My Ibaji report
By Halimat Isah
Shouldn’t I simply love the Ibaji people of Kogi State? Life at the grassroot is completely simple. The people of Ibaji Local Government Area, no arguments, are one of the kindest, nicest, and hospitable people around.
Meet the Ibaji Local Government Administrator, Hon. Thomas Offor, a grass-rooter and an administrator who has on his own decided to adhere to the New Direction mandate given to local government administrators to do all they can within their reach to ensure that lives at the grassroots are positively touched.
InsideStory crew recently embarked on a fact finding mission to Ibaji Local Government Area to have first-hand info, and to see for themselves areas where some of the LGAs have performed creditably well in line with the objectives spelt out by the Governor Yahaya Bello’s administration.
I must admit, the striking thing here for me, among other things that will be made known in subsequent reports, is that this Administrator has a yam farm of over fifteen hectares, where tubers of different species have been harvested and another over hundred hectares of rice where over two hundred bags of the grain have been harvested to be shared to widows in the area.
According to the Administrator, the LGA is not uninformed about the challenges widows are confronted with in the society, which have informed his decision to set aside those portions of land solely to grow the crops for the widows’ consumption.
This, if you ask me, is quite fascinating; the logic in agreeing to set aside these portions of land strictly to farm and provide food for the widows and the needy in the LGA caught my attention as an individual and speaks volumes of his kindness as a man.
It will interest some of us to know that GYB boys in the community formed a team that harvested those crops that will be distributed to ease the hardship these widows go through after the loss of their breadwinners without being paid for labour, which is absolutely commendable.
When asked what informed his decision to farm solely for the widows? He explained: “widows at the grassroot do not really need much, the major challenge they face is feeding, if they can afford to put food on the table for their family members, particularly, the children, their problems would be half solved.”
This effort does not hinder the LGA Boss from carrying out other responsibilities like the development of the area and the provision of social infrastructures.
Some of the efforts in the provision of social amenities to the good people of Ibaji were seen in the recent grading of access roads in the area to ease transportation for commuters, the befitting renovation of the Civil Defence office and the on-going furnishing of the LGA secretariat.
Like I said previously, the people are really hospitable; like his people, the LGA Boss, among other activities, ensured that the people are directly touched by the government. At times he moves in evening from one neighbourhood to the other just to have that personal touch with the people.
Well, I would say, different strokes for different people. Moving round the different communities sometimes got him closer to the people, the act, he said, makes him fulfilled because it also makes the people to be so happy with him.
Explaining further in our encounter with him, Hon. Thomas kept emphasizing on the fact that the people at the grassroot do not need much as all they need is love, affection, and the sense of belonging.
The LGA Boss did not relent in calling on his colleagues to toe same line as it would be easier to win the people over when they are showed love and affection.
Like I stated in my first few lines describing the people as one of the kindest and hospitable people around, the memory of the visit would long lasting because of the warmth reception that was accorded to the InsideStory crew.
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