Nigeria: The Sociology of True Federalism

The recent deadlock between the federal government and organized labour, the inefficient allocation of resources and endemic corruption in Nigeria is symptomatic of one thing-Little presence of consciousness on the part of Nigerian citizens. These things didn’t happen overnight, they are a product of many years of deliberate and undelibrate ignorance. It’s reminding of the danger in Longe’s farm, Longe was actually the threat. The grassroots through their ignorance have become their own problem. Many years of indulgence with the political class has cut the political class away from social reality. The people slept on their rights, the political class slept on their duty. One day they say is for the thief, another for the owner. The people of this nation are now awake and are asking questions they ought to have asked since 1999.11years travelled and would never return. It took the removal of fuel subsidy for the owners of this country to ask the occupants of the exalted position to give account of their stewardship. They have asked for this through the series of concurrent protests across the federation. They are actively occupying their own country; the mob is asserting its divine machismo.
The government has through the coordinating minister of the economy Ngozi Okonjo Iweala (NOI),craved the indugence of Nigerians not to imitate Greece in future sufferings and my question is,what more can we suffer?Its only the modern economy that favours multinationals and elites that is thriving, the informal and traditional sectors are not doing well. People are already suffering, Greece is better. Nigerians must occupy the injustice that has romanced them for over 11years.They must no longer brook corruption. They must occupy with accountability and constant probing.Anniko Briggs said we must not only occupy Jonathan, we must occupy the state governors, they are getting so much, yet they are not creating wealth, in the words of Prof. Pat Utomi.Many may not get the point. The point is that the state governors are responsible for our current fuel subsidy woes and many are not aware. They blame Jonathan solely. That’s the sociology of a unitary government in practise. If the roads are bad, or health facilities are not functioning we blame the federal government. The local governments in Nigeria got 7billion naira in 2010; that’s the budget of Rwanda, Togo, and Burkina-Faso and together, they are supposed to stimulate community development and generate wealth, but in the corner of the eyes, state governors invented the state-local joint account, thereby the governors disburse and hold the local councils to ransom. The governors also have a strong hold on the state independent electoral commissions. This way the aspiring chairmen cannot readily express their free and goodwill in serving the local masses. The federal government is a culprit, the governors are greater culprits; the sociology of a unitary government favours and covers their political misdemeanours. Around the world, local governance brings governance to the people; a good product would be readily accessible to you, if the production plant or means of distribution is efficient. How would I know if you are bleeding, if I am not close to you? How would you be a good parent if your child is in United Kingdom and you are in Nigeria? It’s difficult, you would agree. Governance is far from the people, Abuja is not close to Lagos, except through phone calls.
If we are interested in good governance, if we crave for optimal allocation of our resources, we must embrace true federalism. True federalism would ensure that states control their resources. We can also call I fiscal federalism. It’s beyond the economics, beyond the politics. True federalism is sociological in true function. It would ensure that blames go to the right quarters; it would reduce the grand scale sycophancy and rent seeking we have in Abuja. People would find it easy and straight forward to demand accountability. Can protesters easily walk to Abuja.Alausa is not far, if its Lagos.Imo citizens would ask questions from Owerri with convenience. Our eyes would be on these governors who blame Jonathan readily. They shared money from the excess crude account and said they could not pay the minimum wage. They then asked for subsidy removal. Let this government devolve from a unitary one to true and fiscal federalism and let’s see what the governors would do with resources in their various states? It is obvious federal government is not efficient. The federal government should attend to issues of foreign policy, security and monetary policy. The state and local governments should be allowed to ensure rapid development. The sociology of true federalism would then be in force. Citizens of this country can them blame the right people, at the right place, at the right time.

