8th June, 2011
It is too early in the day for any of our elected officials to forget promises they made to the people. For this reason, we imagine that Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State still remembers that he promised the people of the state a considerable improvement in their lives. This improvement is expected to come in the shape of creation of job opportunities, better roads, better access to health and education and availability of food among other indices of development.
It is for this reason that we are alarmed that one of the governor’s first pronouncements in office was a declaration of intent to build a new governor’s lodge. The governor made this known on 4 June while responding to criticisms of his government’s decision to demolish some structures in a certain location in Abeokuta. Amosun said he was shopping for a site for a new governor’s lodge.
A new residence for the governor is not a bad thing to do and will never be–if there is a need for it and there are less pressing demands on resources. But the Ogun State that we know is an entity that was spectacularly mismanaged by Amosun’s predecessor. Roads are poor, education and health are shambolic, unemployment is high and agriculture is in a squalid state. These deserve urgent attention.
No governor is going to be feted when he declares that one of the achievements of his administration is the building of a new lodge for the governor. The current one can be refurbished–at a sensible cost–so that money meant for a new one can be used in areas that need urgent attention.
The previous government said the state was broke and made a failed bid for a N100 billion bond. It also left a debt of N49 billion, largely incurred from wrong-headed investments, poor prioritisation and general lack of prudence.
With an already expressed desire to build a new governor’s lodge, the new administration appears ready to use the manual of maladministration for which its predecessor earned notoriety. A new official residence is not what the people need now. The existing one is not a manger.
What the people need are good and efficient social amenities, jobs and food. All these were what Amosun promised, not a five-star accommodation for a man who governs desperately poor people.
