Fashola’s series of policy mis-steps

The Fashola Administration in Lagos State, in its first tenure, against better judgment based on incisive analysis and realistic appraisal; was touted by many as wonderful and the best in Nigeria so much so that the mantras “Fashola is working, Lagos State is working” and “’Eko Oni Baje’ meaning ‘Lagos will not go bad’” became increasingly reinforced. Many dubbed the State governor who is a Lawyer and a Senior Advocate as the “Action Governor,” but now in its second term, and five years down the line, we have been vindicated in our judgment.

Our position has always been that you don’t unnecessarily give unalloyed praise to an elected government for doing a minute part of it was elected to do just as you don’t unduly praise an employee for doing a good job because that is precisely what you hired him to do. You rather praise an employee for going the extra mile; for exceeding expectations by doing much more than he is being paid to do.

Right from the beginning, the Fashola Administration has only put up cosmetics measures; make beliefs, by chasing shadows rather than the substance. Its policies of demolition, planting flowers, clearing Oshodi of traffic and miscreants, and all of the other things that the Administration is praise for actually lacks a human face. On issue after issue, whether on its failure to implement the Teachers Salary Structure (TSS), failure to honour agreements with doctors and other health workers or on demolition policies across the State; the Administration has patently proven that it is anti-people. Its policies are never carefully thought-out before effectuation. Despite the huge revenues of between N18billion and N25billion monthly in Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) accruing to the Administration, aside monthly federal allocations, it has failed to justify their use. The lacklustre performance of the Administration is not commensurate with the vast revenues accruing to the State.

The recent policy missteps of the Fashola Administration, is lending strong credence once again to the belief that the Administration is anti-people. Two of such cruel policies under the critical light of public opinion are so nauseating:

1.       The Lekki/Eti-Osa/Epe Expressway Multiple Toll Gates: The Administration despite massive protests of residents in those areas against the policy mounted two tollgates within 10km radius of two bus stops; one at Lekki Phase One and the other at Chevron Gate. That is preposterous; it just doesn’t make sense. Yet the drainage on that road is all messed up and the only bypass available is not any good either, and that is despite the fact that the Administration rakes in at least N50million or more daily from those tollgates as investigations has revealed. Some of the pompously rich that makes a minute percentage of the inhabitants have even paid two or more years upfront. But the drainage problem on that road, especially during the rains has made that perimeter to become a burden to the residents rather than a benefit. It has become an increasing nightmare for the people, particularly the vast majority of the poor in that axis who don’t have a voice and who live under the shadow of the towering few rich.

We therefore urge the Administration to re-access its stance on this issue and do the right thing to avoid the cataclysm and a possible backlash.

2.       The ban on Motorcycle Transporters otherwise called Okada Riders: The Administration thoughtless and callous war on Okada Riders has now become a war on the good people of Lagos State because no matter how it tries to justify it, depriving people of their livelihoods without workable alternatives will only create a safe haven for criminal activities and social disorders. While we do not necessarily kick against the ban on Okada in strategic routes or even an outright ban on them because of the accidents, crimes and deaths that truly results from their use, the Administration must first of all create a clear pathway to alternative jobs for the affected Okada Riders who have now lost their means of survival in an unfriendly, difficult and brutal nation. The Administration for instance could have provided them with low interest loans to purchase Tricycles, popularly called Marwa or Keke Napeps in these parts as clear alternatives for their transportation businesses. And the Administration ought to add more buses to its Bus Rapid Route (BRT) Transportation Schemes to cushion the effect on the good people of Lagos. The Administration’s blind quest to execute the new traffic law which most transporters do not even understand won’t help the situation at all. In the last few days, in has been a horror for Lagos State residents, especially the working class, and those in the informal sectors of the economy. Those upward working class who have cars at home which they do not usually put on the roads because of the laborious task of driving on Lagos roads, have now had recourse to put them back on the road in order to alleviate the transportation ordeal the government has subjected them to, and this in turn has exacerbated the traffic problems on the few accessible routes on Lagos roads, with long and exhausting traffic throughout the Metropolis this few days.

We therefore call on the Fashola Administration to overhaul this unwholesome policy for the public good.

               Eneruvie Enakoko