My name is Satmak DAPAR And I make bold to write this short piece. Hope it meets the government in good faith. Sometimes, we have to tell ourselves the truth even if it hurts to do so. ‎If we don’t, we will continually betray Nigeria’s highest destiny. We can’t pretend that all is well when it’s obvious, the masses are heavily suffering.

They have suffered before, they are still suffering and probably, they will suffer in the future if we don’t raise our voice to correct some ills and right the wrongs. There is no justification in government’s failure to pay civil servants their salaries. They work, suffer and die in silence, yet, government shows little or no concern.

If someone works for you, he/she is entitled to his wages and this should be articulated as a matter of right and not privilege. It is pointless when government tells the whole world of its commitment to workers welfare during political campaigns, yet, hypocritically, turns its back against the masses after achieving power and breaks the promises it made to the people (Who is fooling who?).

If there is no money, government must strengthen revenue generating mechanisms to generate sufficient money in order to meet the needs of its people. What about our money stored in foreign reserves and the ones corruptly siphoned but recovered through the anti-corruption war? I think the government is getting it wrong by not keeping faith with payment of salaries and pension.

It is a clear case of “Monkey dey work, baboon dey chop” sounds hard right? This is the stark reality anyway. I’m not a government worker but I share the pain of my people. If you don’t pay salaries, how do you expect the masses to eat, send their children to school and address their challenges?

Where will they get the capital to start the business that generates income for the family? If Nigeria must change, then I think our leaders must think twice and do what gives the people hope. We can’t continue this way ok. Nigeria is far left behind economically and development wise. It’s time to create real, genuine, positive change.

The welfare of workers must be a cardinal priority of every responsible government. Anything short of this, is a deception and it’s unacceptable. I advise the government to pay salaries as at when due before it thinks of achieving other developmental strides. Life is serious business.

by Satmak Dapar

count | 273

Workers deserve their wages, salaries are a right not a privilege – by Satmak Dapar