The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Oyo state

  • Why I made my assets declaration public

    Oyo State governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, was a guest of the Oyo State Broadcasting Corporation where he fielded questions from panelists and residents of the state on the activities of his government in the first 100 days in office. He spoke about the directions of his administration in such areas as health, education, security and social infrastructure as well as his plans concerning the projects begun by his predecessors. YINKA ADENIRAN monitored it.

    There are lots of unemployed graduates in the state, while many others are underemployed. Many graduates have ended up as commercial motorcycle operators because there are no jobs. During your electioneering campaign, you promised to make life comfortable for all and sundry. How will your government address the issue of employment in the state?

    Let me repeat what I said during the electioneering campaign. It is true that I said the youth is central to our government. Oyo State has a comparative advantage over and above its counterparts when it comes to the landmass that God gave to us. We are blessed with many things, including solid minerals. People have been thinking that we should have achieved many things within a short period of time. For someone like me who studied engineering, I know there are processes towards achieving certain things. In the engineering field, at times, we complete the process of building a structure on the paper before the actual process begins. Truth is it might take time to lay the foundation that can bring about employment for the teeming youths in the state, though we have started.

    About two weeks ago, we launched FarmCrowdy farming initiative with a private company, and about 50,000 farmers will benefit from this programme.

    Secondly, most of the farm settlements we have will be turned into farm estates, which would not only take care of farmers that will process what we want to plant, we will build schools and some other infrastructural facilities that will make people live comfortably in those places.

    Of course, we have given our youths the impression that the future will be bright for them. There are also some of our youths who had been engaging in some unwholesome acts, but they are now retracing their steps. Some of them have approached us for help. They told us they want to be responsible and stop constituting nuisance to the public, and we have been acting on that. I can tell you that three months of this government is too short to fix the rot and bottlenecks created by the past administration. But I know if we are on the right trajectory, things will be easier for us. Now, everybody knows the path we are moving towards, which is agriculture and its value chain, to attract foreign investors into our state. One last thing I want to say is, if we fail to do the right thing for the youth, it means that this government has failed already. So, I want this to be in the mind of our youths. They must know that they are our main focus.

    In the last WASSCE result, Oyo State was in the 26th position out of the 36 states of the federation. Also, we have students in JSS3 and SSS3 who cannot read. What do you want to do differently from what was done in the past to improve the education sector in the state?

    On my way to this studio, I came with a book without even knowing a question like this will come up. I came to show it to the people of Oyo State. The book is a compendium of past questions and answers for students preparing for WAEC and NECO, starting from 2012 through 2018. When I was in the secondary school here in Bishop Philip Academy, Ibadan, not International School, Ibadan (ISI) but a public school, we looked for those who had sat for WAEC around the neighbourhood and requested for their past questions to study. We used that to prepare ourselves ahead for examination. But we published this book with the aim of giving them to our students preparing for exams for free. We didn’t have a book like this in Oyo State before now and it is the initiative of this government. The books will be distributed freely to those in private schools too.

    Similarly, we have put in place free tutorial classes for students that would write the WASSCE exam and we are making it mandatory for them. We are doing this because we know that the evaluation process cuts across students in both private and public schools. The teachers too will be given these books for free to teach the students, particularly Mathematics and English.

    We will employ teachers and deploy them to schools entirely different from where they teach such that the students will have different teachers taking them from time to time. The idea is, from Mondays to Thursdays, teachers will teach from 2pm to 4pm, and on Saturdays, students will receive lectures from 9am to 1 pm. With this, we believe that the result of our students who will write the next May/June exam will be better than what we have had in the past.

    Therefore, I encourage the parents to cooperate with the government to make this happen. They should make time for their children to participate in this exercise and not give them things to hawk when they are supposed to be receiving lectures. If these children become great in life, they can afford to give to their parents whatever they (parents) need. So, parents should allow their children to go for these extra-mural lessons that the government is organising for them for free.

    There are many projects scattered around the state, which were uncompleted or abandoned by previous administrations. What should the people of the state look forward to in this administration?

    I actually passed along Iwere-Ile Road and noticed that close to the election time, the past administration laid asphalt to a particular point and stopped. I am very sure that where the asphalt covered is not up to one kilometre before the election ended. There are many projects that have been abandoned since 2010, but I have promised the people that good governance supersedes the gimmick of politics. Because of this, I told the contractors who were paid by the immediate past government but abandoned the projects that they should go back to the site and do the work they collected money to execute. If they do well, we will allow them to finish with the work irrespective of the party that gave the project out. As long as it is Oyo State’s money, they can go ahead. This administration always wants to see value for any money spent on whatever project.

    When I went to inspect the Silo project in Awe, I understood that the state government had paid over N1 billion for the project but zero value is what is on ground for the state. The contractor handling the project said the case was in court because he had not been paid completely but I asked him to withdraw the case from court so that we could sit down one-on-one to discuss and settle the matter once and for all. During our discussion, he said if he could get another N350m, the job would be completed and I immediately approved the money to be given to the contractor. I learnt that he has gone back to site and he has been given an ultimatum of four months to complete the project.

    So, for us, it does not matter when a project starts, even if it was awarded during the time of Governors Akala or Ladoja, what is important to us is the value it will add to the state. Our government will continue to show commitment to whatever will add value to the people of this state.

    For instance, we have revoked the Moniya-Iseyin road construction project. But right now, we are in the process of re-awarding the road project to a more competent contractor. The last time I also passed through the road from Iseyin that leads to Saki during my campaign, I saw the nature of the road. Perhaps the people working on that road designed it in a way that one part must be tarred and the other should not be tarred. But what is left now is to just tar the remaining part and it is among the projects that are surviving.

