16 Mar 2009 |
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A State Hijacked By Despots By Cornelius Ewuoso Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Will somebody please ask me a question? Will somebody please inquire from me the state of affairs in Oyo State? Will somebody please pose this question to me; what good has Governor Adebayo Alao Akala done in Oyo State? How would he justify the billions he receives annually from the federal government? This is how I would answer these questions, first, he has renovated the Mapo Hall with a huge sum of N120 million. Secondly, he is constructing a Teaching Hospital in Ogbomosho with some other billions of naira. Thirdly, he has spent close to N 5 billion out of the N 9 billion earmarked, to clear the garbage heaps in Ibadan and environs. Again, he is reconstructing Oke-Bola/Oke-Ado road with millions of naira. He has bought fifty brand new Hiace Buses for the State use. He has spent some millions to resuscitate the dilapidated educational system, and finally, he has sworn to rule Oyo State with the fear of God. Then I will add immediately; N 120 million!! Is that not double of what the ex-Governor Ladoja had in mind to contract the same project out? Billions to construct a Teaching Hospital in Ogbomosho!! Hello learned men, are we talking about the same Teaching Hospital which collapsed sometime ago and equally claimed about five lives? Millions again to reconstruct Oke-Bola/Oke Ado road!! Gentlemen, are we talking about the abandoned road project which has paralysed human, economic and social activities in that area? Fifty brand new buses!! Excuse me, please; are we talking about the buses parked in some Oyo State PDP chieftains’ houses? The same buses which some of these PDP bigwigs now use for their own private errands? Spent millions of naira to resuscitate which educational system? Close to N 5 billion to clear garbage heaps!! But the streets of Ibadan are filled with these heaps. The stench smell emanating from these heaps has made living increasingly unbearable. The heaps are found in market places, hospitals, schools, offices, everywhere. Life in these places has become nasty, brutish and short. A tour round Ibadan would convince you. The tale of Oyo State is a story of a failed government and of one who will rule, not out of the fear of God, but a disdain for everything God represents. Nothing, practically nothing has changed in Oyo State, since the last administration left office. Son of the legendary singer Fela Kuti, Seun Kuti, gives us a glimpse in these words, "Na the government of the people no put clean water for the people. Na the government of the people no take good care of the people. Na Government of the people, no provide electricity for the people; government of the people no send the people" The situation in Oyo State, is dehumanizing. But in all of these, those to be lauded are the inhabitants themselves. Their characteristic resilience, doggedness, strength, tenacity and courage to remain strong in the face of these untold hardships, sufferings and uncertainties must be praised. They are ones who bear the burden of a failed and despotic government. They are the ones who get to live with the hapless situation; neither the despotic political elites nor their children, who get to travel abroad to receive good healthcare services and education which their own parents deny others. The situation in Oyo State is that of an overwhelming negligence. It is one which cries out for justice; shall we fail to be responsive? The educational system in Oyo State, like several other parts of the country, has crumbled. The teachers are under-paid. The students are being made to study under hazardous conditions. The classrooms are in a sorry estate. The laboratories are ill-equipped, yet the government claimed to have spent millions of naira on this system. Where is the effect of the money? Certainly, the money was not spent in Oyo State. The healthcare system is equally not any better. There are no good State owned healthcare centres. Professional healthcare workers are in short supply. People constantly die from preventable diseases and sickness. There are no adequate measures whatsoever, to make sure that breeding grounds for diseases are dutifully taken care of. Every where is in a mess. The ones I pity most are the children. They are the ones who will never know what it means to live a healthy life. Many of them are looking malnourished and emaciated. Now they have their future threatened because of the failure of the government to provide the basic necessities of life. You can equally imagine what life would be in an environment where the healthcare system has completely collapsed, yet be surrounded by mounting heaps of refuse dumps. What you find in such an environment is a recipe for disaster and outbreaks. Of course, you would say, if the healthcare system were to be functional, the mounting heaps would not have been there in the first place. This is not to even mention that the heaps are located in very strategic points such as market places and residential areas. The risks which they pose to the fragile health of the inhabitants are enormous; and living in these areas has become a nightmare. So where is the effect of the more than N 5 billion that the government claimed has been spent on clearing these heaps? Will somebody please show me? Coupled with the gale of failures in the State is a certain attitude of the people of Oyo State which must be addressed urgently. The people themselves, it must equally be said, are dirty. They add to the mess. They throw wastes and urinate anywhere they see. There is absolutely no sense of cleanliness observable. What you find is a complete social decadence. In Oyo State, there is what Hobbes called the ‘state of nature’. The state of nature is a situation where men’s and women’s behaviours are unconstrained by a coercive agency enforcing law and order. In such a State, there is disorderliness, lawlessness, chaos and anarchy. These are the realities which confronts us in this state. To state it in very clear and comprehensible terms, the words of Sonala Olumhense would suffice, ‘the law of force has become the force of law’ in Oyo State (Nigeria Surrounded, The Guardian Newspaper of Sunday, November 23, 2008) . Who are those to enforce the law? The morally lapsed members of the Nigerian Police Force who would do anything to exploit the helpless masses or the self-centred and greedy fellows we call leaders? In Oyo State, what you we have a group of hoodlums who parade themselves as leaders. These men have stolen, looted and embezzled practically everything. There is nothing to justify all the money the government of Alao Akala claimed to have spent. His government must be challenged to show to the world the good he has done for the people of Oyo State. On the other side, the situation in Oyo State has equally offered us the opportunity to reflect more deeply on the nature of the human person and his inability to work for the common. Why is so difficult for Africans in particular, to desire the good of their own brothers and sisters? Why is it so difficult for our leaders to prefer the common good to their own private interests? Why do they always have to allow their greedy nature to have a better hold on them? Oyo State is just one instance of the enormous cases of injustice, thievery, and embezzlement happening on the continent. The situation is the same in many States in Nigeria and beyond. This is not in anyway to suggest that there is no corruption in Western countries, because there is. But to make clear that ours have gone beyond control. Most Nigerians and indeed Africans, now see political positions as an opportunity not to serve the community but, to grab for oneself. So they are willing and ready to do anything to get there; anything including killing the opponent. But we have a task leaned men to make sure that this situation is reversed. We must never get tired of speaking and writing. The task is arduous, but the end is desirable. Shall we then fail to be responsive?
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