The Chief Minister’s open declaration of induced insomnia and unambiguous instructions to his bevy of elected representatives to snap out of their apparent reverie and to demonstrate their performance clearly rings a bell and signals a changing attitude which underlines the long inferred and experienced conclusion that the present government and those at the helm of affairs have so far failed to act on the hopes and aspirations of the people in the state. Contrary to what these elected heads of state may proclaim, the public has still been witnessing the fact that the pace of development, if indeed there has been any worth harking about, has been due to the changes that times and circumstances necessitates rather than through the proactive and concerned efforts of the powers that be. But then, as bound to happen sooner or later, such long-endured misgivings have sparked a sense of mistrust and the public have developed a yearning to take chances, fuelled by the fact that a new and better alternative is looking more promising, not so much for the ideologies of the collective party as it is about the charisma and decisive style of leadership of an individual who has proven to be a pragmatist more than an idealist. For the residents of the state which has been embroiled in conflicts, confusions, corruptions and callous indifference of the high and mighty bordering on condescension, the emerging political possibilities can never have appeared at a better time. For Okram Ibobi to get the much needed shut-eye and for his party’s credibility to rise to an acceptable level, there need to effect drastic changes in all quarters and all aspects of governance. The unpleasant and frustrating stark realities being experienced by the common man everyday needs to be addressed before every other development projects and grand schemes are inaugurated, only to be laid to waste and neglect. Who in their right minds would sympathise with a government which cannot utilize the resources and take advantage of the assistances provided them, all the while crying hoarse about the lack of funds? The security personnel who openly supports and protects the law breakers, the black-marketers, the gamblers and the bootleggers and instead turning on the hapless public in all their fury and might if their ways are questioned. What about the myriad groups who are holding the public to ransom with blockades, bandhs and general strikes, not only causing great inconvenience but also putting lives at stake? Is the inaction of the state government to such acts a sign of admittance of the validity of the various demands, or a pure and simple case of failure to uphold the law and order in the state? Or does the government think the public will eventually get used to the disconcerted and haphazard half-efforts as the means to progress and development? The Chief Minister can take solace in the fact that hundreds of thousands in the state are also tossing and turning in their beds, not for the lack of conviction or ideas, but for the absence of the means, the resources and the atmosphere to realize their ideas, dreams and hopes. And only by enabling these teeming thousands to make their aspirations and dreams come true, can the Chief Minister, along with his coterie, drift off for a night of deep and restful sleep.
