Recently, the government at the federal level and many states of the federation marked 100 days in office. A tradition that is largely supposed to give a clear blueprint they intend to fully implement in the course of the next (almost) four years in office. While the average Nigerian can be said to be upbeat about definite strides at the federal level especially in areas such as power generation, in the oil sector, and the fight against corruption, the same cannot be said of developments in Lagos State under the leadership of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. Under him, instead of Eko oni baje, it is obvious Lagos is speedily retrogressing.
Even though many may argue it is still early days yet, and it may appear to be too early judge, by now Lagosians ought to have begun to feel the impact of a new administration. A Wolof proverb says, “A dish which is going to be tasty will smell good when it boils.” Usually, one can forecast the shape of things to come judging by the present. To submit that the Ambode-led government’s performance has been lacklustre after his first few weeks of assuming office would be no gainsaying. In the past couple of months, the governor seems to have been overwhelmed by the huge task of running a complex state like Lagos. Nowadays, Lagos feels like it is running on autopilot. For one who was peddled as a seasoned civil servant with cognate experience in administration and a consummate mastery of the inner workings of the state, having been a part of the work force for almost three decades before taking a bow, one would expect that Ambode would hit the ground running and not appear to be testing the waters like a neophyte.
The governor was elected mainly because he rode on the performance of the immediate past governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, who was the poster boy of the All Progressives Congress up until recently when he was enmeshed in controversies involving alleged financial impropriety while he was governor. So far, there has been no clear direction or landmark achievement one can attribute to the Ambode government.
Yes, the governor has projected himself as an empathetic man with a large heart judging by his response to some individual’s plight — the case of Ruth Uche, the mother of three sets of twins who was abandoned by her husband, readily comes to mind, as well as the New Year baby with a heart disease whom the governor assisted with the required surgery in India as soon as he assumed office. It must be said unequivocally that these gestures are laudable, but Ambode needs to do more by formulating and implementing policies that will positively impact the lives of almost 20 million Lagosians and not just one or two people.
By this time in the last administration, Fashola had constructed a pedestrian bridge, purchased a 100 BRT buses to ease transport in the metropolis, completed the second phase of the Adetokunbo Ademola Road in Victoria Island, and commenced the dredging and rechannelling of drainage to ease water transport among other achievements, a sharp contrast to the donation of security vehicles and signing of Certificates of Occupancy that is the present administration’s legacy after 100 days.
Also, in a recent study tagged CIAPS Governors Performance Index conducted by the Lagos-based Centre for International Advanced and Professional Studies to assess the performance of governors in Nigeria after 100 days based on variables such as readiness for office, innovation in office, ability to be in tune with the mood of the nation and security and leadership by example, Ambode came ninth with a 50 per cent pass mark compared to his colleagues in Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto and Rivers states who were ranked first, second and third respectively, thus lending credence to the observation that he has performed barely averagely since taking over the mantle of leadership. Coming ninth out of 36 can be argued as not being poor until one remembers that Ambode runs a state that is the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria and would have been the fifth largest economy in Africa if it were a country.
Anyone resident in Lagos and is a regular commuter on the roads would have observed the apparent return of lawlessness across the state. The ubiquitous motorcycle riders are fully back on many highways where they had been banned, and operatives of the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency seem to be suddenly clueless about how to effectively control traffic on the roads. Thugs are back and more brazen than ever before in Oshodi and some other suburbs of the metropolis where they engage in acts of criminality, terrorise the people, damage vehicles and rob hapless motorists on a daily basis. Many roads are in a deplorable state, with potholes that have metamorphosed into craters on many roads. It seems hardly a day goes by without reports of one fallen container or the other, yet, the restriction on the movement of trailers and other articulated vehicles is only being partially obeyed as if to dare the government of the day! In a nutshell, Lagos seems to be going back to the pre-Fashola days of lawlessness and impunity.
Those who doubted Ambode’s capability to govern a state like Lagos are beginning to have their fears confirmed. Indeed, many believed he didn’t just cut the picture of the kind of leader that Lagos needed. The fact that he was practically foisted on the members of the APC by a godfather didn’t help matters also, as he was shielded from going through the proper scrutiny and competition that any intending candidate is expected to pass through. But for the general perception that he was the lesser of “two evils” when compared with his closest rival, Jimi Agbaje, at the polls, and a section of Lagos residents felt safer to pitch their tent with the “tried and trusted” Tinubu camp than the “little known and possibly out-for-revenge” Bode George camp, there might have been a different government at the helm of affairs in Lagos today.
Nevertheless, this is a wake-up call for the Ambode administration. The people of Lagos need to feel the presence of the government around them. As the days go by, more needs to be done in virtually all sectors of the economy. The governor must begin to fulfil his numerous campaign promises by providing adequate security, employment and basic infrastructure for the teeming population in Lagos.
Besides, Ambode always knew that Fashola’s shoes would be very difficult to fill. However, he must begin to make his own mark as soon as possible and not just replicate what is being done at the federal level without considering its suitability for Lagos State. The goodwill that the APC has enjoyed in Lagos for the past 16 years should not be frittered away especially now that the people are fully aware that the power to vote out a non-performing government lies solely in their hands. 2019 is not too far away! The Lagos State governor needs to prove the naysayers wrong and the time to start is now!
Ms. Ajekigbe wrote in via l_ajeks@yahoo.com
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