A female teacher in Owerri had just described the state as “chi buo anu ozo”(everyday different issues) when he confronted yours sincerely over the issue of rabbit empowerment by the Uzodimma led government. The Imo government it would be recalled had few days ago promised to empower 10,000 Imo youths with N2bn to grow rabbit.
This has since set the social media on fire with criticisms trailing the arrangement. Imo people obviously are not happy with the development with many wondering what value that can be extracted from such effort. Some have already concluded that it is another drain pipe through which state funds is likely to end up in private pockets.
Many are recalling that not long ago the government promised to dole out 6bn to empower 500,000 Imo youths. Many raised their voices in bewilderment when it was realized that in concrete terms this worked out at 12k per beneficiary.
It was not convincing to a lot of persons that that amount can achieve anything effective in empowering anybody. Though the government has since debunked such claims stating that beneficiaries will receive between 1 to 10million naira. Some argue that such amount if properly handle can create a big agro firm that can provide not only income but also huge employment opportunity
People have taken to their social media handles to lambast the government on the rabbit empowerment scheme describing it as a huge joke considering the scale and manner the government is going about it. So much mockery has been made about the program and insults hauled at the government.
Rabbit business is considered huge export earner in other lands but may come across very strange here not because it is alien to us but the commercial aspect of it is unknown to us. We have heard it is richly proteinous and is s huge foreign exchange earner in the western world. The government should have sensitized the people to appreciate its value first.
But the concern raised is that the government and its officials especially this government may achieve nothing out of it. They see it as a huge drain pipe. They view it as such because a government that cannot fulfill its obligation to its employees, cannot perform its statutory roles of providing basic amenities to its citizens, cannot convince the people of any empowerment program.
The government is suffering from huge credibility deficit because there is nothing that it is involved in that is working.
