By Citizen Agba Jalingo
No one who lived on this Earth was ever always right. None! And it is not possible for anyone to always be right, lest he or she becomes god. No one is sufficiently equipped with such infallibility. But the way societies have progressed is by witnessing the expression and execution of diverse opinions. Both the good, the bad and the neither here nor there. Where the plurality of opinions is suffocated, creativity and innovation is also stifled.
Social interventions both from government and good spirited individuals in Cross River State and even elsewhere in the country, have failed to yield desirable results over several decades, not just because the people in government are not doing enough, there are twin obstacles which include the misapplication of these intervention benefits by the receivers and the theft and cronyism that characterizes the processes.
Yours sincerely has spent a considerable amount of time advocating for a new culture for how interventions are dispensed. This consistent advocacy is not born out of the conclusion that what is on the ground is wrong or right. It is not to say that the way it has been done is totally bad. But it is to say that the way it has been done, has not produced the desired results and some other methods should also be tried.
Technology is changing a lot of things and we have to employ it to clean up the traditional structures that have ensured that social interventions in our State are cornered long before pittance gets to the intended beneficiaries. This will rile up some entrenched quarters, no doubt. But it is a normal consequence of the contest of ideas.
We cannot get used to copying and pasting what has been repeatedly done by leaders and well intentioned individuals over the years, without moving our communities forward and continue to resist trying new methods. As these new methods continue to gain penetration and acceptance, mistakes will be made and corrected, but those who used to benefit from the inefficiency will be incensed and that’s in order.
It is self evident that the equitable distribution of political opportunities and interventions is a necessary ingredient of playing politics. But there are certain basic things that are not politics. The provision of water, education, health, capital, etc, are basic issues of governance that should prioritize transparency over politics. That’s what can ensure that the little efforts can get to the bottom and create real opportunities for those who need them the most.
Even this opinion I am expressing here is not right. It is only an opinion and in the few instances it has been applied, it has generated more applause than knocks, and both are important. I will only encourage those who want to tow this path, to intentionally build the confidence and capacity of their team members to clean up the processes of their social intervention or out source same, to attain better results.
This should intentionally bypass the trumpeted political structures that have been perpetrated and bastardized.
Politicians have uncountable avenues of compensating their foot soldiers. Let governance begin where politics stop. I am vague this morning, but I know you understand what I mean.
Citizen Agba Jalingo is a public activist, journalist and publisher. He writes from Obudu, Cross River State
