Mixed reactions have trailed the donation of N10million by Governor Umo Eno to a Nigerian girl who was said to have pronounced five longest English words.
Precious Bodunde from Edo State was reported to have pronounced five longest words in the English Language with ease and this attracted the governor’s attention.
According to the Akwa Ibom State governor, he came across the short video of her performance and was thrilled on hearing Precious pronounced those long and jaw-breaking words effortlessly, adding that it was encouraging to see a young Nigerian girl that is so focused.
He said that it was quite necessary to encourage such a talent.
So, he decided to honour Precious with an Excellence Encouragement Grant of N10m in his office in Uyo, the state capital.
“This is special to me. It is simply to encourage her, and to let her know that there is reward for hard work,” he said.
The governor’s action has set off a firestorm of criticisms from people who see it as a misplaced priority, lack of focus and selective empowerment scheme not targeting at everyone.
Elizabeth Umo, an activist, said on her social media handle that it was wrong for the governor to have ignored the plight of many people by only paying attention to a girl who pronounced English words.
“My question here is: What was the selection process? Or was the governor casually scrolling through social media? And what about people who don’t have social media? How do they tap into these resources?
“It seems we’ve turned governance into a lottery. You apply with your voter’s card, and they pick and choose who they want to give resources to. It is just not right. Public funds are not meant to be used this way.
“Government is designed to work for all. Instead of giving selected persons funds, let’s think of how we can create sustainability across all sectors to benefit everyone,” she stated.
Similarly, Unwana Assam, a social media influencer also picked holes with the governor’s decision, saying he thought the governor might have some other reasons, but to him, it was a misplaced priority.
“To be frank, someone graduated as Overall Best Graduating Student from a prestigious University like the University of Uyo (Uniuyo) was given a token of N30,000 only from the institution. The best graduating student deserved that N10m or more encouragement from the governor more than someone who is said to have pronounced the longest word in the dictionary.
“The governor may have his reason for giving the girl the money but he should have had more reasons to give such amount to the guy who graduated as the overall best in Uniuyo.”
Others have also reacted by criticising the action of the governor, saying instead of giving the girl N10m for her skills, the governor should have given priority to matters of urgent public importance and not mere pronunciation of English words.
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