    If you look at it, you will observe that we signed a budget into law. The past government came up with a budget of N280 billion. Meanwhile, all the money that has been realised till this moment is N70 billion. So, how come they have a budget of N280 billion? That was why we reduced it, because it is completely unrealistic. We thought that we need to cut our clothes according to our material but not to our size, because a small cloth is easy to sew.

    The electioneering period is always different from reality. With the election period now behind, what is the key message of your administration ahead of the next four years?

    Let me start by saying that I am happy to be serving this state. During the electioneering period, we came up with the roadmap for the accelerated development of Oyo State. Now, what we plan for the state is anchored on four pillars: health, security, education and economy. We know if we perform well in these areas, people will enjoy the dividends of democracy.

    For you to know that we are making efforts in raising the standard of education, I just came back from Oyo where we went to commission a SUBEB project of 20 blocks of classroom. If we give our children necessary education, exposure, they will succeed. We also know that if we take the issue of health seriously, this will make us productive and make our economy favourable.

    For us, once the economy is tackled such that the means of livelihood is considerably improved for all, you will see that standard of living will be okay for everyone and even the government won’t be preoccupied with the expectation of federal allocation. The federal allocation we get is not enough, but if we can expand our own economy, the money government gets from Internally Generated Revenue IGR will equally increase. If we can also utilise most of our infrastructure to target our economy, things will take a good shape for us in the state.

    So, we believe education and healthy living of the people will lead to productivity and expansion of our economy.

    I must sincerely repeat that all of these cannot be done in an atmosphere that is not safe and secure and that is why the fourth thing we want to do is to enhance security. We want to ensure that everyone goes about his lawful business without hindrance. We want absolute peace and security in the state for the people.

    A lot of controversies have surrounded the local government system. What is your government doing on the election into the local governments, which are the closest to the people at the grassroots?

    Actually, we are working on the local government administration. When we came in, we observed there were some cases in court but some of the cases have been disposed right now, so the coast is now clear. Those who conducted the local government election did not follow the provisions of the constitution duly and we don’t want to make the same mistake. We have Local Council Development Areas and we cannot conduct election into LCDAs. But what we can do is to appoint caretakers to manage the areas while we plan to soon conduct the election into the LGAs as provided by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    We will work with Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) within a short time and conduct election within the first quarter of 2020. Preparation will start once we conclude our internal arrangement with the OYSIEC. So, I enjoin the people of Oyo State to exercise little patience on this.

    Truly speaking, it is God that is piloting the affairs of governance in Oyo State and the people of the state also need to cooperate with the government to take the state to an enviable height. If we do the needful as a government and the people also, on their part, do what they are supposed to do, the Oyo State we all long for is what we will see.

    You have made a lot of lofty promises on the areas of health, security, education and economy, including provision of 100 security patrol vehicles. When will they become operational? There are also talks about the CCTV project embarked upon by the last administration. What will your government do about it?

    I think we need to always pass our messages across to the people comprehensively. A secure and safe environment is what we cannot compromise. If you look at it very well, investors, investments and foreign money won’t come to an environment that is not safe.

    Concerning the security vehicles, in a matter of days, you will start seeing them on the streets. I always say that good governance is beyond razzmatazz. I rejected a proposal to paint the secretariat because the furniture, key governance issues, computers, toilets and other things that are inside are not in good condition. I can do all these things inside even without anybody knowing. We have not been going around to announce some of the things we have done and those that we would do, but silently, we are going about our service to the people of Oyo State. I may or may not commission the 100 vehicles, as it does not mean anything much to us. But we are after people seeing them on the street and having confidence that they are in an environment where they can go to bed with their two eyes closed. I think that is what is important.

    Concerning the CCTV cameras, we have some of them in store before now. During the electioneering campaign, I did say I was going to scrap them. But when we got in here, we checked what the past administration has done and we observed it may not be possible to identify or go after offenders with the CCTV cameras. But of course, they have already spent money on the project before we came in and we thought scrapping them would be a disservice to the people. So, we decided that we will keep them, enhance them and, maybe in a few years, we can get to the point where it would be useful to identify and trace offenders.

    Looking at some new areas in Ibadan, there are places that are supposed to be beautiful to signpost what modern Ibadan will look like, but what can be seen are some embarrassing structures. The roads are bad. Even the type of urban planning you expect to be there is not there. Also, the internal roads in the state capital are in deplorable state. What are you going to do to empower the Urban Planning Department of the state to fix them?

    You will agree with me that a lot of people seem to be so much in a hurry and they thought we have been in government for the past one year or so. But this is just 100 days, which is still early for us. We do have plans. When you are in the public space, you should always provide enabling environment for the people that will come after you. But in a situation of a hostile take-over, you follow procedures and processes laid down to conduct government businesses, and we have been doing that. But, unfortunately, it has been slow. They come to you to get the final approval to execute and there are things we are looking at dispassionately for us to be able to get certain things right; to cut that cycle where people can come for one comprehensive approval, and once they are able to get the approval, they go ahead and execute.

    We are aware that we have to do certain things. I will give an example: I did not declare my assets publicly for fun. I declared it so that I can be held accountable. What we met when we came in was a situation where you have some amount of money voted for someone you appointed as the head of a public department. They came to me and said that whatever project you give to us, 50 per cent of it will go back to the governor. And whoever is heading the agency will also take 30 per cent and out of that, the governor’s wife is entitled to 10 or 15 per cent. So, how much are they really using to execute the job? It is about 10 per cent because there will be some wastage here and there from people that are going out to execute the job. So, we only have value for 10 per cent. We are trying to turn that situation around. When money is voted, please don’t bring 50 per cent back to me because if you do, I will probably put you in jail because if I take it from you, it means I am also an accomplice and we are both robbing the people of the state. That is why the second bill that was sent to the Oyo State House of Assembly is the Oyo State Financial Crimes Commission Bill. Once it is passed by the Assembly, I will sign it and all of us that you see in government will operate under the same law. It is something that is quite serious.

