I Insist Dapo Abiodun Is the Worst Governor In the History Of Ogun State
Steve Oliyide
For the umpteenth time, I repeat, the opinions I have expressed in the last few days are mine, and mine alone. The futile attempts to masquerade my views as that of my Principal is unjust and laced with mischief, except I have to take a new lesson to suggest that I am not entitled to an independent assessment of what is and should not be in accountability in public service. As an adult, with a family and adult children I think my opinions should be so respected and appreciated as entirely mine. I am a Nigerian, an indigene of Ogun State, I am a stakeholder in the Project Ogun and I can distinguish between a good government and a bad one.
The last I checked, I know that Otunba Gbenga Daniel is and remains in APC and I quite sympathize with him because I know that his ideals of good governance is not being appropriated by the administration he is constrained to support. I know he has been under extreme pressure by the National leadership of the APC and some friends and associates; and he could not have given instructions otherwise to the wishes of such party leadership who do not know the pains being suffered by the people under the administration they foist on them in Ogun State. I could as well in the circumstance just work out of my Consultancy job for him out of respect for the collateral damage he could suffer from my extreme views and opinions on the Prince Dapo led administration.
In the last two days, I have raised several posers and questions that are begging for answers, yet the Governor and his handlers have failed to provide answers to them for the benefit of the people of Ogun State. I have questioned the obnoxious awards of contracts which are being shrouded in secrecy; I queried why workers entitlements, salary and cooperative deductions, pensions etc are being denied them while the Governor opened up a Bazaar of procurement of amphibious politicians and endorsements of all sorts at the last minutes to election right in front of the same workers as if to spite them.
I insisted on behalf of the people of Ogun State, my extended family members inclusive, that the Government should explain the line items in the budget for the people’s knowledge so that they can know how their money is being spent, they deserve and have the right to know; I pointed in the direction of the cost of the Airport Project and the need for transparency in the awards of contracts, who is doing what and at what cost?
They ignored or pretended to be. Instead, just yesterday again, the Governor went on another circus show, taking some Undertakers to the same airport which was believed to have been awarded and called them “Foreign Investors”. In the pictures, I could see Group MD of a bank etc. The question is, is the airport being sold at the twilight of Dapo Abiodun’s administration? Two days to the election, the Governor claims to be taking “foreign investors” to a supposedly ongoing project. This beats my logic. I thought planes have landed at the airport already as completed? Don’t the people of Ogun State deserve to know what the Undertakers are buying or selling at the airport? Everything is just summarized as “foreign investors” and ‘guyman’ shows of map readers.
My quest is about good and transparent leadership, not one that looks like every citizen is up for sale. Buy their votes at election time, shut them out for the next three and half years and when it is election time, you come out to the political markets with money for another purchase of their franchise. We need to sanitize our politics and political administration, and bring transparency into government. That is what good governance is all about.
Cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore, I live)
Steve Oliyide Is an Aide to Otunba Gbenga Daniel, OGD.
