<\/p>\n
By Shaka Momodu<\/p>\n
As I sit down to write this piece, I cannot but be amused by the change
\nchorus around me. Even though I sense some genuine desire to have things
\ngo in a different direction, I get this sneaky feeling that a vast
\nmajority of Nigerians are being duped by some smart and clever businessmen
\nmasquerading as progressive democrats and agents of change. They sensed
\nresentment and keyed in with the change slogan which seems to have caught
\non like a wildfire in the harmattan. But when you ask those clamouring for
\nchange; change to what? They just stare blankly at you unsure of how to
\nanswer. And when the answer eventually comes, it\u2019s a disappointment, \u201cwe
\njust want change.\u201d That is the first inkling you get that some of our
\nchoristers of change hardly understand the issues at stake.<\/p>\n
Now, are these promoters of change really agents of change? Are they
\nreally the democrats they profess to be? The evidence around me suggests
\notherwise. I think they are part of the problems Nigerians need change
\nfrom. The values and virtues of democracy which they profess and claim
\nallegiance are observed more in breach by these people who claim to be the
\nlong awaited messiahs destined to liberate our countrymen from the bondage
\nof corrupt managers of public wealth.<\/p>\n
They remind us every day of the rot in the system \u2013 corruption at the
\ncentre, growing unemployment, insecurity in the land, irregular power
\nsupply etc. Of course, these are facts that cannot be disputed. But what
\nthey fail to tell us is that they have been part and parcel of the rot and
\nshare in the responsibility and blame for the situation in the country
\ntoday. They fail to remind us that they are among the greatest
\nbeneficiaries of the weak institutions that have made the country a
\nwobbling giant. They fail to tell Nigerians that they have become richer
\nand more prosperous on account of their holding public offices in this
\ndemocracy. They want change not to serve the people but to serve their own
\ninterests and those of their cronies. They just want more money to
\nincrease their vast wealth to further their private benefits at the
\nexpense of public good. But they have found a strap line that resonates
\nwell with the people to anchor their quest for power, but no one is
\nguiltier of practices detrimental to public good than these so-called
\nagents of change. Their daily conduct is a mockery of their progressive
\nhymn; the solemnity of their pledges to liberate the people is hollow,
\nimpiety and deceptive.<\/p>\n
Now, let\u2019s take a look for a moment at the promoters of change. Former
\nLagos State Governor Bola Tinubu at the Redemption Rally organised by the
\nthen Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Akure to mobilise support for the
\nparty\u2019s candidate, Rotimi Akeredolu, in the last Ondo governorship
\nelection openly boasted how he funded Olusegun Mimiko\u2019s election with
\nmillions of pounds. He said: \u201cMimiko claimed that I did not spend money
\nwhen he had problems with his mandate; this is not true. It is a lie. He
\ncame to me and begged for support, rolling on the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe collected money from me. I spent millions of pounds sterling but he
\nbetrayed me. It was Yemi Osinbajo who travelled to Israel and other
\ncountries to arrange the experts that helped him prosecute the case.
\nMimiko has called me a godfather, yes, I am a positive godfather and even,
\ngodfatherism is biblical and that is why Christians refer to God as their
\nFather. I play godfatherism in the South-west for the good of our people.