    If we are able to increase how much we are using to execute the actual roads and public work mandate, you will see appreciable improvement on those internal roads. I have, during the campaign period, gone through Oranyan, Idi-Arere, Molete, Beere and observed that those places are riddled with pot-holes. We can go ahead to resurface all the main roads, because there is a project going on right now at that place. The median from Gate all the way to Molete is being replaced and one would wonder what that is meant for. That contract too was awarded by the past administration. But we are left with the option of either losing some money or allowing them do whatever they want to do but try to derive as much value that is practicable under the situation we have found ourselves.

    You have also said you will improve on health care delivery. What will your government do on the mortality rate of pregnant women and children in the state?

    The statistics being put out there could be real or not, but what is most important for us is to go to our primary health centres and also the state-owned institutions to know what exactly they have there. This is also same with the health family. If I ask for the number of patients being attended to in our hospitals and the number of doctors we have on ground to attend to these patients, you will be surprised that they may not be available. How much do they budget for drugs they get in the hospitals? What we will find out is that the amount that is being released does not tally with the drugs being procured. If you also ask from them how they register patients, you will find out they don’t have. There have not been records and we are starting from the basics. We are looking at how we can capture the data in a reliable manner. No offence to the past administration, but it is our responsibility to do the needful as a government. If there was mistake in the past, we don’t have to continue but make some corrections. There is also a programme which the World Bank is supporting on nutrition and to ensure that pregnant women deliver safely. There are many primary health care centres that have no equipment and working facilities.

    I can remember that when we got to the Radiology Unit of Adeoyo Hospital, Yemetu, we saw all the facilities inside, but we were told that it has never been used since it was installed. Meanwhile, I saw letters from 2010 that everything was working perfectly there, because I went with the contractor that installed the machine in 2010. So, we do have challenges, and that is why we have been encouraging people to say something to us when they see something. This is because if we keep silent about everything, we will continue to go in the same circle.

    I believe that the Commissioner for Health will perform better in this area, considering his antecedents and wealth of experience. He has been in the system for long and he used to be the Permanent Secretary in the same ministry. So, we were deliberate in looking for hands that can assist us to quickly turn things around. And whatever it is that is required of us to release as resources to get things on track will surely be provided for.

    When I got to Adeoyo Hospital, Ring-Road, Oyo State already paid General Electric (GE) close to N1bn or thereabout. But they said they were yet to get the balance of N200m before they could come to fix the radiographic equipment. We have done it. We provided the money. We will walk the talk. We are not saying that we are perfect or once we decree something, it will happen immediately. No, we need to follow through the due process and our feedback mechanism will be such that we are not going to be fooled. I am not going to commission a project that will work while I am commissioning it and when I turn my back, it will stop working. Anyone who tries this in Oyo State in the next four years will be dealt with decisively. Whether big or small corporation, the standard is the same. If Oyo State is providing the resources, we have to get back the value for whatever the state is giving out.

    You approved N500,000 each for indigenes of Oyo State in the Nigerian Law School in the 2019/2020 backlog session; a development that has led to protests from the main batch of Oyo State students in the Law School. Similarly, other students are wondering if the bursary would reach all Oyo State students or just be restricted to Law students.

    Concerning the Law School students who were given bursary award, those who came to me were the backlog session students, and we did our research and got to know that the school fee each student paid was over N200,000. The last time they were given the bursary award was in 2012. So, those who came to me brought their list and I looked at it carefully and we approved an amount we know the state was capable of providing.

    So, let me say sorry to the main batch of Law Students. By next year, we will plan for both the main and supplementary batches. We will lump everybody together and ensure that we are consistent with whatever amount we want to be paying them.

    Moving forward, those students we have not able to reach out to now will be placed under the scholarship board and we will have a proper estimate and budget for them. That was why this government separated the Ministry of Budget and Planning from the Ministry of Finance. I can also assure that there won’t be abandoned projects, because we will properly plan for those projects.

  • Why I can’t settle Makinde, ZLP’s rift, by Ladoja

    A FORMER governor of Oyo State and chieftain of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Sen. Rashidi Ladoja, has said that other leaders of his party restrained him from intervening to resolve the disagreement between Governor Seyi Makinde and the ZLP in the state.

    Ladoja stated this while addressing reporters on the occasion of his 75th birthday in Ibadan, the state capital.

    The former governor chaired the formation of the alliance of political parties that worked for Makinde’s victory in the March 9 election. While Makinde is of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Ladoja is of the ZLP. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) were part of the alliance.

    But ZLP leaders have been at loggerheads with Makinde over the sharing of political appointments since he was sworn in on May 29.

    The party’s governorship candidate, Sharafadeen Alli, had indicated his interest in the position of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), but the governor did not oblige him, The Nation learnt.

    Read Also: Makinde, wife to receive special recognition award

    Instead, Makinde appointed Alli as a member of the Governor’s Advisory Council, the ZLP candidate never turned up for the inauguration or activities of the council.

    Since then, the party has been in a silent tussle with the governor, believing that Makinde had turned his back on its members and abandoned the gentleman agreement of giving 15 per cent of all positions to members of ZLP.

    Ladoja said ZLP as a party, asked him to stay clear of the tussle, adding that it vowed to handle it in its own way.

