Fashola: Riding On The Wings Of Electoral Goodwill

As the campaign train of Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) continues its journey around the State to rally support for his second term bid, it is increasingly becoming obvious that the governor is coasting home to an overwhelming victory purely on the wings of electoral goodwill built on integrity and solid achievements. But for the fact that there is need to continue to refresh the peoples’ minds that the governor is very much in the race so as not to give the opposition an undue advantage, it would not have made any difference if the governor decided not to undertake any campaign exercise.

Anyone who has attended any of the mega-rallies of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in the state, beginning from the flag-off of the governorship campaigns at the Tafawa Balewa Square, through Shomolu, Alimosho and Badagry to Agege and beyond, will agree that the intimidating crowd that are always in attendance exude genuine joy and enthusiasm. Their readiness to stay at rally venues for hours waiting for the governor’s arrival is simply touching. They sing, they dance and display the kind of eagerness that can only emanate from a people who are appreciative of some valuable things given to them. And each time the governor arrives, the kind of excitement among the crowd is quite electrifying. One needs only to be there to feel it because it is really an individual thing.

But perhaps more touching is the goodwill being demonstrated by the ethnic nationalities that reside in the state. The Igbo, Hausa, Efik, Nupe, Ibibio, Ijaw, Ebira and others that have made Lagos their home, especially in the last four years, have through their own individual rallies and other voluntary programmes, demonstrated their unalloyed support to the governor’s re-election bid. In the last three weeks, the Igbo and Hausa ethnic groups under the Ndigbo and Arewa ethnic associations, have organised rallies in the state to show appreciation to the governor for his people-friendly policies which have given them enabling opportunities to carry out their business and to prosper.

They have, at these rallies, demonstrated their genuine love for the governor through songs, dances and souvenirs bearing solidarity slogans in their ethnic languages. The Hausa, under the auspices of the Arewa Consultative Association, Lagos Chapter, for example, held a rally for the governor at the Centre for Management Development (CMD), Shangisha, recently. As the governor arrived the venue, he was overwhelmingly welcomed by the crowd with the slogan “Arewa kudeso? Fashola mukeiso”, which literally translated means, Arewa, who would you like to follow? Fashola is the one we will follow. There was a traditional bandstand which continually rendered Hausa tunes in praise of the governor while the ladies danced to the delight of everyone.

Leader of the Arewa Community in Lagos, Alhaji Mala Abdullahi Dandama, in his welcome address, thanked the governor on behalf of the entire Arewa Community in Lagos for what he described as exceptional policies to protect the community. “In the last 20 years,” he said, “we have been doing business here in peace. But there were people who were exploiting us. You are the only governor who has stood up for us and said no to exploitation. My governor, all Arewa have agreed to vote for you. You have worked so well with Arewa Community that we have no choice but to vote for you”.

It was an obviously excited Governor Fashola who tried to match their enthusiasm by attempting to speak to them in Hausa. Of course, he mustered the few sentences meant to acknowledge their appreciation of his administration in the last four years and to thank them for keeping the peace and living in harmony with other ethnic groups in the State. “Arewa kudeso?” the governor shouted into the microphone and “Fashola mukeiso”, came the thunderous response from the crowd followed by a long-drawn applause in appreciation of that attempt. “Naa gode”, the governor continued, followed by another deafening applause. He enjoined them to continue to keep the peace, adding that since friction is inevitable in any mixed society, they should always report to their leaders who are constantly in touch with the government for quick resolution. A vote for the Action Congress of Nigeria in the next elections, the governor said, means the continuation of good governance in Lagos and Nigeria.

Earlier, the Igbo Community had hosted the governor to a similar rally in Victoria Island where they also expressed appreciation for the liberal policies of the governor which has created an enabling environment for their businesses to thrive. He was honoured at that occasion with the title of “Nwanne di na mba Ndigbo”, meaning Brother of the Igbo in the Diaspora. Some of the branded T-shirts worn by members of the Igbo Community at the venue had inscriptions like, “Fashola, Egwu Eji na Lagos” meaning Fashola, our foundation in Lagos, “Fashola, anyi kwu gi n’azu”, meaning Fashola, we are behind you, “Fashola, onye eji eje mba”, meaning Fashola, the dependable, “Fashola gaa n’iru”, meaning, Fashola, go ahead, we are behind you and “Fashola, onye nke anyi”, meaning Fashola our own person. Of course the occasion was spiced with traditional dances, including the famous Abriba War Dance.

