Follow Us on Google
By Maduka Nweke, [email protected]
To address the worsening rural-urban migration and ultimately decongest the cities, the federal government has been advised to immediately build more roads and houses in the rural areas as a way of developing the economy at the grassroot level.
The call, which reached a crescendo recently, came from civil servants and middle class renters who are willing to relocate to the rural areas to escape the congestion, pollution and sky-high cost of apartments in many towns in Nigeria.
They also believe that when the modern houses are developed in the rural areas, most of those angling to go to the cities due to the allure of modern houses would stay in the rural areas and develop them. They also argue that cost of living will also be low because foodstuff that takes a chunk of the income is cheaper in suburban areas.
According to Reginald Adegbenro, a civil servant resident in the Command area of Egbeda, Alimosho Local Government of Lagos, the influx of people into Lagos from various states every year cannot be controlled because it seems that the government concentrates more on developing the cities.
“If the government can extend some levels of development to the rural areas, the cities will become decent and the rural areas will emulate them.
“Government provision of social amenities will make citizens live and stay in rural areas. People would naturally relocate to rural areas if they can see good houses, good roads, good hospitals, schools, electricity, recreational facilities and all that.
“I wonder why our leaders forget their roots and focus on cities, forgetting what he lacked as a common citizen.
“If people in government will be able to keep the electioneering campaign promises, then there will be no reason for one to be longing to go and live in the cities. He will not, because what he is going to the city to see is with him in the rural areas.
“In developed nations, you hardly can distinguish the city and the rural areas because there are government social amenities everywhere,” he argued.
Another respondent, Mr. Bernard Ekong, who lives in Tolu area of Ajegunle in Ajeromi Local Government of Lagos, said that it is obvious that the government has no plans for the rural areas. According to him, “if government has strong plans for the rural areas, then there will be mechanism to checkmate all the elected officers who will collect constituency allowances for their constituencies and damn them.
“The various allocations meant for the local people through the local government doesn’t get to the people. They swallow them and clean their mouths while the people continue to suffer and blame the government for this and that.
“When the government means business, there will be supervision and feedback from whatever contract that was awarded. Once the feedback is received, the government will be satisfied because those who are to enjoy the benefits of the projects are the same people giving the feedback. It is because there are no routine checks and punishments for those who embezzled government funds that make people not serious with government assignments. “Infrastructure in the rural areas will help in opening the areas and people will be interested in living in the area and doing their business,” he said.
In a related development, government workers have called on the federal government to build them housing estates to retain their sanity and productivity, especially now that the cost of home rentals has reached stratospheric heights, without any hope of coming down soon. According to them, their meager salaries can no longer cover their accommodation as feeding takes a chunk of it, no thanks to the ravaging inflation.
They believe that if they are well remunerated, they will be more productive and remain a strong partner with the government in the urgent task to national development.
Civil servants from various establishments see the housing estates to be built by the governments, which would be subsidised, as the only facility that their paltry emolument can accommodate.
They argue that senior government officials who enjoy huge salaries, huge travel and leave allowances still have government quarters free of charge, while the low-income workers wallow in penury.
A civil servant working at the Federal Inland Revenue, Benin City Mr. Abdul Kyari, said that government officials do not care about the junior staffers despite the fact that they are the ones that really do the work.
Kyari said: “How can those who receive huge salaries, all the allowances and other incentives be quartered while the ones that eat from hand to mouth are left and victimized anytime there is a problem.
“My grouse is that most of us live in faraway cities yet no staff bus but anytime any of us comes late owing to one or more problems, the way and manner the section head will treat the person will surprise you.
“We need to be treated like other civil servants in other establishments because we all work for the same federal government,” he stated.
Another respondent, Mrs. Katharine Abioye of Water Corporation said that the government feels that the junior staffers are no threat to them.
“Those who know the secrets of the government are feared by the senior staffers; else they will expose what the government and their right-hand people do not want the public to know. I don’t know why people do not remember their promises when they are looking for an electoral job.
“Some will be funding agitation and when the benefits of the agitation come, the junior staffers who form the tools of the protest will be sidelined.
“It is sheer wickedness. It shows no conscience or fear of God at all,” he noted.
“If you give to those who have, you are increasing the purses of the rich and further impoverishing the poor. The idea of building estates for civil servants should not be a luxury.
“It should be an enabler to the job. If you accommodate your staffers, they will be ready for any job anytime, any day because whenever they are needed, you go to the quarters and summon them and it will not take time to assemble them,” he stated.