    The former governor said Makinde had been treating him as an individual political leader, stressing that he respects the governor’s decisions and those of the ZLP.

    Reflecting on his 75 years of living, Ladoja explained that his experience had been enriched with several successes and disappointments in all spheres of life.

    But he expressed satisfaction with the contributions he has made to both the private and public sectors.

  • Makinde, ALGON trade words over council funds

    The Oyo State chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) has faulted Governor Seyi Makinde’s claims that the judgment restraining him and the House of Assembly from sacking the council chairmen and members of the Board of the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) has been vacated.

    Makinde had stated on Southwest Political Circuit, a political interview programme on Ibadan-based Fresh FM at the weekend that the judgment has been vacated.

    He spoke through his Special Adviser on Legislative Matters, Hon. Samuel Adejumobi (aka Agbara po).

    The judgment had restrained the governor and the House of Assembly from sacking the elected chairmen, conducting another election or tampering with the funds of the councils. But the chairmen were sacked two hours after the new governor was sworn in on May 29.

    Reacting to the claim on Sunday in a telephone chat with The Nation, ALGON Chairman, Hon. Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye, challenged Makinde to produce the evidence that the judgment had been vacated.

    He said the appeal filed against the judgment by the state government was still pending at the Court of Appeal, adding that the appellate court was yet to fix the date of hearing because the judges went on holiday.

    The ALGON boss challenged the state government to name the court that vacated the judgment and the date such decision was taken. He urged Makinde to stop deceiving the public over his alleged wrong steps, stressing that integrity should be the hallmark of a governor.

    Read Also: Makinde: my victory triumph of truth over falsehood 

    Makinde also said that his administration was not borrowing to pay staff of local governments and Local Council Development Areas as claimed by the ALGON chairman.

    He said council funds are intact but that the government was paying salaries from it without borrowing.

    Makinde said ALGON came out with the allegation of borrowing because it did not understand how his administration was handling the prompt payment of salaries which he accused the past administration of having inflated by about N1 billion shortly after the March 9 governorship election which it lost.

     

     

     

  • Floods sweep across, Kwara, Oyo, Niger, Edo, FCT

    THE seasonal disaster is here again. From the nation’s capital Abuja to Oyo, and from Kwara to Rivers and Edo states, floodwaters submerged homes and workplaces, and damaged bridges and culverts on Wednesday.

    In Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, a middle-aged man was washed away at Oluyole, in Ibadan South West Local Government Area of the state.

    In many parts of the city, scores of people were trapped when bridges and culverts became impassable due to the surging flood. Some people lost their belongings.

    Other areas that were affected by the flood are Alaro, Zartech, Oluyole Extension, Idi-Ayunre, Olodo, New Garagge, parts of Gbekuba area, Apata, and Omi Adio, in Ido Local Government Area of the state.

    At Alaro, Zartech area of Oluyole Extension, the only bridge that links the people to the city was completely submerged, while many residents were prevented from gaining access to their homes.

    The victim of about six hours rain was said to have been washed away by the flood when he attempted to cross a submerged  bridge in  the Sumal area of Oluyole Industrial Extension.

    People were seen around the area early yesterday still searching for the victim.

    An eyewitness said efforts of rescuers were undermined by the heavy downpour, as sympathisers were prevented from searching for the victim due to the rising level of water.

    The state government has sympathised with the victims of the flood,  promising to do everything possible to mitigate such occurrence in the future.

    The Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Hon. Kehinde Ayoola who spoke with The Nation yesterday on the flood disaster admitted that there were damages to bridges, culverts and roads  on Wednesday, but said he was yet to receive any report of the missing person.

    “The area you just mentioned, the Alaro area, Oluyole Extension area, yes, there were flashes of flood there and it also happened at Joyce B, at Olodo area of Egbeda, and at an area called Jenriyin, Kute community , in Lagelu Local Government Area. So, we have been there to make an on-the-spot assessment, and we have taken note of what is to be done to the hydrological infrastructure there in those places

    “For example, culverts, bridges and water channels, we have taken note of what the government can do. And we have also appealed  to our people that they should stop dropping refuse in waterways , we have also appealed  to them not to wade through water floods and they should always evacuate anywhere when there is heavy rain and flood. The government is on top of the situation.

    In Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, the rains started around 5pm lasting about four hours and claiming the life of one Lateefah Adeyemi.

    Read Also: Fishes worth millions lost in Delta flood

    Lateefah was reportedly going to the Maraba motor park when she slipped into the flooded drainage.

    The rains resulted in heavy flooding in the metropolis affecting mostly Obbo and Mubo all in the town.

    Houses and cars were in the process destroyed, it was gathered.

    Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has commiserated with the family of the deceased, assuring them that a search team has been dispatched to look for her and that the administration would ensure that proper steps are taken to ward off such incident in the future.

    Residents attributed the floods to poor construction of the Asa drainage.

    The governor called on the Federal Government to order contractors handling the channelisation of the Asa River in the state back to site, saying the drainage was poorly done and is too narrow to prevent flooding in the areas and loss of human lives and properties.

    AbdulRazaq said he had written to the Federal Government about the threats the poor job poses to the people of the state, especially residents of Ilorin.

    “This (channelisation) was long awarded. They didn’t execute it properly. We have written them  a letter that they should come and finish it. What they did is too narrow,” AbdulRazaq said during an on-the-spot assessment of the project at Mubo community of Ilorin.

    He also reiterated government’s appeal for people in flood-prone areas to evacuate such vicinities following national forecasts about heavy flooding across the country, including Kwara State.

