By Zik Gbemre

It is simply pathetic, appalling, unfortunate, unpatriotic and a great disservice to one’s fatherland and people, that in this 21st Century, and despite all the enormous unimaginable wealth – natural/material and human resources, abundantly available and enjoyed (by some selected few) in the Niger Delta region, our children are still learning on bare floors in their Schools. These were our thoughts, when we saw sad pictures of Students sitting on the bare floor to receive their lessons in Ogbodu Secondary School in the heart of Udu LGA of Delta State.

According to Niger Delta Today online report, while describing the situation: “It is hard to imagine the impunity with which the Delta State Government shies away from its core responsibility of tending to the welfare of Deltans, including but not limited to providing conducive learning environment for basic education.” It was also noted that majority of students still learn on bare floors with relevant government authorities unfeeling to their plight.”

When we still have such sorry situation of students learning on bare floors in the heart of a city, that tells you how unimportant the Government regards the Education sector for societal growth. How do we expect Students to focus and concentrate in their classes while sitting on the floor? We have repeatedly severally, without mincing words, that majority of Delta State politicians are simply wicked, inhuman, cruel and heartless for ‘deliberately’ impoverishing their own people for years, especially right from 1999 till date. It is sad that these Delta State politicians have in all these years, simply appropriated our collective wealth to satisfy their INSATIABLE GREED as well as that of their families, friends, fronts and allies. To add salt to injury, most of them are even being praised and celebrated by majority of the people for their looting of our collective wealth, including those of them that have been jailed for their corrupt practices. And they keep doing this without any iota of remorse or repentance.

Are they trying to tell us that there are no funds to address this deplorable classroom situation in the said Secondary School? What has the Local Government Chairman, Councilors and of course, the State Government, been doing with all the allocations of public funds and enormous revenues that come to their coffers daily, monthly and yearly budgets? How can we still have this situation in our Schools in Delta State, and we say we have a working Government? Are they not ashamed of themselves?

It is sad that every time we look around Delta State, it paints a picture of a people enmeshed in poverty, and a State suffering from ‘chronic underdevelopment’ in the midst of plenty. This paradoxical situation has been widely condemned by well-meaning regional and national elites who have persistently argued that a people whose land produces part of the wealth that virtually sustains the entire country should not be made to dwell in poverty. One then begins to wonder why is this? How come Delta State, with its abundant natural resourcefulness in terms of the ‘Black Gold’ and ‘Natural Gas’, is still wallowing in such despicable state of underdevelopment, which is now adversely affecting the Education sector? Who is to be blamed for the deplorable state of Delta State?

While there are so many answers to the above questions, the ‘root’ of the matter that has resulted to all of these questions in the first place is that, whatever level of underdevelopment and whatever we see ‘wrong’ today in Delta State; our political leaders/public office holders at all levels of the State Government are the ones responsible for it. As the ‘custodians of the State’s oil and gas-rich wealth and resources, they are the ones to take the chunk of the blame for Delta State’s present deplorable situation.

All we can say is that it is about time the common masses of Delta State to grow up and start condemning without any reservations, their own political leaders that are known to be corrupt, for ‘cheating’ on them and depriving them and their children from having a taste of what should be there all these years. It is about time Deltans start venting their anger and distaste on these obviously corrupt Delta political leaders at all levels of government, rather than singing their praises for doing nothing.

Zik Gbemre

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