Governance Is About Impacting The People: The Case Of Citizen Idehen —Mac Durugbo

Democracy, as the old saying goes, is government of the people, by the people and for the people. In other words, government and governance begin with the people and end with the people. In the days of the Ancient Greek and Roman democracies, it was possible for the governments to reach all segments of the society. In fact, it was possible for individuals, rich and poor, old and young, to reach and speak with the kings and rulers of their time and make their requests or petitions before them.

Today, however, this is no longer so largely because of the complexity of government and governance. But democracy, in spite of this complexity, has not detracted from its true meaning of being people-focused and people-oriented. The only difference, perhaps, is in the methodology of governance; for while people in the Ancient Greek and Roman democracies could meet the kings and emperors face to face at the Parliament, the people cannot easily meet their leaders face to face. They, however, continue to do so through their elected representatives. When a leader, therefore, goes beyond the confines of formal structures of even the representative governance to meet the people directly and respond to their needs, he could only have been driven by the passion to serve the people.

In the last four and a half years, the incumbent Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has demonstrated such passion, especially for the youth and the aged, in more ways than can be recalled in this piece. Space will not permit to mention specifics to show that aside the monumental transformation work he has engineered in this State within that period, the Governor has spared time for individuals who ordinarily would not have had any opportunity of such contact.

But the case of Citizen Anthony S.O. Idehen, an Octogenarian who has his property in Ikeja is certainly an ample demonstration of this passion. Mr. Idehen who resides at Regina Coker Estate in Ikeja, told his own story in a letter of gratitude dated December 27, 2011, which he wrote to Governor Fashola from Plymouth where he had gone for medical treatment. He narrated how he had for 25 years been petitioning the Lagos State Government under various administrations against a wall built by a neighbour which blocked the drainage system in the neighbourhood and resulted in perennial flooding of his house. Mr. Idehen who said he moved into his house with his family on March 26, 1972, had hardly settled down with his family to enjoy his property when Mr. Brown came along to build his own house right on the road near Mr. Idehen’s house which, according to him, is located on a corner piece. When he petitioned the Town Planning Authority based in Ilupeju then, construction of the building was halted by the Authority. But, as Mr. Idehen would learn later, it was temporary. He travelled to London shortly after and by the time he returned, the house was structurally completed. In his words, “to rob salt on the wound, he (Mr. Brown) erected the ‘Berlin Wall’ that over the years had caused severe economic and structural damage in excess of millions of naira to my house and property”.

I will spare you all the gory details here. Suffice to say that when on his return, Mr. Idehen again petitioned the Ministry of Environment complaining of the wall, the Ministry’s task force came and marked the wall for demolition, but that was the end of the action. Much later when he sought to know why no further action was taken, he was told “their hands were tied” because the man in question was a friend to some top government officials.

The Octogenarian bore this cross until the coming of the present Governor. He had to petition again after the Sunday, July 10, 2011 flood disaster in the state. And in response, the Governor sent a Government team from the Office of Transformation, led by Mrs. Ogunbanke, to visit him. Though he was a bit doubtful of the sincerity of the team to do something this time, he trusted in the integrity of Governor Fashola. In his words, “As you have established as the Hallmark of your administration, ‘Never a deaf ear to the cries of your flock’, the Shepherd that you are, on July 22, 2011, you sent your task force led by Mrs. Ogunbanke”. He was further assured by the leader of the taskforce that the Governor would do something about his problem this time when Mrs. Ogunbanke told him, “Daddy, my predecessors worked under Commissioners but we work directly under and responsible to the Governor”.

And exactly one month later, precisely on August 22, 2011, the first hint of the solution to his problem came. His call to Mrs. Ogunbanke to lambast her for not being different from her predecessors turned out to be a harbinger of the good news. Before he could fire his salvo, Mrs. Ogunbanke informed him that the Governor had approved an amount for him to cushion the devastation he suffered as a result of the flood disaster. That amount turned out to be a cheque of N2,000,000 delivered to him on September 13, 2011 by the Ogunbanke team. He was obviously overwhelmed. His words, “It was like a dream. How come that in my old age the Lord in His Almightiness should decide to shower His mercies on me in answer to cries of over 25 years? Your Excellency, did construct and complete my wife’s Tomb Stone as I promised in my letter to you dated September 14, 2011. She and all the Heavenly Angels and Saints shall continue to watch over you and your family in JESUS NAME, Amen”.

Well, Pa Idehen may have been overwhelmed by that gesture, but unknown to him, the best was yet to come. On Sunday, October 23, 2011, barely a month after the first good news, a letter from the Governor was again delivered to him assuring him that something was being done about his predicament the ‘Berlin Wall’. And that came to pass sometime in November of 2011. The Berlin Wall finally came crashing down courtesy of the Special Task Force led by Mrs. Ogunbanke.

Perhaps, the only regret, Citizen Idehen had was that he was denied the satisfaction of watching the final fall of the “Berlin Wall” because on November 2, 2011, he flew out to Plymouth for his medical treatment for Prostrate Cancer. The news was broken to him via telephone. He described the scene this way: “I got a phone call from my neighbour holidaying in London congratulating me. I knew I hadn’t played any lottery so I asked him ‘What for?’. Jubilantly, he retorted, ‘Daddy, I am informed that the horrible wall in Itohan has been demolished.’ I said ‘Are you sure?’ He said, ‘Daddy, this is no joke. It is true’. We both shared the good news with joy in our hearts and gratitude to God. He never forsakes His children who trust in him.”

The case of Professor Ben Nwabueze and Dr. Tunji Braithwaite also comes to mind readily because it is still somewhat very fresh. These two elder statesmen led a peaceful protest meant to terminate at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Square at Ojota to protest the deployment of soldiers in Lagos by the Federal Government. They were tear-gassed by Policemen deployed in the area. Less than three hours later, Governor Fashola was in their respective homes to sympathise with them and ensure that they were in good health.

The case of Citizen Idehen is one of hundreds of such cases involving men, women and children in which Governor Babatunde Fashola, in the last four and a half years, has demystified governance by giving it a personal touch and hue. This is an administration which has demonstrated true democracy as the government of the people, by the people and for the people.

•Durugbo is Personal Assistant (Print Media) to the Governor of Lagos State