When I look at this person, I think very seriously of something I once read about the Chinese system of Leadership emergence.
For them, you cannot preside over 1m people without having gone through a stringent and regimented training that identifies you almost from birth and trains and distills the very essence of leadership through every pore in your skin such that by the time you get to the very sensitive positions where your actions and inactions would affect millions, you would have already achieved a very high sense of duty and patriotism.
Same cannot be said of democracy with it’s delusion of egalitarianism. In this case, every watch seller or bread seller with enough resources, a gift of the garb or a strong sponsor can emerge and begin to irritate people with vain and opaque approach to governance.
I have watched very closely the brewing brouhaha between the Executive and legislature in this our Lagos state with concern.
The cold war exploded into public cognisance with the historic rejection of 17 nominees for Commisonership by the Obasa led State House of Assembly over some very spurious reasons.
So far, religion, lack of political base, friendship to Governor have all been mentioned as some of the reasons for this lack lustre attempt at embarrassing a brilliant Governor.
For me, it goes deeper than just this. It goes to the very core of a system that only identifies it’s super stars through other means than merits, strident qualifications and capacity but relies on strong arm tactics, ability to control the mob and undying loyalty to the market king as major criteria for relevance.
Otherwise why would we have a globally acclaimed technocrat in the guise of Prof Abayomi rejected by a House based on his alleged inability to ‘deliver’ his base or to even join the party.
One would have thought that there was an inherent division of labour and that the members who represent these areas would have delivered on their promises to their party so that serious people would get along with the task of working towards entrenching a befitting second term legacy for Mr Governor.
My pain is that Lagos is too economically important to be allowed to be thrown into this kind of self inflicted confusion . As I watch Mr Obasa throw in the subtle threat of ‘those who live in glass houses… I shake my head in disgust.
This is the Speaker of the most important State in Africa. This is the personality that is constitutionally obligated to provide oversight on the executives of the 5th largest economy in Africa and all we could manage to say on an issue that goes straight to the Government’s ability to meet it’s obligations to the people is to – throw stones?
I do not have to be in Mr Governor’s cabinet to understand what he plans to do with that cabinet. From it’s composition you would see the focus of his second term and he rightly went for capable hands not minding if they could deliver their bedrooms or hamlets.
Lagos is in dire straits. A lot is being done by Mr. Governor esp in the areas of infrastructure, health, agric, transport amongst others but a lot can still be done and I am very sure that in rebuilding his cabinet, he had this in mind and not the shallow prisms of religion, tribe or political sagacity.
My prayer is for Mr Obasa and his house to rise above the pettiness that is the struggle for relevance and attempt to forge a partnership that would work assiduously to deliver the goods for the over 20m people who claim this state home.
Let’s grow up and leave the threats at home.
Thanks
*Duke of Shomolu*