    The governor’s appeal came on the heel of a statewide sensitisation by the administration on the need for people to leave the flashpoint already identified by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

    Apart from the various sensitisation campaigns that began with a news briefing in August, officials from the ministry and the Government House have since Monday kickstarted a new sensitisation tour of various areas of the state where flooding is expected.

    The nation’s capital had its share of the disaster. A number of places were flooded, the Court of Appeal premises severely affected.

    In Edo State, the disaster was also felt in homes and public places, distrupting movement and business activities.

    In Niger State, there was more havoc. No fewer than 2667 houses and a swathe of farmlands were destroyed across 17 council areas of the state.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • On citizen corruption

    IN the past week, social media was on fire with two cheerless and shameless stories that appear to, perhaps unwittingly, trace the roots of corruption to ordinary citizens. While one of the stories may have been a fiction created to serve a moral purpose, the other is strikingly authentic. Fiction or reality, both stories point to what we have always known, that citizen inordinate demands, whether out of poverty or greed, fuel political corruption, which destroys our national potential for greatness.

    In the first story, Honorable Akin Alabi, a member of the House of Representatives representing Egbeda/Ona Ara Federal Constituency in Oyo State declares as follows: “I bought a transformer for a community that requested for it in my constituency. When the delivery people got there, the “youths” there said they must “settle” boys before they drop it. They called and I told them to take it to another community that asked as well. Their loss.”

    As should be expected, many responders on social media applauded the reaction of the Honorable member. If the youth population who are to benefit more than their elders from the donation of a transformer could be so blatantly unappreciative and downright depraved in their demand, they do not deserve the help. Besides, the donor demonstrated fidelity to principle by refusing to be blackmailed by the youth. He refused to compromise.

    The second story does not appear as genuine; but it is by no means implausible. The writer, Honorable Aiyekooto, a “member of the State House of Assembly”, exemplifies the “join them if you can’t beat them” philosophy of life. He started out acting out his vow “to live within my lawful income and fight for the masses with the last drop of my blood.” He gave as much as he can within his modest means to charity, including his father’s mosque and his mother’s church. He angered his parents who resented being humiliated by his small donation.

    Aiyekooto was suspended for fighting corruption in the House. The masses mocked him, calling him “a useless politician that can’t spray money.” He finally buckled. He joined the race and he instantly became famous again. ‘I regained my “dignity”, he declares with a straight face. “I am a corrupt politician. Don’t blame me for becoming one. I am just another politician with good intention that became a monster due to the masses’ unreasonable impression about politicians.” Even if this second story is fictitious, it is instructive because it reflects reality as we know it.

    We are aware of official corruption by public servants and politicians through the work of EFCC, ICPC, and other agencies. These two stories point to the reality of citizen corruption. Is there a cause and effect relationship between the two? Aiyekooto thinks so: I am just another politician with good intention that became a monster due to the masses’ unreasonable impression about politicians. In other words, citizen unreasonable impression and corrupt demands fuel politician corruption. The two stories, which are by no means outliers, confirm this conclusion.

    So does an old account that just resurfaced as I was finishing this article. John Zibiri agonized over the state of corruption in Nigeria, insisting that it is unconquerable by humans except God is ready to deliver Nigeria: “Everything in Nigeria revolves around corruption. Nobody cares about anybody. No law and order. I looked from my left to right, everybody is only desperate about one thing “money”. They will kill anybody and anything that stand between them and money. Try starting a gate house in your village, everybody wants to profiteer from it. The bricklayer, the carpenter, the mason and even your brother who claim to be supervising on your behalf. They are corrupt, morally bankrupt and selfish. Everybody there thinks about himself and nobody is thinking about Nigeria.”

    In “The Challenge of Citizenship” (The Nation 14/12/2011), I observed that it used not to be so; that citizens had once been the bedrock of our democracy even at its infancy in the early sixties. I asked what went wrong with responsible citizenry. I identified two factors: “First, the period before the first military take-over of the country was the golden era of this country in many respects, the most important of which was the educational system which promised every child a proud future with a decent means of livelihood. Parents only had to worry that their children stayed in school and worked hard. Civil servants and professionals were contented with their salaries and whatever loan amount they received to buy a car. House loan was an additional benefit.

    “Communities were proud of their educated indigenes. Inter-community competition centered on the number of university graduates produced and the quality of the job offers their sons and daughters received. The young ones chose role models from the rank of the educated professionals. And many of the politicians of the First Republic era were the first educated folks from their communities with a heightened sense of the gravity of the burden they carried.

    “That period with its value system is no more. It was violently destroyed by the military, ironically not with the gun but with the destruction of the educational system, and its replacement with the emergency contractor system and a “new breed” politician model with tons of money to lavish. The idea now is that everyone has a price. This has been a most effective strategy in the business of politics since the Second Republic.” Military misrule sowed the wind. As citizens, we are harvesting the whirlwind.

    In that 2011 piece I also referenced a second factor which had to do with the contamination of cultural values. It used to be the case that in many of our communities, a young person that brought shame to the community through greed was treated as a leper. But that was the case when the community held sway over its value system. Local communities are no longer in charge of anything, when even a traditional ruler often finds it challenging to summon erring politicians who may exercise the power to embarrass him. Our republicanism thrives on alien value systems which are unknown to genuine republican political systems. Other republican systems are undergirded by the rule of law. Ours subscribe to the rule of powerful men and women. Young ones quickly learn to also beat the system, or they may have to resign themselves to looking up to those “God” has selected for the crumbs from their table.

