The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike says any government that does not take care of the less privileged in the society is bound to fail.
The governor, who made the assertion while speaking, last Friday, at the inauguration of the Rivers State Rehabilitation Centre, Iriebe in Obio/Apkor Local Government Area, also announecd N200million grant to reinvigorate activities of the centre.
Wike stated that his administration places premium on catering to the needs of people with social, psychology and other forms of disabilities, adding that it was for this reason that an effective, caring and liveable rehabilitation home has been provided for them.
“In life, like I’ve said, building roads alone is not enough. Building health centres alone is not enough. Building educational facilities alone is not enough.
“Any government that does not take care of the less privileged; that does not take care of those who may not have access to education and health; that government is doomed for failure.”
The governor noted that misfortune could befall some people and compel them into lifestyles that are not approved by society, stressing that such persons need well-meaning government to factor them into policies, programmes and schemes that will provide them a future.
“They might have taken to drugs, maybe, because of our faults. Some people lack that parental care and have been lured into all kinds of vices. But we blame them.
“However, society must provide for them. Some of them may have been the best if they were in school. Some of them would have been the best if they were working. So, you need to provide a place (rehab) for them. A place where they can be talked to, be counseled, and eventfully come back to life (sanity).”
Wike commended the Commissioner for Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Mrs Inime Chinwenwo-Aguma, for her sterling performance, adding that he was pleased with the success of her ministry, particularly the edifice being inaugurated.
The governor approved a N200million grant to the ministry to enable it attend to the daily requirements of the rehabilitation centre.
Performing the inauguration, the former National Assembly member for Niger South Senatorial District in Niger State, Senator Zaynab Kure, said the governor was a development-minded leader.
Kure spoke of Wike as gender-friendly leader for having a female deputy, and worked amicable with a female while he served as minister of state (education).
According to her, “development is not about roads alone, but it must also address the health of the people, both young and old.
“You picked a female as a deputy. Right from the time you picked her, nobody has heard of a friction between you and the deputy governor.
“It shows how gender-friendly you are, and of course, how passionate, and tolerant you are of the development of Rivers State ditto the whole nation.”
She further commended the governor for reviving the centre, which will help government tackle the problem of mental health of the state, particularly at this time when Nigerians are grappling with the challenge of depression.
In her address, the state Commissioner for Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Mrs Inime Chinwenwo-Aguma, said the old structure was overcrowded, dilapidated and suffered annual flooding with no medical centre and vocational training facility.
According to her, it became difficult for the centre to perform its core function and service to the vagrant lunatics, beggars and destitute often evacuated off the streets of Port Harcourt.
“This administration (of Wike) deemed it pertinent to remodel (reconstruct) the rehabilitation centre. The re-established centre is now comprised of: an administrative building equipped with learning centres, service building with kitchen, dining hall and laundry room. Staff building, separate hostels for inmates, isolation centre, sick bay and recreational area.”