Many Lagosians have been telling me that they are being treated badly by their state governors. They are being hoodwinked and lied to. They are overtaxed, over-flogged and underserved. And the worst part is that the governors have not been as squeaky clean as they have always demanded of their citizens. Babatunde Raji Fashola, in spite of his giant strides in governance in the state has been alleged to have spent N78m on a conventional website. His successor Akinwumi Ambode has been singing that he has been saving Lagos people N3bn monthly from Fashola’s fiscal indiscipline while he was running Lagos.
Despite that, I know for a fact that the shoes that Akinwunmi Ambode is slipping into are larger than life, at least, as far as the imagination can be stretched. Ambode must have undergone the tutelage of the shrewd, but Fashola has proved his mettle. What is required of Ambode is action. It speaks louder than words.
While reporting for a leading Lagos newspaper in 2008 I was handed the responsibility of assessing Lagos state under Fashola. It was in line with a national assignment that the newspaper sought to undertake. During Fashola’s time Lagos looked good on the surface. But there was sleaze in many places. My foray into the state led me to several unpalatable conclusions. Each time you looked for the man, you saw the monkey. But stood against the strides of the moment, they looked far more pardonable than the profligacy of most other states. In Lagos, everything is transparent except the state’s finances. I noticed that the only top official who, always, was unavailable to talk about state issues was the Chairman of the state’s tenders and procurement board. You couldn’t count the cost of any projects. Here, transparency was a habitual absentee.
By the time I did my story in which I asked the state to come clean with its revenue and expenditure, for the citizenry to “Figure it out Lagos”, a member of the state’s ruling party, Joe Igbokwe, bless him, and he is a good Lagosian, wrote a rejoinder in which he called me “mendacious”. I couldn’t argue with him. For an Igboman whose enterprise earned him the position of General Manager at the Infrastructure Maintenance Corp in Lagos, I had vandalized the state’s publicity infrastructure. I had to be mobbed.
But today, Lagos people are looking like they had the hand, foot and mouth disease, back when Fashola was in office. Yinka Odumakin, speaking for Afenifere alleged that Fashola who came to office 8 years ago with a Mercedez Benz 200 flat-booth and a Sagem handset had amassed huge wealth before leaving office. The Pan Yoruba socio-cultural group described Fashola’s tenure as a failed project, noting that beyond the planting of flowers and Christmas lights at scandalous prices, which I highlighted back then, the preponderant tales of Lagos are those of potholes, absence of potable water, dearth of school furniture, perennial strikes by doctors, poor conditions of service for workers and war against the poor.
I am embarrassed, ashamed and humiliated, all on behalf of the poor Igboman who allowed himself to be so used. But there is nothing I can do. It is what poverty has brought to my country and countrymen. I can only caution my fellow reporters to continue to imbibe the best of their ethics and never ignore the wilful neglect that paid serfs stand for, because we are saddled with less than desirable people operating our government institutions.
Ordinarily I should be asking Mr Igbokwe, now, who is mendacious? But I won’t, because I know he has already abandoned the Fashola group. However, I need to ask that some light in the form of education be put on Fashola’s fate. He has been nominated to be a minister. And Lagos is protesting.
The public at large needs to be told and reminded how he earned acclaim as a transformer in Lagos. He was able to inject government officials with a dose of compassion to split the fortune so that the nation can grow? He should tell us, how did he do it in Lagos?
And by this I mean tangible activities, not sketchy generalities because, like it or not, he added some value, even if not as much as the likes of Igbokwe would want the public to believe. And that is where Akinwumi Ambode must pay attention. Fashola has already made his mark. And some of his actions would be progressive if replicated in Abuja, for instance. Fashola can cut Abuja landlords to size, generate substantial revenue, reduce the cost of property, build affordable accommodation for workers and kick school age children off the kerbs. But only if PMB allows him to roll.
Knowledgeable people about the treasury say that Ministers would only serve at PMBs behest. They will not see a kobo. So they cannot steal a dime. Since Buhari’s Government doesn’t want to share, or doesn’t know how to share, I suggest the public give the appointees especially the former governors that have been nominated with Fashola the benefit of doubt. There seems to be a serious outcry about recycling old, but not dead wood. Some people fear that they might impede matters affecting our safety and welfare.
We must admit that there is something good about the former governors. It is important to recognize that knowledge is necessary to maintain a progressive society. The more people know about something, the easier it is for the people to manage it. For this reason I support the inclusion of those governors who are seen to be of lesser evil.
To my people, I ask you to open your eyes and look at what is happening around you. Listen to what is being said to you, not what they want you to hear. Be mindful of the wolves in politics. These are the people who invited change but do not believe in it. Be mindful that Nigeria today is ours, not theirs. The money is for everybody and for nobody. It is as simple as that.
This article was originally published on Daily Trust.