There is this entrenched mind-set among some section of society that what ever belongs to everybody belongs to nobody. This, expressed in both the thinking and the approach of our people to public property, is one of the most deplorable of attitudes for a development oriented society, and it had since become a state of affairs that generations of our people have had to deal with. The attitude is, without an aorta of doubt, the culprit responsible for the snail-pace development the entire continent has been enduring since independence.

Low level of maintenance culture, which has seen essential social, political and economic structures dissipated into the doldrums, is an awful manifestation of this retrogressive attitude that continues to eat right into the fabric of our society. The overall result is that we hardly are able to register meaningful gains when it comes to missions that require our collective effort, yet the existing structures rapidly shrink with little or no prospect of revival.

This is why it should not, and it certainly would not the least surprise us (just as we would not expect anyone to be surprised either), that efforts are under way to stem this attitude. This is in the president’s latest announcement, as part of his ongoing tour of dialogue with the people that this time round the newly imported record 500 tractors would not be given free of charge.

Out of sympathy for the poor people, government had merely decided to make these services accessible to all regardless of our status. But, unfortunately, a few of the very people that government had asked to assist took advantage of the expressed softness from the latter to misuse the much needed facilities made available to them. And now people with genuine need for these materials do not have access to it. It is therefore a perfect idea that government attached some form of a fee to their usage henceforth. .
 
It is a common phenomenon that wherever one puts their money, they are likely to exhibit some level of interest in ensuring the protection and preservation of it. Besides, any such minimal fee will be used to ensure continued maintenance of the equipment, which will guarantee a prolonged existence of the machines.

In the same vain, the decision of selling fertilizer to farmers is sure to ensure that the fertilizers do not get into the wrong hand. Naturally, free distribution of valuable commodities like these tends to attract high competition for accessibility. And there is always bound to be people that would opt for it only for covert undesirable purposes.

While some would hustle for it only to engage in profiteering, others would go for it with the intention of using it. But because they normally would not buy it, they get caught up by thoughtlessness. While they would have failed to make good use of it, they might deny others, who, in fact, would use it for a genuine purpose.

Therefore, it is indeed a good idea that government have come up with this fantastic shift in policy. This will not only ensure some level of fair distribution, but it will also prevent wastage by crooked ploy.