Still on Lagos guber race By Ayodele Ayoola

To all intents and purposes, the com­ing days in the life of Nigeria will be very interesting, and Lagos, being the country’s economic nerve-cen­tre, will surely not be left out. Come March 28, 2015, Nigerians will be trooping out in their millions to elect a president who will direct the affairs of the country for the next four years. Two weeks later, precise­ly, April 11, 2015, governorship candidates in states where elections are billed to take place will also know their fate. Again, La­gos, a state with more than eighteen million people, will not be an exception.

If we play by the rules governing the game, the presidential election, which is featuring prominent politicians like Goodluck Jonathan, incumbent President and Presidential Candi­date of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; and Muhammadu Buhari of All Progressives Con­gress, APC; Oluremi Sonaya of KOWA Party; and Martin Onovo of National Conscience Party, NCP, among others, poses an interestingly keen contest. Similarly, barring any hiccups, the gov­ernorship election which is putting forward the likes of Akinwumi Ambode (APC) and Jimi Ag­baje (PDP) in Lagos; Mukhtar Yero (PDP) and Nasir el-Rufai (APC) in Kaduna; and Rochas Okorocha (APC) and Emeka Ihedioha (PDP) in Imo State, promises an interesting reflection of the true wishes of Nigerians. However, like Ni­geria where only two out of 14 presidential can­didates seem visible, Lagos presents two major candidates out of no fewer than seven jostling for the Alausa-seat of power.

Although I may not possess the wand to pre­dict the shape, size or outcome of the forthcom­ing governorship election in Lagos State, with what’s on ground, the governorship election in the State is bound to be a stiff contest between Ambode and Agbaje. In any case, the involve­ment of a man of testifiable amiability like Ag­baje in Nigeria’s evolving democracy portends good tidings in terms of political practice. Indeed, the little I have in recent past gleaned from his involvement and commitment to political par­ticipation is enough to infer that, given the op­portunity to serve, Agbaje is a man of uncommon ability whose epoch will be characterized by in­novative thinking.

It was an Austrian-American management consultant, educator and author, Peter Drucker, who remarked that “effective leadership” is not an attribute of “great speeches” or “likeness” but “results.” So, what will a Jimi Agbaje dis­pensation as Governor of Lagos (a State which institutional arrangements, strategies and policies are currently skewed to satisfy some already-predetermined objectives) do to restore Lagos to its pride of place? Well, while those in power in the last sixteen or so years have done their best to move the state to a level, it is a statement of fact that Agbaje’s ascendancy will move it to a greater level; a level that will make it become the envy of all. Again, while not denying the fact that the outgoing occupant of the Oval Build­ing is a man of uncommon pride who has done a lot in making Lagos State what it is, anyone who has had the opportunity of carefully digest­ing Agbaje’s ‘Masterplan for a New Lagos’ and ‘Policy Outline and Progress’ especially, his S.H.E.L.T.E.R framework, will understand the clarity and forceful articulation of his vision for a new ‘Centre of Excellence’.

Still on Drucker’s definition of leadership, as things stand, is Lagos State of today better gov­erned or is it just there to serve the interests of some godfathers? With the gory state of infra­structure that has become its lot, can we say ‘Eko o ni baje’ brand reflects the dream of the founding fathers of Lagos State? Why have the handlers of its affairs so far failed to deliver in key sectors such as health, housing, education and infrastruc­ture even as official corruption has reduced the dear State to a butt of jokes in the comity of mega cities? While ‘Babaloja’ and ‘Iyaloja’ are daily complaining of multiple taxes with practically nobody attempting to do something about it, a ride on Ipaja-Ayobo, Mafoluku-Apapa-Oshodi, Ikotun-Igando, Egan-Aboru, even Okota Roads, among others, will reveal how ‘prudent’ the cur­rent managers of ‘Project Lagos’ have been in the management of billions of naira annually gener­ated as revenues as well as allocations from the Federation Account.

In fairness to him, the ‘JK we know’ is not an apostle of blowing an uncertain trumpet. As he has promised, if elected, he will bring trans­parency and seriousness into the business of governance. Like the great Franklin Roosevelt, Agbaje’s conviction is “built on the unhampered initiative of individual men and women joined together in a common enterprise.” Unlike oth­ers who behave as if their existence on earth is dependent on clinching power at all costs, the pharmacist-turned-politician is an expert in the management of expectations and enlighten­ment who will use his wealth of experience to correct the system of governance, which cur­rently suffocates the masses to the advantage of the elite. He is a man of peace who believes that “no meaningful development could take place in an atmosphere of violence.”

As we all know, a government that prides itself in ‘know all’ wisdom can never be said to be pro-people. A responsive government would not con­fiscate motorcycles without making concrete al­ternatives with regard to how and where to eke a living for its operators. In sharp contrast to states where the government confiscated motorcycles in exchange for cash rewards, tricycles and car taxis, a government that wantonly demolishes major markets without considering the displaced traders in its ‘right of first refusal’ is not fit to be called a progressive government. And any gov­ernment that feels the pulse of the people would not spearhead the concession Lagos Roads with­out putting the interests of road users first. Ondo State, under Olusegun Mimiko, also presents a perfect example of how displaced market men and women should be treated. From the forego­ing, how can a government that has failed in all key indicators of governance in Lagos State now demand continuity?

One of my favorite leaders was John F. Ken­nedy, the thirty-fifth president of the United States of America. In his inaugural address to Congress on January 20, 1961, he wrote: “The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe – the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.” If elected as its next governor, Agbaje has promised to give Lagos State a facelift that will in the next four years become the cynosure of all eyes. A JayKay-led government in Lagos State will not only make corruption unattractive, it will also be true to his commitment of making Lago­sians see hope in the future.

SUN

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