SIR: There is no way that an individual will be in an elective post forever; there will always be change of hands at the helm of affairs from time to time. This was what played out in the just concluded elections where many sitting governors were defeated while some whose tenure already ended need to leave for other capable hands to occupy the office. As the situation is currently, roughly all the states of the federation have many uncompleted projects; we are in the twilight of handing over leadership.
We expect incoming governors to complete these projects. In instances, where the incoming governor is from another political party, he may not have the intention to complete these projects. However the electorate’s desire is for continuity across all strata of governance. This is the surest way to develop our democracy.
There’s this belief that each political party has its style of governance and this always determine which sector they would invest more. This has always led to littering the state with uncompleted projects. In order to advance the state, projects should be seen from the angle of their benefits to the citizens rather than for self-glorification.
In the southwest states of Oyo, Ogun, Lagos and in the North-central state of Kwara, there will be change of guards come May 29. The incumbent governors of these states will be leaving behind some uncompleted projects. In Ogun for instance, there is the Ago-Iwoye-Ilisan road; in Lagos, we have the Pen Cinema Flyover Bridge while in Kwara, there is the Geri Alimi tunnel.
All these projects among others are major projects initiated by these outgoing administrations but they won’t be able to complete them due to the limited time. It would be beneficial to the electorate if the incoming governors of the concerned states take charge of these projects within the first 100 days to not more than one calendar year with a view to completing them. That way, our democracy will be seen to be maturing.
As stated by Michael Porter, “The thing is, continuity of strategic direction and continuous improvement in how you do things are absolutely consistent with each other, in fact, they are mutually reinforcing.” Continuity plays major role in any given organization and most especially in democracy. It is high time we learnt this from western countries to strengthen our democracy.
In the words of Beyard Rustin: “If we desire a society of peace, then we cannot achieve such a society through violence. If we desire a society without discrimination, then we must not discriminate against anyone in the process of building this society. If we desire a society that is democratic, then, democracy must become a means as well as an end”.
- Kayode Awojobi, Okeho, Oyo State.
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