THE SALVATION OF NIGERIA-THE CHEETAH GENERATION VERSUS THE HIPPOS

Generations have come and gone, legacies have been left; good or bad.Today,in Nigeria, like every African country, the problem of bad leadership has left citizens despondent, whether they are conscious of it or not. This piece is a reflection from the thoughts of George Ayitteh, a Ghanaian economist, who is also the founder of Free Africa Foundation. It was at a conference put together by TED, with the theme as marketplace. He opened his speech by asking “Do you think that African leaders would put this type of conference together”. If they decide to do, they would ask for foreign aid. He further explained that Africa’s begging bowl is leaking. He produced facts that Africa loses 148billion dollars annually to corruption, 80 billion to capital flight. For a continent that used to export food; Africa now imports 20billion dollars worth of food. Foreign aid according to him is not bad, but sometimes could be like the blind leading the clueless.
Ayitteh averred that the Cheetahs are the only ones who can save Africa, the cheetahs according to Ayitteh is a new breed of Africans who understand what accountability and democracy means. The salvation of Africa rests on the backs of these Africans. These Cheetahs brook no corruption; they understand how to turn things around. This is against the Hippos-early postcolonial African leaders who led Africa from independence to further dependence on foreign aid whose begging bowl is perpetually leaking. These leaders led Africa into Swiss bank socialism-A form of governance where money of the people ends up in private names in Swiss banks. They can’t reform the system because they benefit from the rot! He recalled how he asked colleagues on an internet forum to name 20 good African leaders from independence. People were only able to come up with 15, Idi Amin of Uganda inclusive. This obviously is a far cry for a continent of 54 countries, with over 204 leaders from independence that has been let loose from the shackles of colonialism for over 5 decades.
The Ghanaian economist explained that pre-colonial Africans despised tyranny and that was why societies like the Igbo, Somali, and Kikuyu were organized in tribes with no central leader. In the Asante kingdom, the leader was surrounded by councils upon councils. In Oyo Empire, democracy was existent with the Alaafin of Oyo, put in checks by the Oyomesi, led by the Bashorun; the Oyomesi was also put in check by the Sango, Esu and Ogboni cults.
There was a form of capitalism in existence, as Timbuktu was noted to be a large marketplace like wise other areas in Africa. The Hippos, instead of going back to pre-colonial Africa, in order to recreate society embraced the aberration of Swiss bank socialism. Ayitteh brandished them with different adjectives such as; an assortment of military fufu heads, crocodile liberators, vampire elites, Swiss bank socialists.
LESSONS FOR NIGERIA
The salvation of Africa cannot be divorced from Nigeria, considering her foreign policy thrust on Africa which has been followed by magnanimity and a great contribution to building of enduring African institutions such as the AU and ECOWAS.The role of Nigeria in the anti-apartheid movement cannot be underscored. With countries like Botswana, South-Africa and Ghana thriving in their democracies, Nigeria obviously has a lot to do. This is the time of the Cheetahs. The time of those who want to occupy Nigeria with the recent and fraudulent removal of subsidy. It is time to wrest Nigeria from the hands of the Hippos. Enough is Enough! They claim our economy would suffer, if government keeps subsidizing fuel. What happens if government keeps subsidizing political office holders with VP Sambo getting 45milllion naira for newspapers in 2012 alone, Patience Jonathan collecting billions to build a complex; when the constitution does not even recognize her role? Would our future be better when Jonathan feeds 1billion in 2012 and many Nigerians go to sleep without food or garri in their stomach? Its obvious that Nigeria has become a a Vampire state, where the leaders share the wealth with their cronies and kinsmen, leaving every other person to suffer. In many cases according to George Ayitteh, the leader is the chief bandit. The buck stops on Jonathan’s table, he should be blamed. What happens when the cabal has been pardoned, when Dimeji Bankole’s case has no head, where Akala and Gbenga Daniel are smiling with their stolen billions and the weight of the law has not fallen upon them? If we can’t trust them with little, how can we trust them with more? According to Fela Durotoye, does more money make one prudent? Would a rotten brain function, after a nice hair cut? Nigerian youths, enough is enough. We must occupy.
The onus falls on the Cheetahs to get themselves involved in creative capitalism; social business. From there we can start showing the Hippos in our society that the Cheetahs who brook no nonsense are in town. Let the Hippos face justice, Let the Cheetahs prevail. Occupy Nigeria!
Cheetah Onikoyi Babatope Falade
ARE YOU A CHEETAH OR HIPPO IN THE MAKING?
IF YOU ARE A CHEETAH FOLLOW @OCCUPYNIGERIA @OMOJUWA.@OGUNDAMISI, @ROSANWO, @GED, @TOPEATIBA, @EKEKEE@TOPEFALADE @EL-RUFAI ON TWITTER.

