Nwifuru: Putting New And Better Songs In Ebonyi Workers' Mouths.

For close to a decade now, May 1 which is universallly known as Workers' Day has always been a day of mourning for Ebonyi workers. Ebonyi civil servants often gathered in the main bowl of Abakaliki Township Stadium in what looked like a funeral procession to mourn the decapitation of their careers and to sing songs of sorrows and lamentations over crashed hopes, lost rights of career progression, denied rightful emoluments, vanished professional allowance and evaporated dignity. It suffices to say that for many cogent and strategic reasons, workers' welfare remains a reliable and organic index of good governance; and failure to prioritize it would always rob any given administration of whatever shine it purportedly gained in other sectors. That, unfortunately, was the lot of the immediate past administration in Ebonyi State. I have seen the Federal Government's unencouraging and unrealistic 'increament' of workers' salaries; and I pray that the federal and other state governments will learn from the past and present experiences of Ebonyi State.

The administration of Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru in Ebonyi State has created positive precedents in many sectors which Nigerian parents across the country under the aegis of Nigeria Parents Forum have continued adulate. For obvious reasons, including the position of parents as strategic receptacles of impacts of good or bad governments at different tiers, Nigerian parents might not stop commending Governor Nwifuru and his administration soon. Nigerian parents find this self-imposed assignment rewarding because through the projection of Nwifuru's commitment to Ebonyi people's welfare and the promotion of his programmes thereto, Nigerian parents successfully catalyzed a paradigm shift from the narrative of solely blaming President Tinubu for the economic hardships in the country to calling other governors and critical stakeholders to act on their respective mandates. The competitive welfare programmes among the states and tiers of government as well as the attendant relief that Nigerians presently enjoy are direct offshoots of this humble effort of Nigerian parents.

May 1 is here again; and it suffices that Governor Nwifuru's administration has given Ebonyi civil servants good reasons to roll out the red carpets and the talking drums in celebration. The truth is that from the onset, Governor Francis Nwifuru has been intentional in handling the welfare of Ebonyi workers. His actions prove the veracity of the taunt of Nigerian street pop sensation, Habeeb Okikiola (a.k.a. Portable), that, "After God, na government"! The payment of arrears of gratuities and pensions which piled up for three decades by Governor Nwifuru is, for Ebonyi civil servants, a fulfillment of God's promise to His people in the Bible book of Joel 2:25 to restore the years eaten by the locust. For long, the gratuities, pension and allowances of Ebonyi civil servants were eaten by the locust of executive neglect. In the chronicles of Ebonyi State, Nwifuru is a restorer as intended by God in the book of Joel. The significance of this act by Nwifuru is that Ebonyi workers for whom retirement amounted to the death knell, are no longer in a hurry to go to heaven. The number of deaths and funerals have drastically reduced, while celebration of graceful aging and life milestones have increased in Ebonyi State. Ebonyi civil servants now happily serve their respective life spans here and wind up with smiles and thanksgiving to God like Benjamin of the Bible for making them see the better days which Governor Nwifuru personify. Ebonyi retirees are grateful to God and Nwifuru for the bequest of fulfillment, joy and the capacity to set their survivors in good stead to thrive in the predatory jungle which Nigeria has become. Ebonyi workers will be singing the song of Benjamin or song of guaranteed fulfillment in the 2024 Workers' Day.

Under Governor Nwifuru, Ebonyi workers received not just the highest Christmas bonus but also received an amount as much as what civil servants in almighty Rivers State and other revenue giants received. In fact, when people heard the athletic Governor of Ebonyi State pronounce the sum of N100,000 as Ebonyi workers 2023 bonus, many thought that he mispronounced the amount he intended and so expected a retraction. For the first time in this decade, Ebonyi civil servants resumed their traditional role as positive stimulants in the demand and supply value chains of Ebonyi economic sector. Ebonyi workers will be singing songs of enhanced capacity in the 2024 Workers' Day.

While discussing the welfare programmes of Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State with Nigerians from different states of the federation, I told them that Nwifuru was the only Nigerian governor that paid gratitude allowance to his workers. Each time I mentioned that, my audience gets confused asking me for further explanation. When Ebonyi workers poured out into the streets of Abakaliki Capital Territory in a walk to appreciate Governor Nwifuru for the status-enhancing 2023 Christmas bonus, Nwifuru did not forget the Ebonyi philosophy, "O sururu deje, su t'anubaa ya odo" (which translates to 'He who showed gratitude deserves more gestures'). Governor Nwifuru rewarded the gratitude of Ebonyi workers with the approval of N10,000 gratitude allowance! Ebonyi people will therefore sing songs of gratitude in the 2024 Workers' Day.

Nwifuru promised to pay Ebonyi workers whatever salary increment approved by the federal government and given his antecedents, he will do just that. He has already increased the salaries of lecturers and non-academic staff of Ebonyi State University. Nwifuru has reinvented the Ebonyi State Health Insurance Scheme programme to vent its mandate of ensuring good health for Ebonyi workers. The care list of Governor Nwifuru for workers is inexhaustible. Like the psalmist said in Psalm 40, Governor Francis Nwifuru has lifted Ebonyi workers from the pit of drudgery and unrewarding career and set them on the rock of dignity and economic security. Indeed, Nwifuru has put a new and better song in the mouths of Ebonyi workers. As Ebonyi workers mark the 2024 Workers' Day, they have reasons to sing the new and better songs because blessed are the workers in Ebonyi State where Builder Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru is the governor!