ONYEDI GABRIEL, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has said any government that fails to take care of the less privileged in the society is doomed for failure.
The governor spoke on Friday at the inauguration of the Rivers State Rehabilitation Centre, Iriebe in Obio/Apkor Local Government Area.
Wike said his administration placed a premium on catering for the needs of people with social, psychological and other forms of disabilities, saying it was why an effective, caring and sober living rehabilitation home has been provided for them.
He said: “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 compelled them into lifestyle that was not approved by society.
According to him, such persons need a well-meaning government to factor them into schemes that would provide them a future.
He said: “They might have taken to do drugs because, maybe, our own 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 and said he was pleased with the success of her ministry, particularly the edifice.
The governor approved a N200 million grant to the ministry to enable it to attend to the daily requirements of the rehabilitation centre.
Performing the inauguration, a former National Assembly representative for Niger South constituency of Niger State, Senator Zaynab A. Kure said Wike was a development-minded leader.