    There is a deficit of uplifting values in this country, a disease that afflicts both leaders and followers. There is no use debating which of chicken or egg comes first. The challenge is for both leaders and followers to see declining values as suicidal for both. The country desperately needs a citizenry that takes seriously the responsibility of citizenship to serve as the gadfly perched on the back of selfish and greedy leaders. It is time to confront the misplaced value we place on a corrupt system that threatens our future; come together state by state, local government by local government to redeem the future.

    In “Creating citizens” (The Nation, 4/12/2009), I observed that citizens are neither saints nor Satan; they are neither perfect beings nor irredeemable devils. But they are morally conscious. “Citizens are aware of their responsibilities to fellow-citizens and to the state…. They are conscious of the moral wrongness of breaking the law; evading taxes; aiding and abetting corruption; and violently thwarting the will of the people in elections. A citizen will also put the good of the country above everything else because he or she identifies that good as his or her own good as well.”

    Whatever their vocation, gender, class, status, religion, or cultural nationality, citizens must be active participants in the desirable struggle for the realization of the country’s greatness. Cutting corners and demanding graft from politicians, or politicians giving up on principle and joining inordinate ambition that compromises integrity in pursuit of scandalous wealth will not get us there. We must know that the path we have taken thus far is unsustainable because it leads to a ruinous end for everyone.

     

  • One term at a time

    AMBITION is positive, but overambition may not be. It’s good that Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State wants to be on a fast track, but he shouldn’t forget that speed kills.

    His three-month-plus government plans to launch a 20-year development agenda. Makinde said at a retreat for members of the State Executive Council and his senior aides on September 15: “We have been underachieving for many years; administrations had come and gone. Yes, they did their best, but still, we have to set a high bar for ourselves. Within the shortest possible time, we have to put in place a strategic development plan for the state.”

    The governor added: “Administrations had come and gone, but most of them operated on ad-hoc bases. We will put in place a 15 to 20-year development plan for Oyo State, and we will be bullish about our development plans.” Twenty years is a long time, considering that Makinde just started his first four-year term, and may, at best, get another four-year term, which would be terminal.

    Makinde knows he can’t be governor for 20 years. But he is thinking beyond his tenure, and thinking for his successors. In other words, he is living and governing in the moment, and seeks to influence governance even when his time is past. “Of course, we are aware that our mandate, for now, is for four years. What we want to do now is to put up a plan or vision so that successive administrations will not need to go back to do the work again,” he said.

    “We will do the work,” he added. “Who knows whether the leadership of the next administration is here with us? So we should not take anything for granted.” But Makinde is taking things for granted by his overambitious 20-year agenda.

    It’s good to plan for tomorrow, no doubt. But the governor should do so with a sense of the impermanence of his position. Electoral cycles will come and go. Power will change hands again and again.

    In a similarly overambitious move, on September 12, Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki had inaugurated a 35-man technical working group to draft a 30-year development plan.

    The problem is not long-term development plans. The problem is that implementation of such plans is beyond the control of the planners, and they may actually be dumped by their successors. In the end, isn’t it more realistic to govern one term at a time?

     

  • Gov Makinde to launch 20-year development agenda for Oyo

    Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State says his government is planning to launch a 20-year development agenda to save the state from underwhelming performance.

    Makinde made this known on Sunday in Ibadan while speaking at the closing of a two-day retreat for members of the State Executive Council and his senior aides.

    He said that the launch of the development agenda would set a high bar for his administration’s developmental objectives.

    ”We have been underachieving for many years; administrations had come and gone. Yes, they did their best, but still, we have to set a high bar for ourselves.

    ”Within the shortest possible time, we have to put in place a strategic development plan for the state.

    ”Administrations had come and gone, but most of them operated on ad-hoc bases. We will put in place a 15 to 20-year development plan for Oyo State, and we will be bullish about our development plans.

    ”Of course, we are aware that our mandate, for now, is for four years. What we want to do now is to put up a plan or vision so that successive administrations will not need to go back to do the work again.

    ”We will do the work. Who knows whether the leadership of the next administration is here with us? So we should not take anything for granted,” he said.

    Read Also: I’ll recover all looted funds in Oyo, Makinde vows

    The governor tasked his executive members and top civil servants to work in harmony, adding that collective responsibility must be the watchword.

    While promising that his administration would empower the civil servants to enable them do their job efficiently and effectively, he, however, said that accountability would be demanded from them.

    ” For our permanent secretaries, it still remains ‘soldier goes, soldier comes but the barracks remains’. So your commitment to the success of this administration must be unflinching.

    ”We are making a pact with you that the current administration will empower you and give you necessary and required responsibilities. We will give you the authority to carry them out but we will demand accountability from you.

    ”I know that the pertinent question that is probably agitating your mind right now is: will the system be fair to you? I make bold to say that, under my watch, the system will be fair to you, absolutely.

    “So, my appeal to everybody is: come with me; let us create a prosperous Oyo State together, and God will help us,” Makinde said.

    NAN

  • I’ll recover all looted funds in Oyo, Makinde vows

    Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has wooed banks’ executives  to assist the government in ensuring that  all looted funds in the state were recovered and used for the overall development of the state.

    He also vowed to recovered every bit of looted funds in the state, while such recovered loot should be kept in a special bank account for the use of the state.

    The governor made this revelation while playing host to the management of the Unity Bank Plc at Agodi governor’s office.

    According to him, the account will be made open to everybody to avoid the recovered money being looted again.”

    “We want to recover the money in a very transparent manner and for people to see what the present administration has done with the money recovered.

    ”People should know how money belonging to them is being spent. The state money seized from individuals by EFCC will be returned to the account,” he said.

    Makinde had on assumption of office discovered N1.2 billion being state money seized from a certain government official.

    He had since approached the EFCC to refund same to the state government; to support his administrative drive to reposition the alleged comatose education sector.