\nMy godfatherism is for progress and mentoring. I have brought development
\nto Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Lagos, Edo and Ogun States and the people are better
\nfor it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, were the millions of pounds sterling earnings from entrepreneurship
\nor money made from holding public office? We hear of his vast wealth
\nspanning real estate, media, construction, hospitality etc. It is this
\nsame man that former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the \u201cNavigator\u201d of APC,
\nreferred to in his book, My Watch, as \u201chaving the worst case of
\ncorruption\u201d. Till this moment, there has been no reaction from Tinubu.<\/p>\n
Recall how he railroaded his wife into the Senate to replace a man who was
\nfar more experienced in legislative activities. Today, his wife merely
\nsits in the Senate warming the seat, hardly making any meaningful
\ncontribution on the floor of debate. Lest we forget, his sister-in-law was
\nalso planted in the Lagos State House of Assembly. His son-in-law is also
\nin the House of Representatives. This is the height of nepotism.<\/p>\n
But nothing underscores Tinubu\u2019s pretentious claim to the principles of
\ndemocracy than his arbitrary appointment of his daughter, Sade, as the
\nIyaloja of Market Women and Traders in Lagos following the demise of his
\nmother, Alhaja Abibat Mogaji, who held the position. A true and
\nprogressive democrat would have thrown the position open to elective
\ncontest. But that was not to be as he simply pronounced his 40-year-old
\ndaughter at the time, who is not even a trader, the President General of
\nMarket Women and Traders in Lagos, practically decreeing it a hereditary
\nposition. There is a saying that, \u201cyou can\u2019t like the fruits of a tree and
\nhate the tree.\u201d A true democrat must not only preach it but practise it in
\nall its manifestations.<\/p>\n
Imagine if it was President Goodluck Jonathan that appointed his daughter
\nas President of Market Women and Traders, all hell would have broken loose
\nin the country. APC and those fraudulent human rights activists would have
\nbeen shouting to high heavens in condemnation; lawyers \u2013 hundreds of SANs
\nwould have been jostling to represent the traders in court free of charge
\nto challenge the imposition. But Tinubu did it against all known sense of
\ndecency and not a whimper from these hypocritical sets of people who by
\ntheir own choosing lay claim to being the custodians of public good. From
\nthe pro-democracy activists to the constitutional lawyers who see two
\nsimilar impunities with double vision and twin morality to the godfather
\ngoaded to continue to dupe the conscience of the people, there is no
\ndifference between their sins.<\/p>\n
Governor Babatunde Fashola is on a swing after being initially at odds
\nwith his godfather\u2019s preference to succeed him. He seems to have accepted
\nthe reality of his own near-zero political value and has embraced the man
\nhe initially kicked against. He fought his godfather through proxies,
\nculminating in an open contest where he was roundly beaten. The old fox
\ntaught his godson a very bitter lesson on how not to challenge a
\nbenefactor. When the primaries were held, the distance between the
\ngodfather\u2019s preference and godson\u2019s were miles apart.<\/p>\n
How can one explain that after eight years in office and with well over N4
\ntrillion in revenue expended, pipe borne water is still a scarce resource
\nin Lagos? An estimated 90 per cent of Lagosians have no access to this
\nvital necessity of life. Nearly every household today self-provides this
\nessential resource by sinking a borehole. Recall here that the situation
\nwasn\u2019t this bad before Fashola\u2019s rise to power. Even if the situation was
\nbad, the governor\u2019s record on this score is a miserable failure.<\/p>\n
Under Fashola, instead of more people having access to pipe borne water,
\nwhat we are seeing is a rapid decline of access to this necessity of life.
\nMany public schools have no roofs, toilets, tables, and chairs as students
\nsit on worn-out tyres to take lectures in classrooms that have neither
\nwindows nor doors. This is the state of some public schools especially the
\nprimary schools in Fashola\u2019s Lagos. The state of most roads in the state
\nis nothing to write home about. Just visit a place like Ikorodu or Iyani
\nIpaja and you will understand what I mean. The health sector has
\ndeteriorated to the level of \u201cmere consulting clinics,\u201d i.e. if you see a
\ndoctor to consult. If you think I am lying, visit any of the public health
\nfacilities in Lagos and tell me if any, I repeat if any, befits our
\nso-called \u201ccentre of excellence\u201d.<\/p>\n
I am also curious to know the policies Fashola initiated to help the
\nunable become able and as such help lift more people out of the poverty
\nindex. Affordable housing is still a pipe dream in this mega-city state.
\nWhat has he done to ease the challenges faced by the people in this
\nregard? This is the man now at the forefront of change campaign. The man
\nwho could not change the dilapidated infrastructure in public schools,
\nhealth sector or provide pipe borne water for Lagosians after nearly eight
\nyears in office as governor is the one telling Nigerians that help is
\ncoming from Buhari. Former Governor Lateef Jakande\u2019s temporary school
\nstructures litter the state, almost 32 years after he left office.
