Ortom And Benue Teachers

The failure of Governor Samuel Ortom-led Benue State government to pay primary school teachers their outstanding 13-month salaries no doubt says a lot about how much the governor prioritises basic education.

There are media reports that after being owed salaries for such a long time, teachers in public schools have resorted to different alternative means of earning money to cater for their families’ needs.

One may ask: Why did the state accumulate such a huge salary backlog when, month-in, month-out, it receives allocation from the federation account? How are the teachers coping in these days of harsh economic conditions? Can these teachers be expected to put in their best in grooming the future leaders of Benue and Nigeria?

As should be expected, most of these primary school teachers have taken to petty trading in an attempt to make ends meet, of course, with devastating effect on their productivity at the classrooms.

It was so terrible that the union of teachers had to direct its members to stay at home for a short period owing to difficulties they faced arising from non-payment of their salaries.

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 When a teacher, who is supposed to devote a significant part of his time to teaching and nurturing the future generations, is forced into petty trading, often during school period, one can imagine the quality of knowledge he can impart on the pupils.

In owing teachers’ salaries for this length of time, Ortom, like any of his fellow governors that owe workers their wages, has demonstrated clearly the disdainful manner with which he treats the education sector.

 Ortom’s decision to owe teachers undoubtedly has a telling effect on the education sector, as the teachers will rarely deliver optimally.

Perhaps, it is apt to remind Ortom that building new or renovating existing classrooms and providing teaching materials, if any, without according priority to teachers’ welfare is counterproductive.

To begin with, what is the administration of Governor Ortom good at? Here is one governor who failed in providing the needed infrastructure to boost the state’s economy and improve living conditions of its citizens. Also, he is yet to implement the national minimum wage.

Governor Ortom’s administration looks likely to finish spending eight years in office and having no legacy projects to show for it, yet it is owing teachers over 13-month salaries? With less than four months to the end of his tenure, Governor Ortom, who is eyeing a Senate seat, should be concerned about what he would be remembered for.

We are tempted to ask what Ortom has learnt from the leader of his Group of Five PDP Governors (G-5 Governors), Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, with whom he often junkets. While Ortom has no legacy projects to show for his almost eight-year rule, Wike earned an award from the APC-led federal government for his infrastructural development efforts.

In our considered opinion, to expect Benue people to endure months of owed salaries and lack of laudable people-oriented projects by the Ortom government amounts to asking for far too much. The Benue state government must clear the backlog of teachers’ salaries and the time to do that is now. A labourer deserves his wages.

However, the Benue situation reminds us of the vexed issue of governors owing workers’ salaries while indulging in wasteful spending of the states’ resources.

We are worried that rather than cut down on their expenses to mop up funds for critical state matters, including payment of workers’ salaries, most governors take huge security votes, spend profligately, maintain unusually large convoys and engage in inessential travels, among other forms of wastefulness.

Late last year, BudgIT , a transparency advocacy civil society organisation, released a report which showed that at least 12 states in the country owed civil servants not less than one month salary as of July 2022, with some owing up to six months while some workers were yet to be paid for over three years.

It is inexcusable for state governments to refuse to meet their commitments to workers, thereby subjecting them to harsh living conditions. When governors elect not to do something as basic as payment of salaries, they have lost the right to govern.