    While assuring that the state’s account with the bank would be used to save the looted money recovered from ‘wrong hands and accounts’, the governor charged the bank to also hold the state accountable because the government should not compromise the trust reposed in it by the people.

    He said that his administration was ready to foster a partnership with bankers, processors, agriculture and business experts to develop the state.

    ”Agriculture is one of the pillars that this administration rested on and that is the tool that is intended to be used to expand the economy, Making said.

    He assured the bank management that the government would not discriminate against it because it was not among the first big banks but would give equal opportunity to all partners of the government.

    Read Also: Makinde: ban on NURTW still in force

    Earlier, Mrs. Toyin Somefun, the Managing Director of the bank said that the purpose of the visit was to request for partnership with the new administration under Makinde.

    Somefun said the bank wanted to partner with the state in the area of infrastructure, education, and agriculture where it had significant milestones.

    She said that the bank was number one in Anchored Borrower Scheme, with the Central Bank of Nigeria, “with an exposure of over N60 billion intervention fund with CBN.”

    Somefun said that the bank had financed more than 500 farmers across various commodities such as rice, wheat, cotton, soya, and ginger.

  • Police tighten security around South African firms

    THERE was tight security on Wednesday around business premises linked to South Africans to  stop further attacks by Nigerians who were angered by the killings and attacks on Nigerians and their businesses in South Africa

    Some youths on Tuesday attacked facilities belonging to MTN Nigeria, Shoprite and PEP stores in Lagos, Uyo, Ibadan and other parts of the country.

    There was calm in Lagos on Wednesday after Tuesday’s storm.

    The MTN office located on the Bodija-Agodi Secretariat Road, Ibadan, Oyo State was set ablaze on Tuesday night.

    Residents said the perpetrators attacked the security men on duty around 11pm and threw petrol bombs at the building.

    Another account said two young men stormed the facility on a motorcycle to carry out the attack after beating up the security guards on duty.

    Spokesman of the Police in Oyo State Gbenga Fadeyi, confirmed the attacks, adding that all South African investments in state had been secured.

    When The Nation visited MTN office, officials of the state Anti-crime Task Force and officials of the Oyo State Road Transport Management Agency (OYRTMA) were on standby.

    The management of MTN Nigeria Wednesday confirmed the attacks on its facilities in three major cities of Lagos, Ibadan and Uyo.

    In a statement, the Company Secretary, Uto Ukpanah, explained that sequel to the attacks and the premium it  placed on its human capital and other stakeholders, all service centres and offices will remain shut.

    Ukpanah said: “MTN Nigeria Communications Plc confirms that over the last day, our facilities, customers and some of our stakeholders have been the subject of attacks in retaliation for the ongoing xenophobia situation in South Africa. We have confirmed reports of attacks in Lagos, Ibadan and Uyo.

    “While we remain committed to providing uninterrupted services, the safety and security of our customers, staff and partners is our primary concern. All MTN stores and service centres will therefore be closed as a precaution until further notice. MTN condemns any acts of violence, prejudice and xenophobia and remains absolutely committed to ensuring a peaceful harmonious and respectful relationship with all communities in Nigeria and across Africa.

    “We are engaging all relevant authorities in this regard and we urge them to act swiftly to reduce tensions both in South Africa and Nigeria. We will provide further updates as and when possible.”

    The police moved fast on Wednesday to prevent further attacks by deploying their men to secure the premises of South African firms operating in Nigeria.

    Such companies include MTN, PEP, Shoprite, Dstv, Gotv and Multichoice.

    Security personnel were deployed in MTN offices in Edo, Kaduna, Kano and Ondo states, Shoprite malls in Onitsha, Abuja and Ondo states.

    There was pandemonium in Abuja as hundreds of protesters stormed the Shoprite Mall on the Abuja Airport Road near Lugbe.

    The mainly-youths protesters, who were prevented by police and soldiers from attacking the mall,  burnt used tyres and damaged a billboard.

    Read Also: Police prevent burning of Shoprite complex in Ibadan

    They hurled stones at the security operatives, situation that caused traffic snarl build-up on the highway, forcing motorists to reroute their trips.

    The security operatives, who were attacked, fired teargas and bullets into the air to disperse the protesters.

    An artisan opposite the Shoprite Mall, who was hit by a stray bullet, was rushed to an undisclosed hospital.

    The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, called on Abuja residents, especially students and youths, to refrain from retaliatory attacks.

    He said the Federal Government was already exploiting diplomatic channels to address the issue. He appealed to residents to give peace a chance.

    He warned that attacking South African business interests would have negative economic consequences for the local economy.

    The MTN and Multichoice head offices in Kaduna were locked when our reporter visited yesterday.

    At the MTN head office, in Abakpa, a yellow coloured banner was sighted at the main gate, bearing an inscription: “We Stand Against Xenophobia”.

    Armed policemen on power bikes were strategically positioned at the MTN and Multichoice offices.

    There was tight security around MTN, Shoprite and Multi-Choice (DSTV) offices in Kano. The premises were locked.

    At the Civic Centre offices of MTN in Kano, customers were seen loitering around the building, hoping that they would be attended to. The ever-busy Shoprite, located on Zoo Road, was also shut.

    The story was the same at the Magajin Rumfa Avenue office of DSTV, where few customers were sighted.

    One of the company’s private security personnel who pleaded anonymity, said the staff of the company stopped from coming to work since Tuesday.

    Some youths stormed the Shoprite Shopping Complex in Onitsha. They were, however, blocked from gaining access into the facility by the eagle-eyed security operatives.

