Osun a failed state awaiting RESCUE! Donors lineup to alleviate workers plight: Kashamu donates 30 trailer load of rice. Bruse donates wardrobe allowance. CAN urges churches to assist

Osun a failed state awaiting rescue as donors to allevaite workers plight: Kashamu donates 30 trialer load of rice. Bruse donates wardrobe allowance. CAN urges churches to assist

No doubt the Rauf Aregbesola-led Osun State is now in comatose and had failed woefully as workers are slowly bled to death by the non payment of several months of salaries. The Biafran gathers that many donors are trooping in to assist the beleaguered governor feed the state. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ben Bruce and Buruji Kashamu have all declared interest in assisting the starving workers to at least get a day's meal.

PDP senator-elect, Buruji Kashamu came to the aid of the struggling individuals of Osun State by donating 30 trailers of rice to them. According to reports reaching The Biafran, Kashamu donated bags of rice to the individuals  to save lots of them from abject starvation they have been subjected to by the depraved, heartless and insensitive authorities of Governor Aregbesola.

A source, who is close to Kashamu revealed that the Senator is pained by the plight of Osun workers and has been having sleepless nights. According to the sourceOsun state has 30 native governments – therefore, every native authorities will get one trailer load of rice. The trailers are at present en-route Osun state.

In a similar rescue-Osun effort, Senator representing Bayelsa East Mr. Ben Murray Bruce of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has pledged to donate his wardrobe allowance to the unpaid workers in Osun state and widows in his community at Akasa, Bayelsa state.

The media mogul said his action is necessitated by the suffering of the workers and their dependants over the inability of the state government to pay public service workers.

Ben Bruce

“I, Ben Murray Bruce, will not sit down idly, while my fellow citizens die because salaries have not been paid. As a first step, I am immediately donating my wardrobe allowance to unpaid workers in Osun state and widows in my Constituency,” he said

He added that he will publicly handover his allowance to the chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Osun State and the head of widows association in Akasa.

“We are starting in Osun, but we will not end there. I will do as much to help workers who’ve not been paid in other states.

As soon as my wardrobe allowance is paid, I will divide it into two. Half will be publicly given to the NLC Chairman Osun.

The other half will be publicly given to the head of widows association in my community of Akasa.,” he added while enjoining other Nigerians to donate to the workers in Osun and other states of the country, facing similar crisis.

Each senator is entitled to a wardrobe allowance of N506, 600 per annum according to the Chairman of Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Engr. Elias Mbam.

Also the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has appealed to church leaders in Osun State to rally food aid and money to assist Osun State civil servants who are going through hardship because of the delay in the payment of their salaries for the past seven months.

The Chairman of CAN in Osun State, Rev. Elisha Ogundiya, said this in an interview with journalists in Osogbo after the meeting of the executives of CAN in the state.

Ogundiya said that churches should go beyond feeding their congregations with spiritual food, especially at this time but should also rally round to offer them succour.

He said, “I talk about Christians and Muslims and others who are passing through hardship in Osun State because of the non-payment of their salaries for months.

“Workers are passing through hardship and some who have retired have died because of lack of money to take care of themselves. We Christians have to emulate the action of the Good Samaritan in the Bible, who assisted somebody he should not assist ordinarily. So, we should assist our brothers and sisters.

“I urge church leaders and local government chairmen in attendance to go back home, contribute food and other items to assist all these people who are in need.

“To the government, we are appealing to the government to look for whatever means to make life beautiful for these people. We know that the problem is not peculiar to Osun State alone, but this is lingering too much. The state government should do something urgently to put smile on the faces of the workers.”

Meanwhile the shamed Osun State government out pride has lambasted Ben Murray-Bruce, for offering to donate his wardrobe allowance to Osun State workers who are owed 7 months salaries.

In  response to Bruce kindhearted gesture, the Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola, accused the Senator of mocking Nigerian workers.

In a statement through his spokesperson, Semiu Okanlawon,  Aregbesola accused the lawmaker of playing to the gallery and engaging in self-serving philanthropy.

“Of all the states in the federation who are battling to pay salaries as a result of the precarious economic situation his party the PDP threw Nigeria into why is it that it is Osun he wants to take his pay to?” the governor asked.

“This is certainly playing to the gallery and nothing but a mockery in the faces of Nigerian workers and not only of Osun extraction.

“It is not only wicked but ungodly to play politics with the suffering of the people.

“If the senator’s conscience tells him his pay is too high especially in the face of the prevailing economic predicament of Nigeria the most honourable thing to do is to lead a protest for reduction and not a self serving philanthropy only in the direction of Osun workers.”