18th March, 2011
TheNEWS management is compelled by its sense of public duty to set the records straight in the matter regarding Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State and his ill-thought and confused reaction to the magazineâ€
In one breath, in advertisements funded by the state treasury, Sina Kawonise, Danielâ€
Remarkably, nowhere did the lengthy response debunk some of the salient issues raised by the magazine, such as the degradation of many roads a few months after commissioning. These include the Abeokuta-Sagamu Road feverishly touted by Daniel as a masterpiece. The governor can surely not strut before residents of the vast areas under Ifo Local Government, from Ojodu Abiodun, Akute, Lambe, Matogbun, Oke Aro, Ope Ilu and Ijoko to Ifo, whose terribly deplorable roads he left unattended. He also cannot stand before the people of Ado Odo – Otta Local Government and lay any claim of good governance. The same bad leadership stories ring across the entire state. Nor did the response address Danielâ€
TheNEWSâ€
And Daniel will leave office in two months time!
In any case, what verdict does the Governor of Ogun State want us to pass on his administration when former President Olusegun Obasanjo, a member of Danielâ€
Does the governor ever do self-examination like Socrates urged us to do? If he ever does and he is not deluded, we are sure he would not expect a flattering assessment of his government. His was a government from which so much was expected. But he has ended up a breathtaking failure, despite his education and global exposure. His tenure has been marked by the noxious politics and squandering of state resources on ill-conceived projects and vanities like billboards, with his smiling face – perhaps mocking the people – at strategic places in the state and at project sites, most of which were abandoned after billions of naira were spent on them!
His poisonous politics saw him acting like an emperor, often disrespecting the custodians of our tradition and organs of the state. Such lâ€
Danielâ€
True, the magazine had written several stories about the Daniel administration in the past. As a news medium, we owe the public a duty to offer an assessment of any administration. But each time, the governorâ€
Is Obasanjo also working with Tinubu? Did the crowd that booed him at the rally go to the stadium from Tinubuâ€
TheNEWS management denies vehemently that its stories are done in collaboration with anyone outside our editorial room. Its management may not have vulgar luxury mansions in Abuja or Sagamu like the Ogun state Governor has, but the magazine has some luxury of independence, which it guards jealously. It was founded on this creed of independence 18 years ago and has sustained it. Thus, we can only be bemused by the unfounded claims that our stories are being teleguided externally. The governor apparently does that with his Nigerian Compass. We concede that right to him.
TheNEWS magazine is not the sole property of any individual. The record of its owners is available at the Corporate Affairs Commission in Abuja. Trials and Triumphs: The Story of TheNEWS, written by Wale Adebanwi also provides such information. We assume the governor and Kawonise can read and understand things.
But then, it is not only organisations within Nigeria that have low opinion of Gov. Danielâ€
On the World Bankâ€
Finally, we think it was presumptuous of the governor to rush to defend his failed regime. Itâ€