From Seyi Tayese, Yenagoa
The Publisher of Niger Delta Herald Newspaper,a local and regional newspaper based in Bayelsa State, Comrade Francis Dufagha, on Wednesday said, he has come to tell Governor Douye Diri and his administration that Bayelsans are asking questions, and that those questions will not disappear because government does not like them.
Francis Dufagha, while addressing a press conference in Yenagoa at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Secretariat, Azikoro said he had not come to praise the government, neither had he come to massage the ego of the governor.
“I have not come to decorate failure with grammar. I have not come to join the growing army of praise singers whose only interest is to tell government what it wants to hear. I have come to speak for the people,” he said.
According to him, “Let me say this without fear or apology: Bayelsa State does not belong to Governor Douye Diri. It does not belong to the PDP. It does not belong to the APC. It does not belong to political godfathers. It belongs to the people. The governor is only the current occupant of the Government House. He is a servant of the people. And when a servant fails, the master has the right to ask questions. That is democracy. That is accountability. That is the essence of journalism”.
Speaking further, he said for years, Bayelsans have been hearing the language of prosperity. “But I ask: Prosperity for whom? Where is the prosperity in the life of the ordinary Bayelsan? Where is the prosperity in the lives of our unemployed graduates? Where is the prosperity in our hospitals? Where is the prosperity in our schools? Where is the prosperity in our rural communities? Where is the prosperity for the trader struggling to keep a small business alive? Where is the prosperity for the fisherman whose livelihood is disappearing? Where is the prosperity for the young man who has a university degree but no job? Do not tell us about prosperity. Show us prosperity. Government is not a television commercial. Government is about results.
“Bayelsa is not a poor state in terms of public revenue. We are an oil-producing state. We receive federal allocations. We receive derivation revenue. We receive interventions. We have access to enormous public resources. Yet, after all these years, the ordinary citizen is still asking: What exactly are we getting for our money?
“Where are the industries? Where are the jobs? Where are the functional health institutions? Where is the agricultural transformation? Where is the human capital development? Where is the massive investment in our young people? Where is the economic diversification? We cannot continue to receive billions and present a few roads and buildings as though we have transformed the state. Bayelsa deserves more than that.”
The Publisher recalled the painful death of a journalist during the burial of late deputy governor, saying, “Let me speak about something more painful than statistics. Let us remember Isaac Ombe, who died in a ghastly motor accident at Toru-Orua in Sagbama Local Government Area. A human being died. Not a statistic. Not a number. A human being. And whenever somebody dies on a dangerous road, we must ask whether that death could have been prevented.
“What is the condition of our roads? Who supervises their construction? Who certifies them? Who maintains them? What emergency medical system do we have for accident victims? How long does it take an injured person to reach a properly equipped hospital? These questions matter. Because government exists first and foremost to protect the welfare and lives of citizens. If our roads remain death traps and our emergency response remains inadequate, government must answer for that failure.
“Isaac Ombe’s death should not simply become another story that disappears from the newspapers after three days. His death should provoke questions. His death should provoke action. His death should force government to look at the conditions under which Bayelsans travel every day.
“Now, let us talk about cancer treatment. Bayelsans have not forgotten the proposed world-class cancer centre associated with the late mother of former Governor Seriake Dickson. We have not forgotten the enormous public attention surrounding the project. We have not forgotten the funds said to have been mobilised, including contributions reportedly running into billions of naira. So today, I ask a very simple question:
WHERE IS THE CANCER CENTRE?
“Where is the facility? Where is the equipment? Where is the specialised cancer treatment? Where is the account of the money? What happened to the project? How much was received? How much was spent? Who managed the funds? What is the present value of the assets? And why should Bayelsans continue travelling outside the state for cancer treatment when we were promised a world-class facility?
“These are legitimate questions. And I challenge the government to answer them. Do not answer journalists with insults. Do not call us opposition. Do not say we are enemies of the government. Answer the questions. If the project is alive, show us. If it is completed, take us there. If it is abandoned, tell us why. If billions were spent, publish the expenditure. The people have a right to know”, he said.
Dufagha decried the decay in the education and health sectors.”When I fall sick, where can I go? Can I get emergency treatment? Can I get specialised treatment? Can I get cancer treatment? Can I get adequate diagnostic services? Can I get surgery? Can I get medicine? Can I trust the system with my life?
“If Bayelsans must continue travelling to Port Harcourt, Lagos, Abuja, India or elsewhere for treatments that a modern state should provide, then something is fundamentally wrong. Oil-producing Bayelsa should not be medically dependent on other states”.
