BY Unknown Saturday, November 25, 2017 0
Salary, economic recession and suicide
Adeoye Oyewole
Rather than re-echoing the increased rates of suicide, which has reached an alarming rate in our society, I think we should begin to think of how we can stem the tide.
Our economy at a very basic level is primitive, not self-sustaining and all about consumption with few outlets  for productivity.
On top of this, we are battling with the ‘blessing’ or curse of oil wealth that shifted our attention from agriculture as a means of revenue generation.
Let’s not forget that our past and present colonial masters from the three and later six geo-political zones of the country under the military and democratic government have been embezzling our oil wealth for their selfish purposes rather than the development of our economy.
We inherited a framework of civil service from the colonial masters with bogus bureaucratic processes that may not be very relevant for this time.
I argue that these factors are responsible for the present economic recession that we are doubtfully out of, according to some economists.
The only means of survival for the floundering and vulnerable masses has always been the crumbs from the tables of our corrupt leaders through the civil service employment system.
I shudder when I hear some Nigerians, who obviously benefitted from our thieving elite, whether in military or democratic governments, argue for a trimmed civil service.
They seem to forget that the Nigerian civil service system was created as a social welfare model.
We also say that the emoluments, allowances and salaries of civil servants constitute 90 per cent of the local economies of most of our states. This implies that artisans – bricklayers, carpenters, painters, hairdressers, mechanics and other petty traders survive on the salaries paid to civil servants.
Apart from Lagos, Ogun and Rivers states, it’s just a few other states who are naturally positioned to have some other resources from accidental private sector activities. All the others are what we call the ‘civil service states’.
When you see civil servants who live above the poverty level in Nigeria, they may be working as errand boys for those in the leadership cadre of ministries who may be using them to divert government funds.
To prove this, I cite examples of civil servants who are privileged to be working in the Presidency, legislature, judiciary and political office holders, who are still collecting their salaries as at when due .
This is at a time when their counterparts in other states have not been paid for 12 months and they have even lost count of the total sums of money they are being owed.
The labour unions that should help them have also been compromised with bribes during strike actions.
Unpaid salaries and mental health
Governance is not just about physical infrastructure, but it is about the people. It is only when the people are alive and well that governance can take place.
The situation going on in this country, such as non- payment of salaries are factors that predispose, people to mental illnesses, especially depression, which ultimately manifest as suicide and substance abuse disorders.
Even, more young people engage in criminal activities when they are frustrated, angry and feel hopeless.
Although the bailouts from the Federal Government is a good one,  I wish there was a system whereby the money can be paid directly into the workers’ accounts  from the source without going through the state governors ‘hands’  who keep arguing that physical infrastructural development is more important than human life.
Our leaders need to understand the psycho- dynamics of the human mind in the context of extreme deprivation of basic means of survival without an alternative provision.
The burden of mental illness in our society is enormous and what we read in our newspapers are just tips of the iceberg. If a civil servant of a director cadre could commit suicide because of the birth of triplets and not having been paid since January this year, we can only imagine what is happening   to his driver, his stewards and other dependants in the village.
 It is a shame that cases like this can become rampant in a country so blessed as Nigeria.  Our leaders, especially the governors can stop this ugly trend by critically looking at how the civil servants salaries which dictates the economy of their states could be settled.
This should be done while creatively looking at alternative means of revenue for each state.

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