ciency of a stubborn customer, only oiled the wheel of hypocrisy and raised the dogged hypocrisy to the status of religious virtue. Government’s “demand of unreserved apology from the retirees for wrongly accusing the governor” is superfl uous, needless. But because Osun would no longer stand karat nugget of drivel and Babel as though Osun of recent is fast getting used to blabber months, noises of confusion sewn into threads of street protests, the direct appeal should have been that the pensioners should be honest and patriotic in their dealings with the government. Street protesters, agitators, the world over are into heinous and treacherous crime and have a noose dangling above their recalcitrant heads. It is for them that the caution: “make haste slowly” was invented. Th e Osun retirees ought always to make cautious efforts at letting-loose gently pent-up anger to conserve what remains of the energy in them for survival in these days of global austerity and diseases when old people of the world have become emaciated and meals are oblong instead of square. “Silence, for the elderly is wisdom…..” said Th omas Fuller (1608-1661) an English Clergyman, author and wit in his fi rst book of sermons: Joseph’s Party Colored Coat (1640). Commendably, Aregbesola has assumed greater stakes in the Osun enterprise. In these years in the saddle of the state aff airs, he has actually pleased the collective people of Osun in practical terms. Not anyone in particular. His banish Poverty, Hunger and Unemployment (BanPHU) through economic and social policies and programmes have reenacted the Mikhail Gobachev’s eff orts, the Russian glasnost and perestroika projects. Th e glasnost stood for openness, and perestroika for restructuring. And, like the Gobachev revolution, the Aregbesola BanPHU revolution has removed the contradictions inherent in the Osun system. His infrastructure projects in every nook and cranny of the state also connect the Osun economy and Osun wealth to attract investments. His government’s debt manifest has not even over-burdened the state. Th e debt’s onus probandi is the massive development of physical, social, cultural and political structures and programmes across the state pro bono publico, for the public good, aided by his drive, consistency, focus, positive energy and steely courage. Th us, the concern of all in Osun should be for accelerated growth and development of the state. Good! Today in Osun, the offi cial profl igate way of life, official squadermania, official mindless waste of the spendthrift years and offi cial easy options had all gone with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesteryears (2003-2010) in the governance of the state. Olusesi writes from Osogbo, State of Osun

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