ADVERTISEMENT
  • The Membership Club
  • PT Hausa
  • About Us
  • Advert Rates
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
Saturday, March 6, 2021
Premium Times Nigeria
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Opinion
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Features
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Markets
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • Parliament Watch
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • AGAHRIN
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Opinion
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Features
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Markets
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • Parliament Watch
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • AGAHRIN
Premium Times Nigeria
BUA Group Ad BUA Group Ad BUA Group Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
My Grudge Against Fashola, By Wale Odunsi

Wale Odunsi

My Grudge Against Fashola, By Wale Odunsi

byWale Odunsi
May 14, 2013
4 min read

RelatedNews

Lagos council renames major roads after Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu

Lagos govt, Chinese firm sign agreement to produce brand new cars

Man arrested for unleashing dogs on police officers

Blood on Uniforms (2): No justice for inmates killed by Nigerian prison officials

ADVERTISEMENT

Nigeria has 36 federating states with one man atop the governance of each. I admire a few of them for their courage, diligence, forthrightness, hardwork, vision among other delectable traits and one of those is Lagos state governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN.

We like(d) him because he obviously knows what it means to occupy a Government House. Also his grasp of such a complex city confirm that he knew what he set out to accomplish. In a number of instances, BRF has proven that he isn’t one of the many accidental public servants in the country. His beautification campaign, education and healthcare projects and markedly the restoration of sanity in hitherto black spots; prominent is the cleansing of Oshodi which till date amazes everyone.

 I recollect Fashola’s address at the commissioning of the Cele Bridge on Oshodi-Apapa expressway. That day, he told everyone in attendance that he dreamt of constructing the link as a little boy. According to him, there used to be an improvised wooden bridge there decades ago and that some miscreants would demand for money before pedestrians were allowed passage. Saddened by the suffering, he promised himself to fix the situation once he has the clout to do so. The bridge erected at the cost of N1.1 billion is three years old.

 In view of the above story and others, the thought that my hero would suddenly become insensitive to the plight of millions of struggling citizens is puzzling.

I arrived in Lagos from Abuja on the first day of May and I stayed for two weeks – busy weeks. It is the classic official trip where you hardly have time for personal parade. Usually when I’m in Lagos and have appointments on the Island (the highbrow places that is), I move round in a chattered cab. My chauffer is Mr. Amos, one of the many erstwhile fans of Fashola. As he took me to my destinations throughout the period, he brought me up to speed, narrating what the Centre of Excellence has become. He spoke of neglect in his area of Ndike/Obawole in Ifako-Ijaiye local government; the high-handedness of the many of the state-owned agencies; the bogus rates transporters are forced to pay et cetera. Amos further lamented the poor state of roads in many parts of the state including the prestigious Victoria Island and Ikoyi, his usual work-route.

Commenting on the issue of ‘Okada’, the hustling father of four, who although supported the ban, alleged that once it is time for elections at whatever level in the state, the administration systematically goes soft on the riders so as to garner their votes.

At a point during his complaint, one would think that the man was paid to castigate the helmsman of Lagos. To convince me his grouse was genuine, he cited instances as though foreseeing I would someday write about it. He added that judging by the present, more adversity await Lagosians, especially the common man. Days later, Amos prophecy came to be reality.

On May 12, I attended an event at Opebi area of Ikeja, the capital of Lagos. It ended around 9pm and unfortunately, there was no luxury of a private car on this occasion. I walked up to the entrance of Salvation Road, about a kilometer from the popular Adebola House. Within the next twenty minutes, only three buses stopped to offload and load waiting passengers. A glance showed we were about two dozen; a few others joined intermittently though. As the frustration grew, an elderly woman was the first to protest discernibly: “All these Keke dey strike?” she asked rhetorically. A middle-aged man in the crowd soon announced that the state government just banned tricycles from the many parts of the metropolis. Reacting, a stranded lady hissed with visible repugnance. She was worried that commuters are now at the mercy of lawless danfo drivers and hoodlums operating in non-public vehicles, disguised as Taxis. And so a public dialogue started; a bus-stop turned into one of the several agents of socialization.

In recent months, the goodwill Governor Fashola enjoys has been plummeting. This is the honest truth and his aides as well as government officials should be bold to voice out. In case they do not know, enjoying AC’d official cars, offices and millions in personal bank accounts yet ignoring the sorrows inflicted on Lagosians is a great disservice. But the questions is: In this type of clime, why would anyone leading a municipal of over twenty million people force tricycles out of districts that are not highways? Hasn’t Baba Fash successfully punctured the promise of a better welfare for the populace?

