7th August, 2012
By Joe Igbokwe
“What could have made Lagos to go and buy land in Osun State for the purpose of Agriculture?” — Mr. Olatunji Shelle.
The new Chairman of Lagos PDP, Mr. Olatunji Shelle, is not a happy man. He has never been a happy man and he will never be a happy man in the nearest future unless he quits PDP Lagos for good. I say this because I have been at several Television interviews with him as Lagos ACN spokesperson and I always notice his anger and frustration as a result of the crushing defeats PDP has suffered in the hands of Lagos ACN or AD since 1999. The anger, disappointment, and frustration he has suffered over the years as a member PDP is too much to be imagined unless you sit close to him. Deep inside me I have always felt this man may have a heart attack one day if he does not take it easy and control his emotions and predicament. Wherever he goes, wherever he speaks, Shelle carries this fit of anger with him and it can be very destructive.
On Sunday, August 5th, 2012, I read Shelle again on page 61 of the SUNDAY SUN where he was at his elements again, taking his angry disposition to a disturbing level. Shelle has become the Chief Complainant of Nigeria (CCN). Today Shelle talks about how his PDP was rigged out in Lagos. Tomorrow he talks about how Lagos money is packed and shipped to Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti, Osun and Edo states. In the next moment Shelle will be hitting his head against the wall because he cannot understand: “what could have made Lagos State to go and buy land in Osun State for the purpose of agriculture?”
While the first and second Shelle’s idle talks can be ignored because it is a basket case, that lacks substance and meaning, the third idle talk needs to be addressed in order to tutor Shelle on the global economics, politics, engagements and initiatives in the 21st century. Lagos has a landmass of 3,577 square kilometres and more than 20 million inhabitants with about 195 square kilometre per one million Lagosians. Lagos houses nearly 80% of the nation’s industrial base. Because of this Lagos has attracted more Nigerians to the city than what all the 35 States together can offer Nigeria. All roads lead to Lagos for any fresh graduate in Nigeria. This has put pressure on land for housing projects in Lagos that there is not much of it left for agriculture except to look elsewhere. This is the way it should be, and this is the way to go in order to grapple with the demands of the times.
Globally, countries are known to have moved beyond their borders to make investments because the world is now a global village and no one lives in isolation. The tiny Kuwait invests in oil refineries all over the world to support their domestic economy. China with a population of 1,246,872 and landmass of 9,596,961 square kilometrer is buying lands in almost every country in the world including Africa, and Lagos here in Nigeria for business.
South Africa owns DSTV, Telkom Mutilinks, MTN, Shoprite, The Palms shopping centre, Entech (Engineering firm), Standard Bank swallowed IBTC Bank, Multichoice, etc. in Nigeria, some have interest in oil and gas and other solid businesses. South Africa has invested billions of dollars here in Nigeria. Time and space will not permit me to capture US investments all over the world today. The understanding of politics and use of political power led President Thomas Jefferson of the United States to purchase from Napoleon of France 2,600,000 sq km for $15 million dollars in 1803. UK has investments worth trillion pounds in Africa. Nigeria has investments in Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Togo and other countries all over the world. I can go on and on to educate Shelle on the current trends in the global economy.
Shelle’s frustration is moving him backwards and this has dwarfed his sense of reasoning. He no longer thinks rationally, he no longer reads, he no longer gets things right. The defeat his party (PDP) has suffered in Lagos and the loss of almost the entire South West to ACN has dealt a deadly blow to Shelle’s psyche and that of his followers. Next time Shelle has the need to grant interview he should get his acts together to avoid ridiculing himself and his useless party. The world in the 21st Century has no room for political imbeciles and nitwits like Shelle and his gang of Alibaba and the forty thieves in PDP.
•Igbokwe is a Publicity Secretary of ACN, Lagos chapter.