\nLagosians should ask him, if he truly shares in their pains and identifies
\nwith their problems as he claims to be, then why are his children not
\nattending public schools or using public health facilities like ordinary
\npeople?<\/p>\n
Perhaps, more than anything else, Fashola\u2019s hypocrisy played out last
\nweek, finally revealing the internal contradictions in their message of
\nchange.<\/p>\n
When I read the statement made by the governor urging Lagosians not to
\nvote for an old man, Jimi Agbaje (57), I chuckled, unsure of what he
\nmeant. Hear him: \u201cYou know what you have to do, open your eyes clearly.
\nWhen I took this job, I was 44, I was counting the white hair on my head.
\nToday, at 52, I am counting the black hair on my head. Akinwunmi Ambode is
\nyounger than me; you need youthfulness to do this job. That man (referring
\nto Jimi Agbaje) is already 60; he cannot cope with this job. If you call
\nhim at night he may not take your call.\u201d<\/p>\n
The same Fashola, who feels Agbaje whom he claims, is 60 but whose actual
\nage is said to be 57 is too old to govern Lagos, has been campaigning
\nvigorously for Muhammadu Buhari (72) to be elected to govern Nigeria.
\nNow hear him defend his position on Buhari: \u201cSome people are challenging
\nme that if I say Agbaje is too old to govern Lagos, what about Buhari who
\nis older? My response is this: We all agree that we have problem of
\ninsecurity in the country. Between Jonathan and Buhari who is the most
\nexperienced to tackle security issue? We all know Buhari is an experienced
\nsecurity expert. Then on corruption issue, who is the most credible among
\nthem? It is only Buhari. He has ruled Nigeria before and headed several
\npositions without record of corruption and mismanagement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Did he really mean what he said about age? If he did then something is
\nwrong somewhere. In one breadth, he approbates in another he reprobates.
\nIf a 57 or 60-year-old is too old to govern Lagos, which is less complex
\nand a microcosm of Nigeria, why should it be okay for a 72-year-old man to
\nbe the president of Nigeria with all its multiplicity of problems? Will
\nBuhari, who is steep in medieval times, pick Fashola\u2019s call at night? Does
\nBuhari have the vigour, stamina and mental alertness to govern a modern
\ncountry with all its ethno-religious complexities and developmental
\nchallenges? The hypocrisy of these people surprises me to no end.<\/p>\n
After nearly eight years in office, Governor Aliyu Magatakada Wamakko\u2019s
\nSokoto State is still on the list of the 10 poorest states in Nigeria.
\nThis is according to the recent Oxford Poverty and Human Development
\nInitiative (OPHI) 2014 report which revealed Nigeria\u2019s poorest states. A
\nman who failed to change the fortunes of Sokoto people for the better is
\non the bandwagon of APC\u2019s change. His state is listed number four on the
\npoverty index.<\/p>\n
Look at Governor Rotimi Amaechi\u2019s behaviour in Rivers State. What is
\nennobling about it that one can sincerely recommend as model to the youths
\nto emulate? A progressive democrat who is so intolerant of opposition that
\nhe won\u2019t even allow the use of the state\u2019s stadium for a campaign rally a
\nfew days after he used the same facility to flag off his party\u2019s campaign.
\nIs this the change they talk about?<\/p>\n
The truth is that Nigerians are not included within the pale of their
\nglorious progressive dividends. Their posturing matched against the
\nreality of their stewardship only reveals the immeasurable distance
\nbetween them and the people whose interests they claim to be fighting for.
\nThey have amassed a rich inheritance for their own children, while
\ncondemning our children to hewers of wood and drawers of water. This is a
\ngeneration of self-seekers whose motivation is primitive wealth
\naccumulation. They must be challenged, interrogated and held to account
\nfor their public conduct lest the people are misled again by their new
\nclamour disingenuously disguised as \u201cchange.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Theodore Roosevelt, \u201cThe foundation-stone of national life
\nis, and ever must be, the high individual character of the average
\ncitizen.\u201d This is specially so for leaders and custodians of public trust.
\nBut what we have seen here is a succession of bad leaders who have
\nprofited from the misery of the people. And there you have it.<\/p>\n
Shaka Momodu is a columnist for Thisday Newspapers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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