AT THE TOWER OF BABEL-THE TALES OF RELIGION IN NIGERIA

The road to perdition is hardly cleared, it’s never smooth. The road to perdition is also difficult to travel through. Nothing good comes easy, nothing bad also comes easy. The moral of the story, nothing comes easy. It occurred to me that religion has been malfunctioning in Nigeria. It is still an art that the colonialists left for us. If something loses function it becomes an art. Paintings from Pablo Picasso and Vincent Van Gogh had a function of expressing messages, but today they are auctioned at high prices at Christies and Sotheby’s. Why? Because they have lost function to mass communication and have become an art. When the colonialists came they missionized Africa in a paternalistic manner, caring for outcasts in the Igbo society and the dejected all across the nation. The religious institution they created was an art form. Much progress has been made though to express function, especially by the Pentecostal churches who offer deliverance from metaphysical connections that in local terms are obstacles to human well being. They have also fostered entrepreneurship by encouraging people to be independent and hope on God for financial success. But there is one important thing religion has not done-adequately contributing to shaping power relations in the society.
Recently, a pastor came to my house and prayed with us, in the course of the prayer he said, In Jesus name even if they remove the subsidy, your grace is sufficient. I felt this was selfish, for our responsibility is not only to ourselves, it is also to society. Hence, the biblical saying “Love thy neighbour as thyself”. What finally struck a chord in me was when I saw a catholic priest in Madala, in one of the churches that was affected by the bombs telling members of the church to pray and not worry. I asked myself, what happened to the functionality of religion? Why can’t the affected churches take a protest to Jonathan? Many who don’t understand functionality of the church from my point of view need to understand the role that the church played in modifying and adjusting social and political relations in the world, especially in Europe. King Henry had to break away from the Catholic Church to marry a new wife. In United States Martin Luther King jnr fought against racial discrimination vigourously, Malcolm X also did same. Archbishop Desmond Tutu helped to pull down the apartheid system in South Africa. What is happening in Nigeria? People are asked to pray when they should take to the streets to protest against corruption.
Many of our leaders go to religious leaders for prayers on regular basis; I wonder what they tell them? I think they may not be telling them enough. Our religious leaders should invoke the powers of trust that their congregations repose in them to bring about change in this country. They should stop asking people to pray for wealth and prosperity, when greater problems would arise that would make any improvement in their lives meaningless. I am a Christian and I am not saying prayer is not good. But we must tell ourselves the truth, if it was by prayer alone, the various prophets and apostles in the bible would not have gone for wars or engaged in civil disobedience by engaging in acts against the law of the land by preaching the gospel. That s what religion stands for; defiance, rigour, improvement in societal values and norms. The beauty is that religion in countries where it came from is not an art form, it is functional. The King James Bible went through a lot of process before it was finally published. But many here practising religion in art form would stand on the portion that says if anyone removes from this book, his name shall be removed from the book of life.
Even the Pope, makes calls against inhuman leadership and sufferings. Archbishop Olubunmi Okogie and Reverend Father Kukah have also tried in ensuring functionality of religion by speaking against dictatorships and bad civilian leaders. Imagine the number of Christians that attend retreats and camps. Imagine the number of people who troop for deliverance services and regular services. Imagine if they are mobilized against bad leadership, not to carry arms. But to demand accountability, to shun corruption by whistleblowing.Imagine if Christians are encouraged to ask their councillors and local government chairmen questions. The other day people got whim of a prayer and fasting Pastor Adeboye of redeemed ask them to do. A lot of people had said their prayers in the evening only to hear while eating that it wasn’t true.
If religion has such potential to gear citizens to action, what is it still doing? I think many of us need to redefine what we want as a society. We also need to identify what role religion plays as an art form or function has been playing. We need to responsible to society. Religion should be borne in the society, not society in religion. Our problems are peculiar, thus religion must function in a peculiar form that doesn’t violate religious precepts or foundations.
The true function of religion is to make the society a better place. It is not to serve self alone; others are also to be served. How can you serve people in Adamawa, whose voices can’t be heard by praying alone? I think prayer has turned to routine for many of us, such that when we should speak up, we pray, even while our loved ones are being killed we pray, when Jesus asked the apostles to protect themselves. We must to pray alone! We must Watch and pray! Let’s start watching, we have prayed enough!