    The video of the attacks on Nigerians in South Africa which went viral on the social media had triggered the youths’ anger. They planned to attack Shoprite and other South African-owned business outfits in the commercial city.

    The attention of the Police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and Anambra State Vigilance, (AVS), were drawn to the unusual movement of youths as they quickly cordoned off all the roads linking the mall.

    The authority at the Shopping Complex quickly ordered workers to leave the Mall to forestall any attack.

    When our correspondent visited the area, the ever-busy shopping complex was deserted.

    The MTN office in Awka, the Anambra State capital, offered skeletal services yesterday.

    An officer, who spoke with The Nation on condition of anonymity, said: “We can’t toy with the safety of our staff and customers in view of the recent events in the country.

    “We’re working from home today as we monitor situation.”

    In Lagos, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu vowed to deal with troublemakers exploiting the ongoing xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa to foment trouble in the Centre of Excellence.

    Sanwo-Olu said he would not condone violence in any form on innocent residents and businesses by any person or group.

    The governor urged parents to warn their wards against taking to violence, stressing that the full wrath of the law would be brought on anyone caught attacking law-abiding foreigners and businesses in the state.

    He said: “We have watched the disturbing videos of attacks and vandalism against Nigerian nationals and their businesses in South Africa. These precipitated strong reactions by some Nigerians who chose to vent their anger on investments on South Africans in Lagos yesterday.

    “As a government, we condemn the violence visited on innocent people by the hoodlums who attacked Shoprite and other business interests owned by South Africans in Lagos. We cannot attempt to find a solution to a criminality by committing criminality. This is not part of our values as Nigerians.

    “Therefore, I wish to state categorically that Lagos will remain safe for all Nigerian citizens and law-abiding foreign nationals who are here for business.

    “We will not condone any act that can lead to breakdown of law and order. I implore all residents to go about their lawful businesses without any fear. Lagos will remain open to local and foreign investments.”

    Calling for calm and resfrain, Sanwo-Olu pointed out that the Federal Government had been responding to xenophobic violence in South Africa at the diplomatic level.

    In Ondo, the state government ordered the deployment of security in Shoprite and MTN offices.

    Acting Governor Agboola Ajayi said the deployment was sequel reports that some people planned to attack telecommunication firm in Akure, the state capital.

    Armed policemen were promptly drafted to man the Shoprite gate in Alagbaka area of the state capital.

     

    .

  • Makinde vows to make Oyo attain $1b budget status

    In his determination to take the state to a new height of socio-economic development Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state on Wednesday promised that the state would attain $1 billion budget status under his administration.

    He made the vow while signing into law, the revised 2019 budget of N182.4billion, passed by the state House of Assembly.

    At the event which held at the Executive Council Chambers of the Governor’s Office, Makinde maintained that the present economic status of the state has made it compulsory to review downward what he described as “the over-bloated budget presented by the immediate-past administration” in the state.

    He said the downward review is imperative in the face of unrealistic available funds available to the state to fund the budget.

    He said, “When we came in, we met a budget of N285 billion. We went on the revenue profile and we are receiving N5 billion monthly from the federal allocation. Our internally generated revenue is N2 billion making N7 billion roughly monthly and if I multiply that by 12, that is N84 billion.

    “We need to cut our cloth not according to our size, but available material. We came in when money has been spent to the 5th month of the year. We looked at the profile and if we continue on the path at the end of the year, we could only achieve 25 to 38 per cent budget performance.

    “So, we decided that our target for the years would be at least 70 per cent budget performance. Of course, we are aware that there may be an issue of ego here, that we may want to feel belong. We want the state to get to the $1billion budget club. But, I want to give you the assurance that the day we attain that status of $1billion budget state, under this administration will not be a photo-trick. When we tell the people of Oyo state that we have attained that status, then truly we have attained the status.

    “Before we came in, the Ministry of Finance and Budget was lumped together. We thought if we saw as budget is a product of lumping together those two ministries, then to do a better job. We have to plan better and we separated the ministries. I also want to thank the Speaker and members of the House for acceding to our request to separate the two ministries.

    “Now, we have the ministry of Finance and Ministry of Budget and Planning. What that will do for us is that it will allow us to cut our coat, not according to our size, but according to our materials.”

    Earlier in his address, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr Adebo Ogundoyin who led other lawmakers to the ceremony said the appropriation bill that was signed into law came at a perfect time, adding that it was the usual norm that budgets are always over-bloated, but the case took a new dimension under the current administration in the state.

    “As we all know, most budgets are always over-bloated, but His Excellency, in his own wisdom decided to review the budget according to our available resources. There is no way you can plan for a state without having the actual revenue well accounted for and well appropriated. This is a welcome development.

    Read Also: Makinde to cabinet members: challenge me

    “The budget of N285 billion that was passed by the 8th assembly was an over-bloated budget and there is no way we can really assess our performance in terms of budget assessment and plan for the future. By looking at the previous budgets, you could tell that the state had no defined plan for a long term plan and the administration in charge at the time just did things as they came, but this time around, with God helping us, I am sure we are all going to reach the destination point”,  Speaker Ogundoyin noted.

    It would be recalled that the State Assembly had on Tuesday passed the reviewed 2019 Appropriation bill after it scaled through the third reading.

    The new bill which saw the initial N285billion passed by the Eight Assembly and signed into law by the immediate past governor cut down to N182.4billion saw the 100 per cent subvention restored to all the state-owned institutions.

    With the new appropriation which saw N103billion reduced from the Ex-Governor Ajimobi’s N285billion, the recurrent expenditure was jacked up from N94.2billion to N98.7billon as proposed by the executive as well as the capital expenditure increased from N76.7 to N83.6.