Not quite long after that, another Igbo Group, Sisters Forum, a non-government society held a rally at the Sam Shonibare Recreation Centre in Surulere where they also endorsed the candidature of Governor Fashola for a second term. Speaking on behalf of the group, made up of young women of Igbo extraction, their leader, Mrs Anokwuru Chinyere, said the group, which in 2007 endorsed the candidacy of the governor as the candidate with the best credentials, was endorsing him again for 2011 “for performing excellently well in fulfilling his electoral promises”. And coming on the heels of that endorsement was the 500,000-man march by transport unions in the state who marched from Tafawa Balewa Square in Central Lagos to Lagos House, Alausa, to declared their support for the governor’s second term bid.

Aside from these collective shows of appreciation, there are individual demonstrations of goodwill from persons and corporate entities who, on their own, print souvenirs and branded T-shirts and caps and distribute to people free of charge just to promote the campaign. Some individuals have formed themselves into clubs and bought vehicles and produced branded T-shirts and souvenirs as well as promotional banners with which they accompany the governor’s campaign train and share to the crowd at their own expense. At the Agege mega-rally recently, for example, there were assorted branded T-shirts and caps and other souvenirs bearing courtesy of different individuals and corporate organisations. There was the one, courtesy Nupe Unity Group. It simply says “Nupe for Fashola”. There was another one courtesy of another Hausa community which says, “Cigaba ikka bi zata baci ba” meaning, “go on or continue with what you are doing, it will not spoil”. There was also one courtesy of Comrade Kayode Opeifa which says “Lagos is working, Fashola is working, vote ACN for good governance” and there was one courtesy of SABACO with the inscription, “Good Thinking, good product”, and many more like that. It is also significant to note that no less than three quarters of commercial vehicles and motorcycles and even private cars plying Lagos roads have one form or the other of the campaign posters of the governor.

This is how it has been since the beginning of the campaigns and there is no sign that it is going to stop until the end of the exercise. With this outpouring of goodwill, it is obvious where the pendulum is going to swing in the coming elections. But that is not the only sign. The results of the various gallop polls which some independent researchers have carried out in recent times also seem to point in the same direction. Perhaps, the opposition parties here have already seen the hand writing on the wall. There is no other way to explain the near lack of campaigns by other political parties in the state. In fact, aside from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which is struggling to find its feet, there is virtually no other party in Lagos at the moment.

Even the PDP is shy in its approach. With the overwhelming evidence of good governance staring him in the face, its governorship candidate, Dr. Shamsudeen Ade Dosunmu, is not finding it easy convincing Lagosians that there is need for any change in the governance of this state. Even his campaign slogan “It is all about the people”, tends to echo the performance of his arch-rival. His case is, perhaps, worsened by the fact that the other parties are all agreed on the fact that the ruling PDP, to which he belongs, is the cause of the nation’s woes. At the last Governorship Debate organised by the Lagos Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists at the Lagos Television studio, Ikeja, the PDP was the whipping boy as the other parties’ candidates: the National Conscience Party, the All Nigeria Peoples Party and the All Progressives Grand Alliance, took turns to knock the party on the head for the failure of governance in the country.

And as if that was not enough, just last Saturday, three very prominent leaders of the PDP including former Defence Minister, Ademola Seriki, former House of Representatives member, Lanre Razaq and even former Publicity Secretary of the party, Dr. Wale Ahmed, decamped to the Action Congress of Nigeria with all their followers. That was a major electoral boost for the ACN.

While it may be true that in any election, victory could never be ascertained until the votes are counted, the case of Lagos may well be predicted correctly even before the elections. This is because from all indications, the Action Congress of Nigeria seems to have no opposition in the state. The people of Lagos have spoken already through their demonstration of genuine appreciation of the good governance and exceptional performance which the incumbent governor has given them in the last four years. What is left now is to translate this goodwill into votes. I believe Lagosians have been adequately sensitised to do just that.

•Mac Durugbo, Personal Assistant (Print Media) to the Governor of Lagos State, writes.