His Excellency, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, the governor of Lagos State, by the end of today would have spent 163 days in office. For a term of four years, 163 days is pretty insignificant in trying to assess the tempo and direction of a government. Yet, it is said that the morning tells the day. Therefore, we can begin to measure how Governor Ambode is bracing up with the challenge of governing a complex and populous state like Lagos.
As it seems, the direction and priorities of his administration are still foggy and undefined.
Perhaps, for us on this other side—the side outside government circle, the parameters of measuring the competence, efficiency and performance level of a governor are the very visible indices which the masses interact with on a daily basis.
That Lagos city almost collocates with traffic snarl should not be news. Yes, traffic, it seems has often defined the mega city. What makes a difference is how the government in power addresses the social challenge of traffic.
It became such a crucial issue that the previous administration setup an FM station (96.1 FM) wholly devoted to traffic news and discourses.
In recent months, Lagosians have experienced traffic in new and choking ways. The unconvincing explanation is that there is such a huge influx of men and vehicles from all over the country because of the insecurity in the northern parts of the country. That Lagos plays host to the entire nation is not new. The fact that Lagos is the commercial nerve centre of the country means that people from across the country and even outside the country come to do one form of business or the other in Lagos on a daily basis. Again, that is not new.
The influx of persons therefore could not have been responsible for the magnitude of traffic snarl being recorded in Lagos in recent months. After all, the so-called insurgency in parts of the north did not start with the Ambode-led government. But what makes the difference is how his government has tackled the problem.
His directive on the operational modus of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) practically worsened a very bad situation.
I hear it was a campaign promise that he will review the operations of LASTMA if and when he is elected governor.
No matter how well he means, the directive to LASTMA, in practical terms, deactivated the agency. With no power to impose and enforce fine, LASTMA soon became a whimperish organ, devoid of action and effect. The result is that the LASTMA men will be there, watching as motorists abuse every known traffic law, with the consequence of highway bedlam.
How can it be explained that commercial bus drivers, truck drivers and even some private cars will drive very furiously against traffic even on expressways like between Cele Bus stop and Mile 2 on the Apapa-Oshodi expressway, sometimes with Policemen sitting pretty cool on the front seats? Need we record a major fatal accident in such a milieu before drawing the line between recklessness of dangerous drivers and the quest for well-behaved LASTMA officials?
I believe that the body language of the governor is permissive of the nonsense going on on our roads. He must be told that he cannot please everybody. He has to be firm and courageous in dealing with traffic offenders. His action cylinders are not firing. So many laws had been passed in Lagos State before now to deal with the challenge. To suddenly upturn all the laws or silently make them inoperative is to prescribe chaos and confusion in the city. Little wonder that the erstwhile fading malaise of robbery on traffic is back.
Before leaving the issue of traffic menace, may I draw the attention of the governor to the unsightly state the Toyota Bus stop has been turned to by road side traders. Does the governor go round Lagos in his quiet time? Let him see what Toyota Bus stop has been turned into. How can any responsible government tolerate that level of lawlessness in the name of political pandering? Does the state government like it so or is it helpless with all the aparatchik of governance at its disposal? The entire two lanes of the service lane has been blocked by traders, many of who are already pushing to the main express. And nobody is talking!
I am not unaware that that market is populated largely by a particular set of Nigerians who are not quite disposed to supporting the All Progressives Congress (APC). Allowing that part of the city to go to seed with such degree of nuisance, so as to curry their political support when the time comes, is to take political calculations to a nauseating level.
The danger posed by also allowing commercial motorcyclists (Okada riders) to literally take over the city is enormous. Beside the health hazard that comes with their rudderless rides, is the dirty and disorganized visage they give the city aside the security implication they pose.
Has the law banning them from plying certain roads in the state been repealed? To be sure, the Okada riders had started invading the major highways shortly before the last elections. They were apparently spared and allowed to operate on banned roads for political reasons. No political strategist should risk sacrificing the mass of such critical voters. But this is almost nine months after the elections. Can’t sanity be restored now on the polity?
It is interesting to hear of plans to buy three helicopters to help in the management of the city traffic. Helicopter and traffic?…Hmmm.
While I await the operational mechanism of using celestial machination to manipulate terrestrial travails by way of deploying flying helicopters to monitor and control traffic, say, on Third Mainland Bridge or Iyana-Ipaja, we hope the pilots will not be so frustrated at some points as to want to land atop vehicles.
What I however think is that we need discipline on our roads. LASTMA should be empowered, equipped and trained to enforce traffic rules. Yes, many of them act brutishly, but it is not enough to throw away the baby and the bathwater.
LASTMA operatives must be reformed in such a way that they can be firm with a human face. What is the point having a law that cannot be enforced?
