The debacle that has become the democratic experience in Western Nigeria started in Oyo state during the last administration of Governor Rashid Ladoja. The late garrison commander of Ibadan, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu and the former governor could not reach an amicable power sharing formula, the result of the conflict is still felt even now.

Then there was and still is the perennial Ekiti state political conflict, smoldering under former Governor Adeniyi Adebayo but came to the fore under Governor Ayodele Fayose, Ekiti is a sad commentary on south west politics and that of Nigeria in general. The state with the most education per capita has displayed an amateurish approach to politics. This is what the Nigerian tribune wrote on Wednesday July 9, 2008 about the Ekiti state house of Assembly. “The Ekiti State House of Assembly on Tuesday witnessed another round of violence as the mace of the House was broken when 18 members of the House passed a vote of no confidence in the Speaker, Honourable Femi Bamisile. Bamisile overruled the move to have him impeached and the session became rowdy with the pro-and anti-impeachment lawmakers battling themselves to take possession of the mace, which got broken in the midst of the violence that ensued.”

The situation in Ogun state is not any different, the following statements were credited to the Ogun state governor. “Our lawmakers are ignorant, otherwise they wouldn’t have behaved in such a manner. They are blindfolded and need prayers to come back to their senses,” Governor Daniel said”

In Ogun state today, both the executive and the legislature are accusing each other of serious allegations that requires the attention of the police authorities, Daniel claims to be poisoned and the lawmakers claims Daniel is after their lives. In Ogun, governance has been reduced to the lowest ebb.

Still in the southwest, you have Osun and Ondo states. Relatively peaceful compared to the other three, when you scratch the surface, you have the intractable electoral fights between Dr. Rahman Mimiko and Dr. Agagu on one hand and Engineer Rauf Aregbesola, Governor Oyinlola on the other. Do not be fooled, this relative peace in the two aforementioned states has claimed some innocent lives; this brings me to a question? Are there no more magnanimous winners and losers in our society?

Some will be quick to point out that this is perhaps a Western Nigerian problem. I say to those folks, all you have to do is take a look around your immediate environment in Nigeria , East, South South, North Central, North West , North East etc. In Western Nigeria , the problems may be more pronounced but this is symptomatic of a larger Nigerian problem.

The title of this piece may have been "Fear and loathing in Western Nigeria" but it could easily be changed to read "Fear and loathing in Nigeria" . Again, Western Nigeria is a microcosm of what is going on in different parts of Nigeria . Yes, it is true that some sections of Nigeria are relatively drama free,  not because their governments are performing any wonders or they are using the people's resources judiciously. Far from it, those governments have only mastered the art of containment. Between the executive and the legislative arm of government, state resources are being shared with reckless abandon and everyone is happy. In those societies, a visitor could barely see any improvement in infrastructure to justify the millions of dollars they have received from the federation account (regardless of any internally generated revenue, most of these states are dependent solely on the federation account).

The situation in Nigeria today could not have been more dire, justice and fairness has flown out of the window. Without justice, a society will find itself adrift, Nigeria as a whole is teetering on the brink, its time for new leadership, a new form of thinking for the most populous black nation on earth. The future of the black race depends on it.

abdulajia@yahoo.com

Robot  # 1 | 10.07.2008 21:43

The debacle that has become the democratic experience in Western Nigeria ...Read the full article.

olusola  # 2 | 10.07.2008 23:43

The truth be told, Bola Tinubu, the Chicago crook, is the brain behind the problems in Osun and Ekiti states. This guy stole so much from Lagos state without any serious performance. He is now using his loot to sponsor cronies like Aregbesola and Fayemi to cause confusion in Osun and Ekiti respectively. Knowing the people of Ondo State, it would be very difficult for him to succeed in such venture there. His stooge, Bola Ilori could not make any meaningful impact in the last election. And I know, a man like Mimiko will never succumb to the dictates of Tinubu. Rather than follow Tinubu and his errand boys, they will just chop his cash and turn their back on him. The guy really needs to be called to order so that peace may reign in the affected states.