Coordinator of Save Aba Group, Barr. St. Moses Ogbonna has accused state governors of hijacking the good governance tour which has been visiting their states to inspect federal and state projects.
In an interview with journalists in Aba during the good governance tour of Abia state, Ogbonna alleged that the team led by the Minister for Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, only inspects projects which the governors want them to inspect.
“The various state governments have demonstrated absolute control over the good governance tours. I don’t have any impression outside the ones we always have when teams like that visit the states. This is what we call cosmetic approach to governance, it is make believe, there is nothing they have come to do other than doing what the various state governments wants them to do.
The governors have simply hijacked the tour. I’m yet to see how the people can benefit from a promise. Go and tell the man on the streets of Aba that the minister said the federal government will rehabilitate the expressway and railway. Will he not laugh at you? This is because an average Nigerian has lost confidence in the government.
“Over the years, we have been inundated with these promises. So, it is nothing new. Labaran Maku has just continued with the tradition of making promises. Did they not say that the good governance tour was to see what is in place, so why all these promises if not to bamboozle the people as usual. When will all these promises be fulfilled? The African man says seeing is believing. The people have been taken for a ride for too long.
In Nigeria today, such promises are taken with a pinch of salt till they are realized.” he said.
He described the tour as a waste of scarce resources. “They visited the NNPC Depot at Osisioma Ngwa which was established in 1979, is that a dividend of Democracy in 2013? What have been the benefits of all these visits to the states? No improvement, only promises, the federal government will do this, the federal government will do that, but no action. It is window dressing, motion without movement.
“Maku has been praising all the governors he has visited so far; whether they performed or not. Is that the essence of the good governance tour?
In this situation where he comes with praises, what is the hope of the common man? The man who has been yearning for good roads, employment opportunities, quality education and other dividends of democracy.
The activist further chided the minister for allowing the governors dictate to him on which projects are to be inspected. According to him, “When you tell a governor, you are coming to his state for the good governance tour; he will hurriedly put something in place. He will just paint a particular road and one or two facilities and direct the team to the places. This is what we call window dressing or cosmetic approach to governance, the Nigerian fire brigade approach to governance that has kept back. So far, the good governance tour has been a waste of resources.
He also accused the Minister and governors of shutting out the grassroots from the tours. “We thought that as the team came to Aba or other town in the states, it would have given opportunity to the people at these places to ask questions and make contributions. No such opportunity was granted.
He has not been able to tackle the real issues affecting good governance in Nigeria. How can you talk of good governance when more than 70% of the states do not want to conduct local government elections? The states are still running their local governments with transition committees. There is no development at the grassroots. Then, you talk of dividends of democracy, how can such dividends get to the people? It is unfortunate that the people at the grassroots are not being given opportunity to express their views. Town hall meetings ought to be truly representative in nature where all segments of the society should come to express their views about how they are being governed, but it seems the Minister and the governors have failed to realize this
Ogbonna maintained that the federal government knows what to do if it truly wants to assess the performance of its agencies or the state governors, rather than wasting resources through touring states.