Yet another reason for the growing traffic is the terrible state of most of the metro roads. To say some of the roads are in terrible shape is an understatement. Yes, they did not just get bad. Governor Ambode inherited many of the bad roads. It is consoling to hear he has ordered the patch-up of the pot holes on the roads. But the evidence of such order has not yet become visible.
Truth is that bad roads are a major cause of traffic snarl. Driving through some neighbourhoods like Okota, Ejigbo, Ayobo, Ojo road etc. are usually nasty experiences. The irony is that these areas host dense populations, which strategic politicians ought to patronize with lots of attention to as to win their political support. But they are the neglected, apparently because they are a faceless crowd, sometimes without a voice. Will Ambode make a difference among Lagosians in such communities? That is the challenge?
With a seeming lax security structure in the state, the spate of robberies—on the highways and in homes has been on the increase. The state government and the Police must work out an operational pattern that will keep the criminals at bay. Crimes increase when they are committed with the belief that they will evade arrest or sanction. The Ambode government must quickly get down to brass tacks.
The governor, believed to be the godson of former Governor Bola Tinubu, will at the end of the day have his name and administration to protect and defend. How well he responds to the needs of Lagosians or how well he ignores the pains of Lagosians will ultimately be the defining indices of his government and even his person. Presently, he is showing signs of weakness and that is why his government, to a large extent, is being taken for granted by certain persons who believe Ambode can be arm twisted.
Last week, Governor Ambode held a retreat with his late-to-be-named commissioners and other top government functionaries.
A 3-point agenda of job creation, security and infrastructure development seems to have summarized the focus of the government.
It is hoped that now that government structure is fully constituted, there will be remarkable action in the polity.
Operating on the same template of an APC-led government, many expect Ambode to build on the structures established by his predecessors.
I recommend that he should compress all his campaign promises into a big frame or electronic slides which he must go through at the beginning of each day.
Ultimately, what Lagosians need is a peaceful and progressive Lagos. We wait.
pix: Akinwunmi Ambode.jpg
Presidential Ceremonies for Ceremonial Ministers
Aside the running verbiages on the fight against corruption and insurgency, the only other thing the Muhamadu Buhari administration has done in the last five months is the yet-to-be-concluded constitution of his cabinet.
Between September 29 and now—over five weeks, the Buhari government is yet enmeshed in the melodrama of putting his ministers together.
It had taken almost five months to assemble a team that sparked no surprises, yet, it is even taking an usually lengthened protocol to get the ministers to work.
All 36 ministerial nominees were cleared and approved by the senate over a week ago.
The presidency had, during the week, announced that no portfolio had been assigned to the ministers-designate.
President Buhari was to later clarify the point: that the constitution recommends 36 ministers in the cabinet (one minister per state), but not that each minister will head a ministry. True!
The implication of his clarification is that not all the ministers will have a portfolio.
So, which of them will have a ministry and which will not? That, again, will be the prerogative of the President. The meaning is that there will be many ceremonial ministers. Ministers who will simply be floating. Call them utility ministers, if you like. They will literally be begging for something to engage them. It will be interesting to see how they will function. What structures—human and material, they will have.
What about their egos?
It used to be rather belittling to be described as a junior minister, yet it will be nearly debasing to be described as a minister without portfolio.
On the contrary however, it is even a great honour to be chosen among 170 million people to serve the nationa at such exalted level.
Previous administrations had not only engaged all ministers in ministries (with some serving as Special Duties ministers), they had even gone ahead to appoint more ministers, one from each of the geo-political zones.
Truth is that our slim financial frame now dictates that we cannot indulge in such executive flambouyance anymore.
But if President Buhari wants to assign portfolio to some of the ministers-designate and leave out the others, why the needless suspense?
Last Thursday, he organised a 2-day retreat for the ministers-designate, even before he will inaugurate them.
I believe he could have inaugurated them, established their status and portfolios before the retreat. That way, the retreat will be more meaningful and impactful to the cabinet members, rather than the present general and nearly vague notes that the retreat will generate. But PMB sure has his ways.
President Buhari must realise that the clock is ticking. He has already spent over 150 days out of his 1,460 days.
Given the depth of rot Nigeria dropped to before now, we cannot afford to stay too long in the ante room. The government must roll up its sleeves and step into the arena of work. All is not well with the economy.
The way it has been structured, the Buhari administration will effectively take off full blast next year. This is because the incoming ministers, who may be inaugurated and assigned portfolios by next Wednesday, at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, will have to study and understand whatever ministry or assignment they will be given before commencing real work. All that will drag till the end of the year.
In all, President Buhari must be reminded that Nigerians are baying for good governance. And one of the attributes of a responsive government is its response time to matters arising.