NDUKA AND THE TOWN HALL:THE TRIALS OF SUBSIDY

The town crier made the announcement but I barely heard. I think it was one of those times I was trying to get something to eat or when I was trying to buy a bottle of deregulation. I thought it was an alternative to palm-oil. What then is deregulation, when it has been over flogged beyond recognition?
There were so many roars at the other end; I rushed to catch a glimpse of the obviously exciting spectacle. Behold it was subsidy that was on trial for what it had not yet done. He was charged with being a good and bad man at the same time and there were many plaintiff and defendant lawyers, and there were many judges and citizens in the town hall. The clerk was the egberipapa of newspaper, the chairman of Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, Nduka Obaigbena 1.I almost didn’t recognize him, and his tummy had increased again. The last time I heard, he travelled abroad to drain some of the deregulation in his tummy. He had obviously been taking too much of deregulation again.
I didn’t catch much of the trial unfortunately; it was Olisa Agbakoba, the one who used to koba previous governments that had just finished speaking. I was able to listen to Oshiomole-the comradic one, Isa Aremu,Nigeria labour Congress Vice-president, Ben Bruce, the one who is most capable of every form of pageantry,coquetry,artristry and theatrics. Femi Falana, Ngozi, Sanusi, Diezani were also there. If you see the look on subsidy’s face? You would pity him.
The question was in whose interest is subsidy removal? Isa Aremu made a position for the masses, vigorously explaining that removal of subsidy would cause prices of household items to increase thereby making life difficult for poor Nigerians. Diezani pleaded for the removal to enable government divert the money into other areas with infrastructure deficit.Sanusi lauded Falana for their activism antecedents in school and Ben Bruce made a case for the poor. It would have been a good one, except that it was one of the links in a chain of public relations efforts to provide appeal and acceptance for subsidy removal. Christine Lagarde, president of IMF was in Nigeria to laud the transformation agenda and the town hall meeting was just sequel to that. The actors in this game have constructed their symbols very well; it’s left for us to understand them. They have successfully made a case for removal of subsidy, by reminding us of happenings in Greece. Sanusi said what we are seeing in Greece, may be a child’s play, if we don’t remove subsidy. Its possible.But, he who cannot handle little, can he handle much? What has happened to the lifeline given to other sectors? What happened to the billions of naira in the poverty alleviation programmes, the small and medium scale enterprises programme, and the power sector programme which gulped an untraceable 16billion dollar?
They made a case for the current trust deficit and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala asked Nigerians to trust them. I am forced to ask, what about recurrent expenditure? Why would Jonathan take over 120 people for the commonwealth summit amidst the lack they are emphasizing? Many nationals who come home to serve in places like India don’t get as much as Okonjo is getting.Okonjo was paid in dollars before she left the Obasanjo administration. Sanusi even confessed he doesn’t buy fuel. Amidst the subsidy debate, Jonathan appointed new special advisers. The short of the whole thing is that the three tiers of government are amassing much of our resources. Resources meant for all. It is the three tiers whose subsidy should be removed, not the subsidy on petroleum. The Nigerian case is not peculiar. Many countries including Brazil and China mandated their national oil firms to subsidize fuel for their citizens.
The most disappointing part of the event was when Sanusi said there is a cabal that is core to the gross inefficiency of the subsidy arrangement. What happened to law enforcement? What happened to auditing firms who are complicit in the doctoring of the books? Why has anyone not been charged? The question is that of corruption. If government cannot face the subsidy thieving cabal, then they cannot face the cabal that would be created in the areas they intend to channel the money. Because any fund, opportunity or programme gives birth to a cabal.Dimeji Bankole is enjoying himself, Akala is comfortable, and Tony Anenih whose ministry could not account for over 300billion is a godfather in Edo state. Chief Obasanjo whose name alongside many other influential people was mentioned in the Halliburton scandal is waxing stronger. Then you expect us to trust you with subsidy money? NO! If corruption is not addressed, the subsidy removal would not translate to any meaningful development. It would only be enjoyed by the new cabal.
If government goes against the wishes of the masses, then the materialist position of Karl Marx which says that social consciousness is determined by material condition’s would be activated and gradually reinforced. More youths would go into cyber-crimes, prostitution, stealing, robbery and many old people would die untimely because their children won’t be able to take care of their medical bills. The seed for a revolution would be sown. They (our leaders) should not think that a revolution is not possible. It would only come gradually.
Nduka Obaigbena has violated public trust in the journalism profession openly taking sides with the federal government. I don’t think he remembers that the press should be socially responsible to the society. His role should be that of an unbiased empire. He has obviously deployed his machinery to help Oshiomole campaign; help Ben Bruce display his theatrics while patronizing the poor.Obaigbena just violated the trust of the masses in the press by using the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria Platform to promote an unpopular policy that has been made an infallible dogma by Jonathan.
NIGERIAN YOUTHS, LETS SAY NO TO SUBSIDY REMOVAL.IT WOULD ONLY GIVE THEM MORE MONEY FOR THEIR HOLIDAYS, PATRONAGE AND PERPETUATION OF SYCHOPHANCY.

