Witoubou Newmai
If one looks at the manner in which issues in the State are being attended to by the ‘concerned authorities,’ cosmetic or theatrics are the best terms that can be attached to it.
The ‘concerned authorities’ are found with surfeit of energy and enthusiasm only to the ‘now-happenings’ of our times. The tendency to respond only to the immediate or urgent and not willing to step farther exposes their attitude of aversion to planning and long term policy making. This is the reason why we are trapped in a vicious circle of grim situations. There is no hint/sign as to when the ‘concerned authorities’ are going to begin to prove that they are the inhibitors of this stench that convulses the growth trajectory of our society.
For instance, during the post monsoon period the ‘concerned authorities’ will become loud and shrill adorned with combat gears against the spread of dengue. But in want of long term policies, everything becomes melodramatic. We often see 'plans' spread over the planners’ table when landslides and floods occur or any other calamities befall us, only to be stashed in the shelves moments later where they remain until the next calamity.
Our message is this—be it on the issue of education, corruption, drug, child abuse, rape, environment, violence, child trafficking and many others, let there be continuity.
Why these ‘concerned authorities’ cannot go beyond their engagement with knee-jerk reactions is also an arguable point. Adoption of adhocism holds good in times of a sudden crises but investing resources to find measures to mitigate or prevent such happenings altogether is much more necessary.
We have seen how Gulf countries have reversed the condition they could have been in, due to their hostile environments, to their convenience and comfort. However, we have not been able to prove our worth by being unable to nurture the abundance around us. Golf courses or greens and springs in the deserts of the Gulf region are testimonies today that ‘willingness’ perhaps is the language of development.
Here, we are not embracing absurdity by expecting our own ‘authorities’ to perform the kind of task the oil rich societies do. Take for instance, we are only complaining why buzzing of few dengue-causing mosquitoes around us often throw life to the realms of danger without tackling the issue of rotting infrastructure where these mosquitoes breed. It is extremely discouraging that our ‘concerned authorities’ continue to hobble to mitigate the fear of containable ‘bads’ and also in the same time become inefficient to nurture the ‘goods’ to progression. Their continued failure to absorb traumas despite proclamation of progress and development proves their hypocrisy. Our only demand is that they should allow themselves the fertility of innovation and start facing these onerous challenges.
On the other hand, it is very important for the public to understand the events that unfold around them. Progress is also an index of what kind of people a society has. It is imperative to realize that progress often fails to escape from any conscious society.