The governor has two vital years left on his contract and I wish he uses it wisely. He does not need a strategist to inform him that his policies henceforth will affect the decision of the electorate in 47 months; he does not need a soothsayer to predict that this latest order will part of the presupposition upon which hundreds of thousands of residents will decide whether (or not) to support his ‘All Progressives Congress’ platform in 2015.

A personal friend is of the view that the enormous accolades showered on Fashola over the years is probably making him feel cool and acting up; I cannot agree more. But then, one believes that the administration is fully aware that succor is what the people desired when they voted en masse in 2011, not untold hardship.

 Mr. Odunsi can be reached via his email address wodunsi@yahoo.com and via twitter @WaleOdunsi

Dangote adbanner 728x90_2 (1)

  • WhatsApp
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
  • Telegram
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket

Support PREMIUM TIMES' journalism of integrity and credibility

Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.

For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country we ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.

By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you are helping to sustain a journalism of relevance and ensuring it remains free and available to all.

Donate


TEXT AD: To advertise here . Call Willie +2347088095401...



JOIN THE CONVERSATION

  • Disqus (1)
premiumtimes



PT Mag Campaign AD

Previous Post

Asari-Dokubo: aggression, language and political posturing, By Muhammad Jameel Yusha’u

Next Post

Bamidele Upfront! For the Love of Country, By Bámidélé Adémólá-Olátéjú

Wale Odunsi

Wale Odunsi

More News

Osmund Agbo on being poor while mega-rich

Poverty of the Mega Rich, By Osmund Agbo

March 6, 2021
Henry Okoroafor on crying

Crying: Not A Sign of Weakness, But A Catharsis for the Soul, By Henry Okoroafor

March 5, 2021
 Solomon Zewdu on vaccine deliveries to Africa

With Vaccine Deliveries To Africa, the Race For Equity Begins, By Solomon Zewdu 

March 5, 2021
Imam-Murtada-Gusau on Uwais Qarni

Friday Sermon: Uwais Qarni: A Beautiful Example For Today’s Muslims, By Murtadha Gusau

March 5, 2021
Jibrin Ibrahim on the failure of the Zamfara model

The Zamfara Model: The Dismal Tunnel To Self-Destruction, By Jibrin Ibrahim

March 5, 2021
Olabisi-Deji-Folutile on a Nigerian aberration

Nigerian Aberration: Meetings With Bandits, None On Education, By Olabisi Deji-Folutile

March 4, 2021
Next Post
Bamidele Upfront! For the Love of Country, By Bámidélé Adémólá-Olátéjú

Bamidele Upfront! For the Love of Country, By Bámidélé Adémólá-Olátéjú

Prophet arraigned over N600,000 fraud

Court dissolves pastor's marriage over wife's wayward life

Discussion about this post

Search

#EndSARS: Latest Updates




Polaris Bank


JAIZ Ad


Access Bank Ad


NITDA Ad





Glo Ad

Subscribe to News via Email

Enter your email address and receive notifications of news by email.

Join 1,629,456 other subscribers.

Advertisement






netherland biz school Advert



Zenith Advert

ADVERTISEMENT

Our Digital Network

  • PT Hausa
  • Election Centre
  • Human Trafficking Investigation
  • Centre for Investigative Journalism
  • National Conference
  • Press Attack Tracker
  • PT Academy
  • Dubawa
  • LeaksNG
  • Campus Reporter

Resources

  • Oil & Gas Facts
  • List of Universities in Nigeria
  • LIST: Federal Unity Colleges in Nigeria
  • NYSC Orientation Camps in Nigeria
  • Nigeria’s Federal/States’ Budgets since 2005
  • Malabu Scandal Thread
  • World Cup 2018
  • Panama Papers Game
  • Our Digital Network
  • About Us
  • Resources
  • Projects
  • Data & Infographics
  • DONATE

All content is Copyrighted © 2020 The Premium Times, Nigeria

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Features
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Markets
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • Parliament Watch
    • AGAHRIN
  • Opinion
  • PT Hausa
  • The Membership Club
  • Dubawa
    • Dubawa NG
  • About Us
  • Advert Rates
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Digital Store
  • DONATE

All content is Copyrighted © 2020 The Premium Times, Nigeria

Our website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.