A NATION AT WAR WITH ITSELF

 Josef Omorotionmwan argues the need for continuity in government

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) remains ever relevant. He stands on the credit side of life: “When you come to a place, you look for the condition you want; and if it is not there, you create it”. This is the path that leads to development.

The debit side of life is where most Nigerian officials are to be found. The principle that resonates with them walks Shaw on his head – When you come into government, you look for what your predecessor has done; and if you find it, you destroy it. This is the path that leads to doom and it simply explains why development continues to elude us. 

In virtually all parts of the country, wanton destruction of lives and property has become a way of life and an easy way of announcing your arrival. It happens everywhere but for lack of space, we shall pick our examples from only a few states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

In Kano State, the ink on the new governor’s inauguration papers had hardly dried before the bulldozers went to work, pulling down building and everything built by the out-gone governor. The new man did not hide the fact that he was simply making a bold statement because he was going to rebuild some of the structures he had just pulled down. What a double tragedy! All at the expense of the tax-payer!

By the time we shall be reading this piece in the newspapers, the Trademore Estate on Airport Road, Abuja, must have been reduced to rubbles. Bulldozers have since been stationed there, to pull down those fantastic buildings! Reason: the authorities claim they are on the waterway and may cause flooding.

For a similar reason, the authorities in Lagos State have just destroyed about 30 buildings in Alaba community at the Ojo Road axis.

The case of Edo State is rather pathetic. Staring us on the face here, is the tale of two governors – Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole and his successor, Godwin Enogheghase Obaseki.

In due season, Obaseki will be ready to explain why he was out to destroy everything that Oshiomhole stood for; and has thus thrown the state into this stark darkness.

The Ambrose Alli University (AAU), is now a shadow of its past. The College of Education, Ekiadolor, which was intended for upgrade to a university and the College of Education, Igueben, are today in a comatose state. The Colleges of Agriculture at Iguoriakhi and We-Kpa-Wano are virtually dead. The state Library on Sapele Road, Benin City, has been turned into a shopping mall. The state School of Nursing and the School of Health Technology are not spared either. That’s how much anti-education a governor can be!

Who is still asking of the Red Roof Revolution? This was the first casualty in the hands of Obaseki. This was an Oshiomhole initiative under which education was being taken to all nooks and crannies of the state with the provision of a conducive learning environment. It was the envy of the other states in the country.

Before the arrival of Comrade Oshiomhole, the residents of Benin City, and, indeed, all those who passed through Benin, had nightmares at the approach of the rainy season because of the horrendous flooding that came with the rains. When Oshiomhole arrived, he quickly embarked on the Benin City Water Storm project, which was a canalization scheme involving the construction of a canal around the city. The entire city was properly drained and every drop of water was channeled to the canal for onward evacuation to Ogbah and Ikpoba Rivers.

That project was intended to put an end to the issue of flooding in the city. Besides, on each side of the canal, there were to be dual carriage-ways to divert traffic from the already over-crowded city centre. This was one project at the heart of Edo people.

Oshiomhole had sunk enormous resources on the project but he could not complete it before his tenure ended. Of course, Obaseki would have nothing to do with it. Today, that abandoned project stares us in the face and, at best, Benin City holds the world record of having two moats to its credit, no thanks to Obaseki!

Now that the rains are back, it must take the heart of stone for Obaseki to sleep while the floods wreak havoc on Benin City residents.

Every issue has an expiry date. Obaseki still has more than one full year to return from his close to Eight years leave of absence, or abandonment of his duty post and balance the books before “308” expires on him!

Back to the wanton demolitions: We have accepted elsewhere that there comes a time when authorities have to pull down a structure, particularly in the over-riding public interest. But such should be done with a human face; with a sense of trepidation and a deep sense of loss. Our first resort should not be to the bulldozer.

And certainly, such demolitions are not meant for the settlement of political differences. 

[Enter the Okoroma tragedy]. It takes only the likes of Obaseki to move in with a bulldozer and wantonly destroy hundreds of houses, even against court order, under the guise that they are on a parcel of land earmarked for a mega city.

Our hearts bleed for authorities who carry out these inhuman acts under the pretext that the people did not build to specification or authorization. Houses are not known to be built overnight. They take time. Where were you when they were building?

Where were the town planners? This subject has been exhaustively addressed in our article titled “Nigeria: We were Asleep While they built” dated 27th December, 2012.

Again, when is Obaseki going to build his Mega City, if close to the end of his eight-year tenure, he has not lifted a finger towards that project? Time will tell.

Enough of this monologue. This is not a testimonial on Obaseki. There will be time enough for the people who are better qualified for that. Rather, this is a wake-up call. Let him wake and begin to see where he has brought Edo state to.

Evidently, Nigeria is a country at war with itself. We complain of our precarious housing deficit yet, when we are not busy pulling down the few houses that we have, the buildings are busy collapsing on their own. Perhaps unwittingly, we have become the BUILDING COLLAPSE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. In the past, building collapses were few and far apart but today it is “another day, another collapse”.

Between the near-absence of controls and non-enforcement of building codes; between the “japa-syndrome” of the professionals the industry once had and the consequent outbreak of quackery in the industry; and because all bad things work together for all those who hate the rule of law, corruption must continue to take its toll here.

What we face today is the moral equivalence of an Armageddon. Something must be done urgently lest we all perish! 

In all this, certain factors remain constant: There is life after service and we are reminded that everyone has to spend the rest of his life with himself. Be warned!

Omorotionmwan writes from Canada