The worst place anyone can visit is government parastatals. Sometimes, I wonder if their administrative officers were actually employed to work there, or they were forced. They have zero customer service.

It reminds me of the horrible experience at my former school, Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun state in 2015. I was in the HOD office to sign my clearance form. I needed to sort it out that day, so I could meet up with the NYSC program.

On getting to the office, I met the secretaries to the HOD and I explained the reason why I was there. Instead, I was told to get out of the office for interrupting them.

Like seriously, did I interrupt you guys? I asked in disagreement. There was no reasonable thing they were doing other than having a meaningless discussion when I walked in. To have said, I interrupted them was so untrue.

I tried to be polite but they brought out the devil in me. I had to shout back at them and become dramatic before they could give me an audience.

This is rampant in government parastatals. Those in the administrative section are the worst kind of people you can ever meet. They make you feel like they are talking to their child. They impose their egos, trying to be a demigod.

This is a major reason why things don’t really work in the government parastatals. They would barely work on any file. Government organizations are always a place of gossip and irrelevant discussion. Activities there are slow.

Ask any graduate that served or did an Industrial Training there, they don’t learn anything because the people there have nothing to offer.

No wonder, the minimum wage of 30,000 naira is a problem for the government to pay them.

The government needs to shake up that system and replace these old and outdated administrative workers. They are the reason why government efforts are not being seen or felt by the people.

Owing Street Cleaners

I read it somewhere online that the governor of a state (I won’t mention the state), is owing street cleaners their monthly salaries.

That’s wickedness!

Considering these people are always on the road sweeping irrespective of the weather. What touches me most, these people are old and could barely do anything than this job given to them. They had no choice but to accept this role so they could get their daily bread and stop begging for alms on the roadside.

If any government would owe workers, it should not be them. Besides, their salaries are very low compared to what other government workers are earning.

One thing I also noticed, road users, treat these workers like trash. I do see them driving and dropping things on the road, littering everywhere. I think the mindset of these road users, dropping things on the road is – the street cleaners will tidy them up.

I would appreciate if the government would impose severe punishment on anyone found littering the road. This can be achieved if the street cleaners are also given the power to punish any road user found littering the road. Better still, the government can assemble a law-enforcing body that can work alongside our street cleaners. That would bring some kind of decency to road users.

A true government should have equal respect for a cleaner or a manager. After all, both are humans working for the betterment of the state/country.

Saving NPower Beneficiaries

The Npower program has been a blessing to many unemployed graduates since 2016.

The government absorbed 500,000 unemployed graduates in 2016, and added over 200,000 in 2017. Kudos to President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.

Since the commencement of the program, the government has been paying their monthly salaries on a regular basis. Another stand out act from the government is, the recruitment exercise was free and fair. This should be the first type of free and fair recruitment in the country.

Although the government planned to absorb these graduates for two years, that is, 2016-2018, the program still continues after the second year that was meant to lapse. According to the government, he doesn’t want them to fall back into the street. That was a smart move from our President.

However, my concern – after Npower, what next?

Most of them are underemployed, that is, they are underutilized. You don’t expect anyone without any teaching experience to enjoy going to classrooms. Yes, I learned most of them were absorbed into the schools.

What does the government actually have to help these people? Npower has come to an end, but the government is still holding on to them. I applaud the decision, but for how long will this continue. They need to be fixed into something more meaningful and productive.

They need to be given a long term opportunity. The stipend being paid to them is not enough. Half bread is better than nothing, I agree, but we must think about the long run.

The best way to save them from going back into the street is when the government provides a long-lasting solution for them.

Think about when your tenure as the President ends, what will become of them. I hope every state can absorb them too. This is a big task for the president but with the help of the state, they won’t go back to the street.

Pleading to all government and private sectors, please save the Npower beneficiaries.