GOV. FASHOLA CAN NOT PLEASE GOD AND DEVIL

Farouk Martins Aresa

Governor Fashola is probably the best governor we have in Nigeria today. He actually works his butt off by providing essential services neglected by most of his predecessors. A lawyer born and bred with generations of family ties in Lagos finds a dilemma in the continued use of his God-given, acquired management skill in a state whose aspiration he can easily identify with; in conflict with the loyalty he pledged to his godfather whose only goal is to milk the State.

Fashola was recently invited to give an account of how he became the Governor of Lagos State to African students at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He spoke passionately about his godfather Tinubu that convinced him to join the government since he made up his mind never to, after a NYSC experience. His lack of ambition to become a governor made him an ideal Tinubu candidate, to use for one term.

Our empathy with Fashola could be selfish because we want him to continue to serve Lagos State. The fire and dedication within him when he spoke to the students at Harvard University is backed up by the work he accomplished. He was humble, simple with self-deprecating humor. It was his reputation and political capital that got him invited to Harvard, not the amount of money he looted to buy an honorary degree.

In order to lump everyone together, even looters call clean people crooks so that the polity can be easily confused by who is a real or bigger thief. Fashola cannot say that though; at Harvard they know corruption is endemic in Nigeria. Painfully but surely, he has to disengage from Tinubu that will blackmail him no matter what he does and become more daring and transparent than he has ever been. Lagosians are not naïve and may be willing to forgive the lesser crooks in order to expose the bigger crooks.

Whatever deal they have with each other, Fashola has to understand that the reputation of his family in Lagos is worthier than gold. Nevertheless, Tinubu woke up a man dedicated to duty, more concerned about delivering dividends of democracy to his state than blind loyalty to a godfather. It became a dilemma to walk the invisible line of a skillful manager and politics. It is impossible to separate the two. You have to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.

The arrangement of separation of power between Fashola as the skilful manager and Tinubu as the politician is a farce. Political goodwill is built on selling sound management to the masses. That is what Fashola earned and what the people of Lagos State base their trust on. Indeed, if Fashola was not seen as a good politician, there would be no political capital to rely on. That goodwill capital must not be spent by anyone else but Fashola. Tinubu’s only role is magomago politics on the side of chop and quench.

Sure, if Tinubu had never backed him as a candidate, he would not have won. If he did not win, he would not be in a position to render the services Lagosians now enjoy. More than anyone else, Fashola struggles with whatever deal he made with Tinubu. That is why he did not want to run for second term and he is obliged to comply with most of Tinubu’s demands through the series of peace meeting between them

Let us be fair, it is a difficult position for anyone to be but at the end of the day, Lagos State comes first. The elders that are trying to patch matters up between them must realize that Fashola is a lawyer and it will be difficult for him to claim that he was only following Tinubu’s orders. Both of them will be probed at some point and Tinubu will save his neck first and will not care how Fashola ends up.

As soon as elders of the State let Tinubu know the consequences of his recklessness on the State’s coffer and the implication for the seating Governor, he lets go his area boys within whom he feels accepted, the pressure group tactics, to call for the head of Fashola. These cynics went as far as claiming that Fashola displaced the poor so that the rich can drive their cars freely.

The incessant calls for probe by Tinubu’s messengers is hypocritical as they know very well who the devil is. It is not the first time Tinubu manipulated those he could not control out of the way. We know what happened to Akerele-Bucknor, Pedro, Obanikoro, Atiku and a host of others that have generations of family ties to the State. Nobody gets elected in Lagos without the ascent of this cunning son of Iragbiji in Osun State.

In spite of the warnings by economist and other politicians during the reign of Tinubu that he was stealing Lagos State blind, none of these area boys and politicians initiated or call for a probe by the Lagos House because they were sprayed with naira or gripped by the fear of losing their seats. Their problem, Fashola that can’t be cloned, outshines Tinubu.

We cannot wave off some of their allegation against Fashola because the buck stops with him and will bear the consequences no matter what percentage Tinubu’s company collects at the other end. The facts remain that they do not have the interest of Lagos State in mind but that of their senders. That is why they become the accusers and judges exonerating their senders before an independent body look into their allegations.

Tinubu has nothing to lose. He has thrown his mother under the bus and his village under the train for now until he could elect the Governor of Osun State or makes presidency. He has become the banker at the National level to clinch the Vice-President by hook or crook on his way to becoming President. These are the type of materials Nigeria encourages as politicians and Fashola will be sacrificed on Tinubu’s way up.

It should not be surprising that Tinubu is still walking free as a former governor because like Ibori, they have accumulated and still accumulating money to buy their way out of jail. Unfortunately, they are not the only ones. There lies the strength of unscrupulous politicians that rule us and still trying to come back and rule us again. They live above their means and dare call for proof that they stole!

Your post is arrant nonsense

Fashola is as corrupt as Tinubu. He has skeletons in his cupboard evidenced by the various revelations published in recent times. Aside from the True Face of Lagos, Fashola is involved in various land scams, the Lekki road scams, the Tejuosho market scams etc. Dont forget he was Tinubu's chief of staff and errand boy. A lion cannot give birth to a lizard. Fashola is an off spring of Tinubu tutored in the act of thievery and corruption

Fashola's acclaimed performance is highly questionable and a product of media hype. We all live in Lagos and slums have not dissapeared. The schools are still dilapidated, quality of education still very low, the roads in many areas are still unmotorable. When it rains, flood takes over Lagos, traffic jam is the order of the day. There is massive corruption at alausa. The local govts are cesspool of corruption. There is no accountability of the huge tax revenue. Tinubu is still the de facto governor and still raping Lagos under the watch of fashola

How in the world can you say Fashola is a good governor. In fact, he is pleasing the devil!

All Nigeria politicians are the same, Funny how Fashola was hyped as the next Savior of Nigeria. . . Nigerians talk and act before they reason, and it's very pathetic . . .

Gbegapro,

Don't be surprised that I agree with you. Nigeria is probably one of the last place we get an ideal candidate. My candidate was Jimmy Agbaje and most voters knew he was a better candidate. Until you can come up with a way Nigeria and even USA can elect the best candidate, pray that Fashola stop worshiping the devil Tinubu and turn to God of the masses. Did you think Reagan was a better candidate than Mondale in the US then?

gbengapro:

Your post is arrant nonsense

Fashola is as corrupt as Tinubu. He has skeletons in his cupboard evidenced by the various revelations published in recent times. Aside from the True Face of Lagos, Fashola is involved in various land scams, the Lekki road scams, the Tejuosho market scams etc. Dont forget he was Tinubu's chief of staff and errand boy. A lion cannot give birth to a lizard. Fashola is an off spring of Tinubu tutored in the act of thievery and corruption

Fashola's acclaimed performance is highly questionable and a product of media hype. We all live in Lagos and slums have not dissapeared. The schools are still dilapidated, quality of education still very low, the roads in many areas are still unmotorable. When it rains, flood takes over Lagos, traffic jam is the order of the day. There is massive corruption at alausa. The local govts are cesspool of corruption. There is no accountability of the huge tax revenue. Tinubu is still the de facto governor and still despoiling Lagos under the watch of fashola

How in the world can you say Fashola is a good governor. In fact, he is pleasing the devil!

kosovo:

All Nigeria politicians are the same, Funny how Fashola was hyped as the next Savior of Nigeria. . . Nigerians talk and act before they reason, and it's very pathetic . . .

If you truly posted the above, how in the world can you then state that IBB is the way to go for the same Nigeria?