Dino Melaye, National Projects and the Pain of Indigestion

National Projects and the pain of indigestion

I was thinking this morning.....about indigestion. Whenever I think of indigestion (also called Dyspepsia), I imagine how uncomfortable it makes one feel, the heartburn, bloated stomach and pain. However, if you are pregnant or your wife is and suffering from indigestion, then go buy a set of comb because your baby will be very hairy. No, it is not 'fabu,' but true. A John Hopkins University study revealed that higher hormone levels like estrogen (thought to be a cause of indigestion during pregnancy) can contribute to more baby hair. Interesting, isn't it?

 

Okay, I am not pregnant nor suffering from indigestion, but it seems some projects in Nigeria have this condition. How? You may ask. On Thursday 2nd November, Senator Dino Melaye of APC Kogi West called the attention of the Senate to alleged 'monumental fraud' in the Ministry of Power, Works and housing headed by Babatunde Fashola. Mr Melaye alleged that the Ministry squandered $385 million on projects not appropriated in the budget between 2013 and 2016. He had said, 'Mr President, this money was stolen in installments. As I speak to you, sometimes last year again, the Ministry of Power came up with a term they call fast power. This undigested project is supposed to build new generating plants to add power to our grid.'

 

At this point, I was like, 'how can a project be undigested again na?' But I now understand, you know that feeling that burns your heart (like heartburns) when you are watching your favourite programme on TV and there is power cut? yes, it is because the power projects were not digested. This heartburn does not compare to the sharp pain of 'indigestion' that one mother in Port Harcourt felt recently when her pre-term baby placed in an incubator in a government hospital suddenly died because power was cut for about three hours. Oh the pain of undigested power projects.

 

And they are not alone. You turn on the TV or radio to listen to the local news and you hear the presenter announce the death of someone and then shockingly calls him or her 'diseased' instead of 'deceased.' Our graduates no longer know the difference between diseased and deceased. It's a crying shame, and it is because our educational programs are undigested, hence the pain and heartburn.

 

Honestly, I have this feeling that the 2017 national budget was undigested as well because the impact is hardly visible, rather what we hear are stories of State house clinic without drugs. What happened to the budget for the clinic this year? It probably has not been digested.

 

Now that the 2018 budget has been presented before the joint session of the National assembly, I beg of the operators of the economy to please allow the budget and projects to be digested so that we all can enjoy the benefits in 2018. In spite of the indigestion we suffer as a nation, the curse of 2nd Chronicles 21:15 is not our portion in Jesus name.

 

Happy Sunday.

 

.....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.