LONG LIVE NIGERIA
LONG LIVE THE STRUGGLE

SOUTH SUDAN: IT’S NOT YET UHURU; THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES!

Unlike many I beg to differ that South Sudan has reached the Promised Land. I prefer to be called a prophet doomsday economics on this note-not a prophet of doom.
The journey has been an emotional one from the strategic plains of Abyei to Darfur, from foreign intervention to a referendum and finally independence. The reconciliating units (North and South Sudan) have done what is best for humanity.However; it is pertinent to conduct a pre-conflict x-ray. The Arab dominated north and the Christian and black animist dominated south of the largest country in Africa-Sudan had been at war over resources and northern hegemony. The centre could no longer hold, thus they had to call it quits. The result is the present independence of the south.
Today amidst the joy I hear echoes of mistrust amongst the South-Sudan people over the allocation of juicy position’s to the Dinka tribe(second largest tribe in South Sudan).This might be a spring board for conflict, not of the erstwhile dimension but the type that won’t guarantee speedy development in South Sudan. Presently the South has oil fields and the North has refineries. The Abyei region considered as strategic for security and other economic reasons is still a subject of dispute between the North and the South. For now the purpose of this text that may be irrelevant. The south can still take advantage of her oil reserves for development. A bloody revolution has occurred an economic one should follow; its unfortunate that in South Sudan a social revolution has to come first before true development can take place. The solution was never a break up citing further mistrusts among the people of the south about fears of an impending Dinka domination.
To make a case for my conclusion against a territorial break up. I would cite a peculiar to them-Nigeria. Blessed with Crude Oil and other resources the country was ruled by the military North who dominated every sphere. Here the hegemony was equally as strong or a little short of that. The people however endured the times and have evolved over time. Though the citizens still pass through economic agonies and social instability. Nigeria also still has problems with equality in distribution of resources.
Nigeria recently had elections better than other years. Much progress might not have been recorded economically and security wise but we are working it out. There is freedom of speech and Press Freedom.Recently, Boko Haram has become a sectional issue threatening the survival of the country but we are working it out!
South Sudan’s independence is a euthanasia of painful human feelings of the over 2million deaths there. Its an emotional relief; an international intervention success. It would have been a day history would volunteer to record but for the mistrust brimming subtlety among the South Sudan people. Before it was Arab domination, now it’s the fear of the Dinka tribe domination. For the benefit of doubt I hope the Dinka fear would be suppressed. If the freedom Square of Juba would be truly monumental the hearts of the people of South Sudan must be monumental enough to accommodate tribal and ethnic differences. That way true development can be given a chance. Happy Independence South Sudan, though its not Uhuru, the struggle continues!

CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT:THEORY OF THE DIVINE RIGHTS OF KINGS IN NIGERIA

CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT: THEORY OF THE DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS IN NIGERIA
Culture they say is a way of life; it is an embodiment of a people’s mode of dressing, communication, marriage e.t.c, while development according to Professor Joseph Stieglitz is the improvement in the way of thinking and livelihood of a people. This espouses the truth that people cannot develop beyond their ways of thinking which informs their actions, culture informs the average persons reasoning. It is important that from time to time people of any given territory should ensure that their culture and thinking is right to sustain or better chances at their development and well being. Culture is dynamic, it should not stay stagnant. There is an exception to this statement-Nigeria and other African countries. This started when the colonialists came to Africa for the scramble. The white foisted their culture on us and told us that our language is vernacular. They told us our religion is paganism; they burnt our shrines and destroyed our institutions of governance which were not doing bad. They seized our lands and affected our chances at improvement in farming practices. One thing must be conceded in terms of best practices, the white man had better technology, but when they came our culture had to stand still or walk agedly without reaching the ultimate destination of dynamism. What has the result of the “oyinbos” actions been? an eroded value system, little appreciation of our culture as compared to what can be obtained, culture alienation from generation to generation ;as some parents and agents of socialization scold children for speaking their indigenous language, loss of identity as many want to behave like they are from the west. Nothing seems good that comes from their own land. One thing is pertinent that culture is the basis for existence and a viable tool for national integration of people in a country. It must be one that all identify with and want to live for. Do we have such in place in this nation? No.A nation can be defined from two angles; subjective and objective. The subjective definition is when people of diverse backgrounds and culture come together to live as one despite their differences. The objective one conforms to homogeneity of the people. This is big trouble, as we don’t conform to any of the two. what we need most is a social revolution rather than industrial one. We need to identify a peculiarity that would unite us against bad leadership and acceptance of mediocrity in the midst of abundant potentials. For the Americans it is the American dream, Germans-Aryan phenomenon and Japanese-Samurai chivalry exemplified in all spheres of their lives. To address this problem lets take a look at the roots. Our fathers themselves were lured into a game of divide and rule by the whites, this was a strategy that was used in many colonies; take advantage of ethnic differences, share political power disproportionately and incite the people to suspect themselves. It was not their fault but they were not nationalists, they were more of ethnicists and that has bred distrust down the days from the time of independence. Today we have the strongest political bloc otherwise called "The Northern hegemony”, managing to share real political power with the Yoruba both not having a truly national interest at heart. It is not late for us; they say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. We are in a country where an average leader is above the law, I mean an average citizen also talk less of leaders, our thinking and actions connotes the era of divine rights of kings where the white men took over have hardly gone beyond it. This is where the paradigm of the divine rights of kings comes in. It posits that any developmental initiative should focus on our divine rights tendencies, especially on the part of our leaders.
Our thinking should start connoting a society where people are responsible to the rule of law ,ready to live as one and fighting for a common dream, not where in our minds we are several imaginary autonomous kingdoms in one country wanting to grab everything for ourselves with the white man’s culture as a fall back.We need to recreate our values dynamize our culture and make it in line with prevailing circumstances-blending the old with the new.

