We all love to call
ourselves Lagosians. Most times, one has heard the other woman or the other man
say, l am a Lagosian. But who truly is a Lagosian. By my own meaning or
interpretation, a Lagosian is that man or woman, who was born in Lagos, or that
person who does his/her business in Lagos, and lives in the beautiful city of
Lagos. Well, you may not necessarily agree with me, but, this is my
interpretation, and if you truly feel bad about this, go to your own page and
express yourself. Does this last line sound harsh? Yes, it is meant to be so. I
have close to 5000 friends on Facebook, and these coming elections in 2015 will
determine if l will continue to have that large a number of friends, or if the
number will be reduced. The constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria
gives me that right to speak and also voice my opinion on any matter whatsoever
under the sun; hence today l wish to deliberate on the Governorship candidate
of the Peoples Democratic Party for Lagos Sate Jimi Agbaje.
While l will not confuse
myself about knowing the person Jimi Agbaje, more than the next man on the
street have a knowledge about the Governorship aspirant, l want to write about
the reason he should be voted for , rather than the Governorship contestant for
APC Mr Ambode.
First, let me tell you a
little about my own share of Lagos State: Over fifty years ago, l was born at
the prestigious Island Maternity Hospital in Lagos, l did my primary, secondary
and A level classes in Lagos, That means most of my life, l have fraternized
with the South West people, speak Yoruba Language like my parents were Yorubas,
and most of the knowledge of our culture and the respects , or those older than
you l was taught in Abule Nla, Apapa Road in Ebute Matta.
I grew up in a religious
culturally friendly compound, where there is a mosque, a church, and a shrine
for masquerades within the same environment. A little Nigeria if you like, as
we were from every part of the country. One thing unifying all of us however in
that compound was peace and love for one another. A factor that made everyone
your mother, father uncle or your aunty. It was a compound where we all were
rich. There was no godfather, or the richest person amongst the lot.
Today however, one person
holds the jugular of our Lagos in a situation which leaves every one of us
wondering, how did he get there. Remember, during the days of Abacha, and the
equally stubborn group NADECO, one man was a chieftain of that group, and
millions in foreign exchange were made by this group from the supporters and
donors from across the world. So, while the children of the poor, and equally
paid supporters of NADECO were busy been killed on the street of Lagos and
other volatile States in the country, some of this pro-democracy leaders were
busy making DOLLARS, and l mean millions of it.
Little wonder then that
ordinary Nigerians made overnight riches in the guise of fighting General
Abacha. Some of those emergency politicians then have today become chieftains
of some of today’s political parties, yet making millions from our
commonwealth, and all pretending they love Nigeria more than all of us.
Before l forget the reason
for writing this piece, l believe it's time we give Lagos back to Lagosians,
and put our collective wealth as a state in the hands of al, than in the hands
of one.
Governor Fashola is seen
as a good man, but there is very little a man can do when he is under a task
master. Unfortunately, Ambode may be truly over the moon at this time for
picking the Governorship ticket of APC and becoming famous overnight from a
literally an unknown personality to becoming a Governorship Contestant. He is
simply in the garden planting another harvest for the master; but this time,
Lagosians have collectively decided that no longer shall we sit down and allow
the soul of our Lagos under one man. From the lands to the seas and the air,
including the underground resources are been controlled by this Lord of
Bordillon.
There are lots of
unfinished projects scattered across the state, but what do you expect when
almost half of the states resources goes into individual hand. While not
supporting the sitting Governor's lame duck approach to things, couldn't it
have been better if he had cried out, and got punished now by the task master
rather than wait for a future chastisement, which truly cannot be forgiven by
the people. Presently, our sitting Governor is exiting power without any clear
preparation on how he will progress politically in future, yet he had served
the state meritoriously for almost eight years now.
The question now is we
going to allow this Nero continue to plunder our resources unchecked? Does our
state belong to one man rather than all of us? If the answer to the first
question is NO, and the second question answer is ALL OF US, then you and l
have the collective responsibility of rescuing the state with our votes, and at
this time, the man best suited for that position that can give us a semblance
of sanity in Lagos is Jimi Agbaje.
So, don't be fooled by
anyone telling you that LAGOS belongs to any section of the Nigerian race or
tribe, we are all Lagosians, and the progress or lack of it falls on our laps.
Jimi Agbaje gives us a better option of not being allowed to be governed by an
administrator, so vote wisely and let’s make Lagos truly great under JIMI
AGBAJE. Merry Christmas everyone.
…. By Ralph Nwadike
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