Opinion

The Tears of Bauchi’s Retirees and Dr. Ali Pate’s Promise of Hope

Published

on

<p><&excl;-- BEGIN THEIA POST SLIDER --><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;98 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"EUrqKznV" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>By&colon; Lamara Garba Azare<&sol;p><div class&equals;"IjsRdVc6" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>They carried chalk&comma; files&comma; and stethoscopes in their youth&period; Today&comma; they carry pain&comma; waiting for gratuities that never came&period; Dr&period; Ali Pate says their waiting must end&comma; and 2027 could be their dawn&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>For more than a decade&comma; thousands of retired civil servants in Bauchi State have lived with pain and disappointment&period; Men and women who built schools&comma; manned hospitals&comma; and kept the machinery of government running have been left without the gratuities that should sustain them in old age&period; Some have waited since 2012&period; Many have died waiting&period; Others are bedridden&comma; unable to afford basic medication&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Successive governments have made promises&period; Every administration spoke of wiping away their tears&period; Yet those promises were broken&comma; and the backlog has swelled beyond ₦30 billion&period; What should be a right became a privilege dispensed through political connections or lost to corruption&period; The retirees&comma; who once gave their strength to Bauchi&comma; are now left with nothing but frustration&period;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"IT6JrKl6" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block&semi; text-align&colon;center&semi;" &NewLine; data-ad-layout&equals;"in-article" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"fluid" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"6550225277"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>But perhaps&comma; change is coming&period; As 2027 approaches&comma; Dr&period; Muhammad Ali Pate is offering more than empty words&period; He is presenting a structured plan to ensure that gratuity payment in Bauchi is no longer a political game but a permanent&comma; transparent system&period; His vision is simple&colon; gratuity is not a favor&comma; it is a right&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;98 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;98 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad5" id&equals;"quads-ad5" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The plan rests on clear pillars&period; Retirees will no longer queue for endless verification&semi; records will be synchronized digitally&comma; and mobile teams will visit the homes of the elderly and sick&period; A Gratuity Trust Fund will be established by law&comma; fed by state allocations&comma; federal support&comma; and modest contributions from workers&period; Payments will be made in phases&comma; beginning with those who have waited the longest&comma; and all money will go directly into retirees’ bank accounts&comma; cutting off middlemen&period; An independent oversight board&comma; including retirees’ unions and civil society&comma; will monitor the process while monthly reports are published for the public&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>This is more than a financial blueprint&semi; it is a moral statement&period; Dr&period; Pate is also pledging healthcare support for retirees in state hospitals&period; Blood pressure checks&comma; hypertension drugs&comma; and essential medical care will be offered free of charge&period; For men and women who have given their lives to service&comma; this is not charity — it is dignity restored&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The importance of this plan goes beyond today’s retirees&period; It speaks to every worker in Bauchi today&comma; from the classroom to the office&comma; assuring them that their service will not end in neglect&period; It strengthens the bond of trust between citizens and government by proving that the state can keep its word&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>For years&comma; the image of retirees standing in long lines under the sun or moving from one office to another with dusty files has been a symbol of betrayal&period; If Dr&period; Pate emerges as governor in 2027&comma; that image could finally be erased&period; In its place&comma; Bauchi may see a system anchored in fairness&comma; compassion&comma; and sustainability&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The choice before the state is clear&period; It can continue with the cycle of promises and disappointments that has left so many in tears&period; Or it can embrace a new beginning&comma; one that turns rights into reality and restores hope to the elderly&period; For Bauchi’s forgotten retirees&comma; the stakes could not be higher&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>A new journey awaits&period; A new system beckons&period; And with Dr&period; Ali Pate&comma; there is hope that the tears of Bauchi’s retirees will finally be wiped away&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>A new journey&period; A new system&period; The truth in action&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Lamara Garba Azare&comma; writes from Azare<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><&excl;-- END THEIA POST SLIDER -->&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;98 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"autorelaxed" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"1004305389"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;98 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad3" id&equals;"quads-ad3" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;

Trending

Exit mobile version