Barely 24 hours to Friday 14th October 2022, the Osun State Government declared a third public holiday within a fortnight, for citizens to prepare for an unpopular Local Government Election with only the ruling APC participating! No contest, no rivalry in expensive wastage of public resources – just a One-Party show!
This is occurring in a State that analyses adopted by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, indicated as being second to the last in WAEC performances of public schools’ candidates, of all 36 States of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for last year 2021?!
Monday 3rd October had earlier been declared public holiday by the Federal Government to mark the 62nd Independence Anniversary of the country that fell on Saturday 1st October – a needless shift of the actual date to mark as public holiday being an expensive copying of advanced countries that can more easily afford such luxuries.
This Monday 10th October was also declared public holiday for Prophet Muhammad’s birthday – this having to do with religious observance and perhaps non-negotiable.
But why must another holiday be declared barely four days after, to prepare for an ill-advised election the following Saturday 15th October?!
I recall suggesting recently that the period of preparations for public schools’ candidates for external examinations be reviewed to have more hours like their counterparts of the private schools.
Rather than thinking along that line, the outgoing Osun State Government is declaring more holidays?!
I’m just limiting my thinking to the educational sector for now, as I don’t even want to think about the millions of naira that the poor economy of the State will also be losing,… just like that!
I also do not want to bother myself in this write-up with the appropriateness or otherwise of the controversial elections, that I earlier described elsewhere as the unfortunate misapplication of the meagre resources of the hapless people of Osun, by a Government that seemed to have started well, but is ending so terribly.
Nevertheless, I advise students and their parents/guardians to make the best use of the unnecessary holiday for additional rest and revisions.
It will be well some day!
Goke Omigbodun
Convener: Good Governance Globally
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