THE VOYAGE TO LAGOS:FASHOLA IS WORKING,LAGOS IS SINKING

Before I even get crucified by the behemoth of Governor Fasholas fans let me explain and not try to aggrandize myself I only borrowed the header from the campaign slogan;Fashola is Working,;lagos is working to reflect the present day-rainy season reality.
Lagos state is one of the few states that still gives Nigerians hope. The megacity has been a source of interest for multilateral agencies and foreign governments considering her enormous potentials in driving development in Nigeria and the sub-saharan part of the African continent.
I however must confess that Governor Babatunde Fashola has tried to live it up for Lagosians and the development community, the only fear I have is if all along the efforts made by the governor in the area of infrastructure have not turned out to be counter-productive. Everyone familiar with this month of June in Lagos can bear witness that the rains have hit hard, with flooding in places like Alimosho, where flooding carried a girl who slipped in Igando-Ikotun local council area. Areas like Iyana-Ipaja, Aboru, Abesan Estate, Ikeja and Lekki-Ajah have also had their fair share.
I am forced to be biased about Lekki-Ajah which I would be particular about in this text. The reasons are not farfetched.Lekki-Ajah hold enormous potentials in terms of investment of funds by local investors their foreign counterparts.Lekki-Ajah was also part of the high points of governor Fasholas campaign where he highlighted that the government would embark on a sea-port and an airport. These drew thunderous ovations by hands and words of mouth.
As germane as it should be it is obvious that conditions that guarantee seamless operations to achieve the maximum potential of these initiatives have not been put in place.Firstly, the Lekki-Ajah expressway seemed to have arrived at a quasi-coma. This is either because the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) has not been able to access funds since the work slowed down since the subtle protest of residents of Lekki over taxes scheduled to be collected during the election period. Here administrative efficiency was subjugated for political responsiveness.Secondly; the drainage in Lekki is either non-existent or the poorest in any mega-city. Come to think of it that road is supposed to cost 50 billion naira! The floods have been very enormous, especially in areas like Jakande, Alpha beach road, Igbo-Efon etc many businesses have been at a loss and potential ones would have been warded off. This might even discourage foreign investors if they consider the fact that there is no adequate flood emergency mechanism in Lagos State. Private residences in Lekki get full to the brim with people having to move out for months. It’s beginning to seem that Lekki is a dry season business district, the rainy season is not friendly to business as workers and businesses have a lot to contend with. Something should be done in due time and maybe Hi-Tech is not just up to the task ,they should consult Julius Berger on the latest technologies that the former employed in Akwa-Ibom to control water.
Finally, I make a case for other parts of Lagos like Alimosho,Ikorodu,Abesan etc.The government has greatly neglected these areas all in the guise of addressing infrastructure issues in the areas that are the” Faces of Lagos”-Victoria Island,Ikoyi,Lekki etc. This is injustice as these areas pay Land use charge and all other forms of taxes. Is it that the people living there are second class citizens or can just be deprived of their rights to adequate infrastructure by an unwritten law? The ruling party even gets most of their votes from this areas. Well,I believe there is room for change. The CAN should cut the propaganda and get to real work. They should stop victimising PDP and stop giving Lagosians band-aids.Lagosians should not be made to fund any political party, we demand real infrastructural development and not band aids! I want to import an alibi for Governor Fashola in that he might be lacking in political savvy but he has defied all odds in the past. He has gotten our mandate for another four years. He should increase his momentum in the Lagos he sees and that which we all see-A city of the world’s dreams!