By Joe Igbokwe
All over the world, democracy is described as the government of the people by the people and for the people. It is accepted as the best form of government. It offers people the choices, liberty and freedom to hold on to their views irrespective of whose ox is gored. In every enlightened society where democracy flourishes, freedom of expression is guaranteed to the latter.
Democracy allows a market place of ideas where majority can have their say and the minority theirs also. Criticisms are acceptable democratic norms in every decent society because it sharpens our skills. We have been trained to accept that he that wrestles with us makes us to grow wiser and become deep. Lagos State , by every known standard stands out among the 36 States in Nigeria as the centre of civilization, where most enlightened Nigerians live.
Governments in Lagos since 1999 have been aware of this fact and therefore have never tried to deceive the wise Lagosians. Former Governor Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who was in the saddle for 8 years laid the solid foundation for the new Lagos of our dreams and since Governor Fashola took over, the world knows that he has kept faith, taking Lagos to an unprecedented level never imagined by his critics.
Despite Fashola’s resounding success and monumental achievements in the past 400 days in office, the man has simply remained modest and humble. He does not like beating his chest for any achievement. He has been asking us to let history be the judge.
Nigerians who have eyes and ears and who are positively affected by Fashola’s wonderful deeds are giving testimony to this fact and are not oblivious of where it is headed. It is on this note that one finds the article titled Lagos: Figure It Out written by Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo on the back page of THISDAY of Thursday July 17, 2008 in bad taste and totally unacceptable. It was deliberately concocted in mischief and was a poor effort to rubbish the high performing governor. That a writer that has a full dose of western education can look at what Governor Fashola is doing in Lagos and dismiss it with a wave of hand is to play to the gallery and cheapen public discourse.
That a writer that has, by his own advertised credentials, travelled far and near and very conversant with world trends and events could cheapen his presentation by saying that the heavy rain of Tuesday, July 15 2008 disgraced Governor Fashola and his administration comprehensively, is to do violence to freedom of speech and information more especially when we are living witnesses to real flood problems in other climes like the United States of America, China, Mexico, and Burma and every part of the world. This sold out Abdulrazque’s cheap intent to put a tar on Fashola’s efforts in flood control, which ensured that in most parts of Lagos his celebrated flood dried in just minutes.
We ask Abdulrazaque to figure out in his silent moments why a one day flood that cleared almost immediately can be used to write off a responsible and responsive government that is digging the deepest well to open up blocked canals and drainages in Lagos.
What is his problem with this or is he expecting that Fashola would be a rain maker that would prevent rains from falling? In his desperate attempt to satisfy what ever interests he sought to promote, he played deaf and dumb to the monumental good works going on in Lagos for the period Fashola has been in power.
He sought to rubbish the good works of Fashola because he felt he must come out with reasons, no matter how mendacious, to paint the regime, seen rightly by Nigerians as a performing, active, selfless and prudent one, in very bad light and was struggling to cast the regime black before Nigerians.
Abdulrazaque thinks the Lagos State Government is only busy beautifying with flowers, trees and vines leaving out the network of smaller basic projects like farm to market roads, schools, health centres, utilities, etc. but unknown to him, 177 road projects are going on in Lagos right now and 250 3km of road rehabilitated. But the truth is that no father beats his chest for paying schools, house rent and clothing his family. These are normal things and Fashola is doing them very creditably, like his successor.
He rambled more on a surreal anarchy in Lagos where he fangled agencies that in his little mercenary mind should not work because he has another idea of how Lagos should be. He took out time to lampoon and denigrate laudable agencies that are ensuring order and cleanliness in Lagos because he deems in his amateur analysis that they are hard on those that turn Lagos into one huge state of rot and chaos. To him, law should cease to exist so that whatever intent he wants to satisfy will flower.
It was certain from the scrambled analysis Abdulrazaque was giving, he was intent on blackening whatever laudable policies Fashola has and recommend those he feels will ensure Lagos retains the chaotic order it was stranded in before 1999. He will fail because the Fashola government will certainly not be distracted or persuaded by cheap efforts of the likes of Abdulrazaque. Abdurazaque says Fashola has made lack of accountability its book of faith.
I wonder where he got this cheap and wonky impression from because in Fashola, we have a governor who has cut subventions of almost all the agencies, parastatals and ministries to save money for projects.
Here is a governor that drastically changed the ratio of Recurrent and Capital expenditure from 70:30 to 40:60. Here is a governor who carries the burden of over 18 per cent of the entire Nigerians on a paltry monthly allocation of about N4 billion. Here is a governor who carries the burden to cater for almost 80% of Nigeria ’s fresh graduates every year.
I am sure that Abdulrazaque does not know Governor Fashola very well and has a very poor understanding of the enormity of the task of governing Lagos otherwise he would have known that the man has brought class, character, culture, content, panache, honour, integrity, probity, focus, humility, seriousness and accountability to governance in Lagos, just from where his predecessor stopped.
Abdulrazaque only needs to ask eminent Nigerians like Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Ambassador M. T. Mbu, Dr. Rasheed Ojikutu of UNILAG, Chief Duro Onabule, Col. Abubakar Umar, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Dr. Okey Ndibe, C.Don Adinuba, Dr. Dele Shobowale, Dr. Christopher Kolade, Alhaji Kola Animashaun, Alhaji Mukaila Aborode, Muritala Ashorobi of PDP, Dr. Segun Ogindumu of PDP, H.R.H Oba Akiolu, Mr. Setonji of PDP and so many others to understand who Governor Fashola is and what he stands for. That is if his eyes and senses are failing him in the reality that is dawning on Lagos since Fashola came to power.
•Igbokwe is Publicity Secretary, Lagos AC.
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