Of NASS Extravagance And Gov Abiodun’s Misplaced Priorities, By Tunde Abatan
It did not just start today.
It has always been their practice to live at people’s expense and if possible, ride rough shod on them as they justify their penchant for living fake live that is not a direct reflection of the true state of things and by extension the people they represent.
Right from 1999 when the nation returned to civil rule, elected public officer holders have often live large on the people, riding cars they can’t use their hard -earned money to buy and living in plush residences that is at variance with the living condition of those who elected them to represent their interest and improve their living condition.
Their first law on getting to office is to transform their life style at a point not commensurate with what obtains in the society they live.
Though they profess the need to do oversight functions in the people’s interest, that interest ends the moment they assume office after each election cycle.
Today, the story that 360 members of the House of Representatives have all or about to take delivery of exotic Sports Utility Vehicles, SUVs worth N160 million naira each is neither surprising but rather a repetition of what has been with their predecessors and confirmation of fake life style.
The fifty-seven billion naira-N57bn, the members of both House of Representatives and Senate are spending on buying exotic cars is far more than what their predecessors collected in 2019.
That is the style of governance in Nigeria.
Each dispensation and election cycle comes with its frivolities and inadequacies.
While the members of the previous Assembly are content with N50million each, to buy SUVs, todays legislators have upped their ante by N80m each.
In the same breadth, two weeks before they took delivery, they ironically shut down moves in the Green Chamber to make government pay fees for students’ enrolment for WAEC and JAMB.
That is Nigeria for you.
For our representatives, it is the first before crumbs for the masses.
In spite of this injustice, Senator Sunday Karimi, APC, Kogi wondered why Nigerians are complaining when all what they have asked for is just one SUV while Ministers who are not elected ride on three SUVs including cars in their entourage.
He forgot to tell us if legislation is all about packing aides into the chamber, riding exotic cars or travelling every day to perform oversight functions. Reason they opted for Land Cruiser SUVs.
Though, Senator Karimi complained of bad roads in their constituencies all over the country to justify buying exotic jeeps and save them maintenance costs, he never told Nigerians, what punitive measures or actions the NASS have taken on the executive which failed to construct or maintain roads which they approved budget for.
He also never told Nigerians why roads are not vehicle worthy but governments collect billions every year from the masses who pay for roadworthiness certificate for their cars and commercial vehicles.
Many questions no answer.
Abiodun and misplaced priorities in Ogun:
While legislators in the National Assembly have continued to take care of their interests without considering the people whose votes put them in power, state governors have also been executing projects meant to massage their ego and the few elites who dictate policy direction in their states.
One wonders why Honourable Ibrahim Isiaka, the member representing Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency for the second tenure running has not complained of the state of roads in his constituency.
It is an eye- opener that the longest and most strategic internal road in Ogun, the 32-kilometre Ijoko-Agbado, Akute roads have remained in the same condition twelve years after bulldozers pulled down people’s home.
Although, yours truly cannot claim to have heard of any time Hon Isiaka and the house of Assembly and Senators representing this area have complained about the abject neglect, one wonders if he will also bring his state-of-the-art Land cruiser to visit ‘his people’ who elected him.
Same goes for Senator Shuaibu Salisu, the Senator representing Ogun central senatorial district whose purview the several roads in the Ifo local government- easily one of the biggest local governments in the country falls.
The elected members need to tell the neglected people running into millions what pressure they have mounted on the state led by Prince Dapo Abiodun to complete the abandoned road project that could transform the social and economic wellbeing of the state now regarded as the fourth state with highest internally generated revenue after Lagos, Rivers and the Federal capital territory.
The legislators perhaps need to take a cue from Senator Solomon Olamilekan aka Yayi, who successfully drafted the Senate President, Senator Godwin Akpabio, to drive on the dilapidated Lagos-Abeokuta Road for three hours to feel what the thousands of commuters feel in the past one decade of the roads bad state.
That Lagos-Abeokuta Road could get Federal government’s commitment to hand over to Ogun state is obviously not due to Governor Abiodun’s wizardry, but common sense of Yayi who ‘forced’ the Senate entourage to go through the pains of commuting on one of the busiest roads in Nigeria.
Though, it could be for political gains, yet the benefits to the people matters.
The members of the House of Representatives and Senators from Ogun state also have to summon courage to tell the bitter truth to Governor Abiodun to reconsider his priority in view of his executing a visibly unviable Cargo airport buried inside Ilisan- Ikenne forest.
Is it not more reasonable to spend same resources on opening up the border communities now lying prostrate as a result of the abandonment by Governor Abiodun who promised heaven and earth last August to complete at least a section of the road before the rains set in.
It is obvious the House of Assembly members in Ogun state lacks the liver to challenge the governor on his misplaced priorities in view of what happened to Honourable Wale Adedayo, former chairman of Ijebu East local government.
Adedayo had in August looked straight into Abiodun’s face and revealed to the public the diversion of local government funds.
The rest is history.
It is understandable why the assembly men will not contemplate repetition of another ‘dobale’ ritual performed by the local government chairmen who left Adedayo in the cold.
With this year’s budget of N472.85 billion out of which N192 billion is expected from IGR, one wonders why the Ogun state government considers a local airport and a federal road it’s priority when various roads and other infrastructures that could generate more revenue lies prostrate in all parts of the state.
It is an irony that from Ogun west to Ogun East and Ogun Central which contributed more votes for Abiodun’s first and second terms, many uncompleted infrastructural roads and other projects abound all over the state.
The state of the only functioning government hospital in Ifo local government, General Hospital Ifo, serving millions of residents along the axis is nothing to write home about talk less of the few glorified nursery sheds and secondary schools in the axis with population brimming to it seems.
As the state finance commissioner, team confirmed during a briefing last December, the state is still collecting an average of N500 million naira from Lagos state from border communities, being tax by residents of the border communities working in Lagos.
Why should a sizeable portion of this not be used to develop this area monthly, beats my imagination.
Governor Abiodun last week boasted that proceeds from the Ilisan Cargo airport after concessioning in December would be used to develop other parts of the state, he should tell us how much development Ibadan and other moribund airports have brought to their locations talk less of a Cargo airport tucked inside Ogun state.
If Ogun state, in spite of raking in IGR in the neighbourhood of N8billion monthly could be so underdeveloped, then what fate lies other less endowed states in the country.
With increased Federal allocation account to the states since ending of June which has reached N1.5 trillion and triple the previous allocations before May with withdrawal of subsidy on petroleum products, one would expect more developments in the states of the country than obtained now.
This however, is dependent on what are the priorities of the state governors most of who are in their second term.
Governor Abiodun’s obsession and clamour for taken over of the Abeokuta-Lagos Road from the Federal government is akin to somebody carrying an elephant on his head and using his leg to search for cricket.
He has more jobs in his hand fixing several infrastructural projects abandoned all over the state than making the Federal government abandon its responsibilities in fixing the strategic road.
The next three and half years should be spent to execute viable projects to positively impact lives of Ogun residents who are not likely to benefit from the exotic and drain pipe projects that abound its landscape.
The Gateway state deserves better and can do better with the quality of men it has produced in the past.
Time to reflect is now for a state with big potentials but governed by minds with wrong focus.
