Article published in The Nation Newspaper

01/08/2007

Governor Fashola and Lagos State should go further and remember Funso Williams with more than a statue and an old road which are good but do not ‘add value’ to Lagos State. Some of this N10b, perhaps N250m, could be used to erect a ’crazy’ tourist attractive building, a Funsho Williams Aquarium, Career Choice, Technology and Science Inspiration Centre. Alternatively several Centres, one in each senatorial district, one of which will be named for Funso Williams  could be built for our neglected and deprived youth who lack creative experiences and do not even know what they are missing. Governor Fashola travels and knows what is missing in Lagos. He must also know that he who leads his people in honouring others also honours himself in future.

Thank you President YarAdua for releasing Lagos’ LGAs N10b. Your gain is Obasanjo’s loss. The general shot himself in the foot. Why? This is the time to remind Lagos State LGAs that these arrears are not to be urinated into Lagos gutters at ‘Eko for show’ social parties. They should do more for the neglected youth and ‘Build for the Youth’ and start N1m – N5m ‘Youth Inspiration Centres’ in every ward and LGA in rented premises if necessary. Such local youth centres could contain the beginning of a library, 2-5 computers and internet, meeting place and facilities for 20-50 youth, exhibition space with 10 display boards, TV + satellite, radio and  audio-visual equipment and a public address system.

Please write and tell the new Youth Minister that Nigerian Youth urgently need a Federal National Youth Centre Scheme and Nigeria can afford one. Such Youth centres would be powerhouses of youth development against youth ignorance. They would be permanent places where the A-Z of youth empowerment subjects like HIV/AIDS, breast examination, career choice etc will be discussed and the NYSC could help supervise and NAFDAC, FRSC etc. could be involved in local, grassroots education, by sending their posters, videos, circulars etc. Lagos State should not miss this opportunity to lead Nigeria into a period of enlightened LGA management and youth development. If established, and no matter how small, such centres will take on lives of their own with annual funding by grants from government and contribution of local corporate bodies and individuals.    

Our ex-maximum President OBJ’s sitting on Lagos’ N10billion was monumental abuse of presidential powers and perhaps ‘negligence or ignorance of duty and malicious discrimination’ or ‘deliberate misapplication of funds’ or ‘executive recklessness/lawlessness’ or ‘disobedience of court orders’. Professionals can easily calculate the loss of life, health, business and deprivation of human rights and happiness caused to all in Lagos. How many children died or were maimed from lack of medication? How worse were the roads causing death, delay, destruction of limbs and property? This blood is on Obasanjo’s hands?

OBJ chickened out of addressing the main irrefutably just Lagos State grievance- the fundamental and inexplicable distortion in the LGA numbers between Kano and Lagos States which has discriminated against every other |Nigerian-more blood. The origin of the LGA distortion problem was a previous abuse of maximum military presidential power. The malicious creation of three times more LGAs in Kano gave undeserved and indefensible fiscal and political advantage to Kano State politicians, not people, who then ‘legally’ siphoned off extra funds out of proportion to the population. Shame. Government arrogance at its most ‘maliciously excellent’ from ‘military excellencies’. We await the correction of this financial and political distortion. Are President YarAdua and this largely questionably elected national assembly up to this task of achieving a just apolitical and equitable distribution of LGAs? We demand restitution of the excess Kano LGA funds to the federal coffers just as the ministers were ‘legally illegally’ overpaid.

Nigerians know the dismal developmental performance of LGAs and their permanent reputation for low performance and as fraudulent pipelines. No wonder so little is done even today by LGAs except to meet monthly on allocation day, pay the LGA salaries and divide the rest of the money among the traditional rulers, political parties and bigwigs in the LGA. Shame. No wonder the Niger Delta is on fire. But what do Niger Delta LGAs and government do with Niger Delta funds? The LGA system has failed and should defend itself against being scrapped, a suggested for the NYSC, but there are too many feeding too fat on free money for that to happen. Can it be fixed? The EFCC should be sfunded enough to investigate and fix LGAs.

Why must billons disappear before EFCC investigation? Plea bargaining saves legal time and money but in Nigeria it still seems to leave the thieves too rich. Abacha’s children, Balogun and Alams and Co will all smile to their secret banks. These people are murderers. Let N1m=1year in jail and N10m= life imprisonment. That will stop this epidemic of corruption. The money is our lost libraries, education, environment, water, roads, electricity, jobs, security causing suffering and loss of lives of Nigerians from a dangerous, bad hopeless life. One thief’s billion naira plenty is Nigeria’s needless poverty. All government thieves have real red blood, on their hands. Governance is not a joke. It is a yoke on the people. The real lesson is that serious EFCC scrutiny should immediately be focused on our new governors, commissioners, ministers and IG so that the stealing and consequent murder does not start at all or is minimised further.