Tag: ibadan

I have lived virtually all my life in Ibadan and Lagos and whatever affects these two cities affects me. I remember when Ibadan was preferred over Lagos because of its space, serenity and virtual absence of anti-social activities that tended to mar the social life of Lagos. Ibadan was the capital of the Western Region which in all respects operated as an autonomous, if not outrightly independent country with its own coat of arms, constitution and external diplomatic representation in form of Agent-General in London up to the year of independence in 1960. Lagos at that time was the federal capital which the Action Group party, the party in government in the West, claimed was part of Western Region but which the federal government asserted was separate. The Yorubas of Lagos because of politics and federal money and the crumbs from the federal masters’ dining table sang the song of Lagos separateness. Since then, Lagos has always had identity crisis of whether it wants to be regarded along with the rest of Yorubaland as one and indivisible whole or as a separate entity. The debate is now academic because the old song of the Action Group “Lagos belongs to that West, Lagos belong to the West, awon oponu alai lero won ni gedegbe Leko wa; Lagos belongs to the West” has become a reality. Never mind the rear-guard sentiments of my friend the Oba of Lagos that Lagos is not part of Yorubaland because Lagos royalty traces its origin to Benin. First of all, the origin of a dynasty is not the same is that of the people. English people are not Germans even though their present dynasty comes from Hanover in Germany. The Bini people are not Yoruba in spite of their dynasty coming from Ile Ife. Furthermore, the Bini royal influence in Lagos is a reflection of the Ife- Bini relations. The territorial extent of the obas of Lagos on the Island was hemmed in by the pre-existing Awori kingdoms all around the same territory occupied by the Oba of Lagos. Permit my digression.

Now to Ibadan.

I have no comment on the tussle between the Olubadan and his son, the governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi. In any case the case is in court so it is sub judice. I want to applaud the tremendous efforts of the governor to improve the road infrastructure of the city and the state as a whole even though there is much to be done. There is no doubt that the governor would have done better if he has had the kind of resources available to other much better endowed states. On this point, I blame the Oyo administration for not increasing its internally generated revenues. The population base of the state is very large with cities like Ibadan, Ogbomosho, Oyo, Iseyin and many of the towns in Oke Ogun. Population is a critical factor of power of any state and if well mobilized can be decisive in its economic development. With fair and equitable taxation covering the whole state, Oyo State should be able to generate enough funds to run the state on modern lines. The state can borrow a leaf from Lagos State and begin to levy land use charge from a range of N100,000  to N5000 annually. People will naturally grumble but when they see what their money is being used for, they would calm down. This levy can be restricted to the towns and commercial and industrial houses as well as educational institutions to begin with. Later it can be extended to cover the entire state so that the people can be made to own their government. The present situation in which money comes from Abuja is not good for citizenship development and is largely responsible for leadership corruption all over the country.

Sometimes last week, I went out at 6 pm in the evening and returned at 8 pm driving from Molete to Bodija. I normally don’t go out after 6 pm. I was shocked by the fact that there was not a single street light along the roads. I was told this is the same all over Ibadan. It was very depressing and distressing. It was as if one were back to the 19th century. I discussed this with a few friends and I was told that why would there be light on the streets when there is no light in people’s homes. Well, there is a point in that argument. But lighting the streets is a security strategy apart from being a matter of aesthetics.  It is also not divine in both Christianity and Islam to live in darkness. God said we should let our light so shine so that people may glorify our father in heaven. The first statement of God at creation is let there be light. It is not good enough for a city of five million people to be in pitch darkness in the 21st century. A city that used to pride its institutions as “first in Africa” should not be in darkness. Are we now first in Africa in going about like blind men in total darkness in peace time?

We must have street lights in Ibadan. How can Yorubas watch the biggest town in Yorubaland descend to this abyss of underdevelopment? This is not just acceptable. The governor of Oyo State should send somebody to China or contact our embassy there to visit the best solar energy company with good and demonstrated record of having successfully lit up cities in China and other parts of the world with solar power and invite such a company to come and visit Ibadan with the purpose of picking up a contract to light up Ibadan. China happens to be the leading country in this regard. We should bypass the local companies who have serially failed in executing solar energy contracts in Lagos and other cities and institutions all over Nigeria. This present gloomy darkness in Ibadan must be removed. When successfully tackled, the campaign must move to Oyo and Ogbomosho. Electric lighting of urban Nigeria is not only a matter of beautification and necessity, but a matter of security and safety.

If all our universities ‘ streets and those of other institutions of higher education and even those of secondary schools were lit, the incidence of cultism and kidnapping will be greatly reduced. The Yorubas say “oru komeni owo” meaning darkness provide cover for all kinds of nefarious activities to be committed. One of the cheapest ways to secure a city is to light it up. This is why modern cities all over the world spend resources on urban lighting. In fact in modern cities,night does not mean darkness any more. Night fall is no hindrance to production and productivity. One of the reasons for our economic backwardness is the lack of electricity which in Nigeria unfortunately manifests in unlit or poorly lit streets. But solar energy, if appropriately deployed, constitutes a relatively cheap solution to this embarrassing urban problem. The Ibadan situation was first highlighted in Bola Ige’ s novel “ The Kaduna boy “ in which he reflected on the lack of streets light in Ibadan in contrast to Kaduna where he grew up in the 1930s. That’s almost 80 years ago. His grand children should not be afflicted with the same problem in 2018. It is my hope that Abiola Ajimobi will crown his efforts as not only a builder of roads and institutions but also as the governor who lit up Ibadan and brought the city to the 21st century.