Each election circle gives the electorate reasons
to make a choice between competing politicians and political parties. The
choice we make is arguably informed by our honest belief that either an old
government is good enough for us to renew its mandate or opt for a new
administration that offers us more seductive promises of a better tomorrow. A
mid-term report is assessment time for us. Did we make the right choice of
parties and individuals in 2015 or were we tossed about by the sentiments and
the shenanigans of politics?
Whatever we make of the mid-term reports must be
moderated by one sad visitations from fate on our country and States.
No one foresaw the current difficulties in the
economy. The recession makes it difficult for us to properly assess the
competence of the government in the management of our economy. We cannot hazard
a fair guess as to where we would be today if the recession did not happen or
if it was a mild shock to our economy and simply passed on. Whichever gods
dropped this dead herring on our path must be ashamed of themselves.
Economic recession has taken its toll on the
country’s economic output and it has affected just about every sphere of our national
life as well. The recession has hit States revenues hard and although
resources are declining, needs are not. Deep State
funding cuts arising from the present recession have major implications for public projects and programmes.
It is however most unfortunate that majority of our
people do not know nor understand how deep the cut inflicted by economic recession
is. It is also most unfortunate that those who were part of the last administration are
guiltier of this. They are either erroneously assuming that the economy remains
same or they are deliberately feigning ignorance to malign the present administration.
It should be made clear that even if the recession technically ends in 2017, budgets
are not expected to regain their pre-recession 2014 funding levels until the
end of the decade, for a number of reasons.
However, a government is as much a victim of fate
or luck or circumstance as the individual. We can see that from the current
recession. Whatever Senator Okowa had in store for Delta State and its people
in the area of a sensible management of the economy has been shunted aside by
the arrival of the recession when we least expected it. Still, the electorate
is not usually persuaded by the victimhood. It is persuaded by promises
fulfilled or unfulfilled.
Still, we would be uncharitable to deny that the
administration has made some commendable efforts in some fundamental areas. It has never been easy to
define good governance. And this not being a mathematical question, it does not
give us easy answers either.
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