I came back from an organized Accra the other day, and just driving that stretch of the road, I saw with my very eyes as a mini-van flung one boy who strayed into the road, into the air and smack, head-first on the “coal-tar”. The boy starts to bleed profusely from his nose and mouth, out cold. I doubt if he will ever make it alive! Welcome to Abuja, Nigeria’s expensive Federal Capital, where money drips from every pore. At the Apo junction, by the bridge, another eyesore awaits you. POSTERS! Lots of it. Before the PDP people started their own politicking recently, it was church posters that have defaced Abuja entirely. A foreign investor, and the many diplomats that throng Abuja, could actually make up their mind about who we were as a people and what were our motivations, just by reading those posters. All sorts of guys promise heaven and hell to people. One of them reads “Operation Point and Kill; How to Catch a Witch”. Another says “Blood Must Flow” at his upcoming crusade somewhere on the outskirts of town. Many promise their followers that this is the year “of Royalty and Rulership”, where they should expect “Unmerited Favour”, and “Unexplained Wealth”. No jokes!
Abuja has lost its sense of self. Abuja was meant to be a shining example, a city of a hill, Nigeria’s attempt to show the world that it can do things right, a place of sanity, a break from the maddening crowd, a squeaky-clean place, home for all, but a baby for all to take care of. These days, people throw litter from their moving cars and that tells anyone what they think of their capital city, and by extension, their country. If drivers and passengers routinely dump banana peels, groundnut shells, chewed-out sugar cane stems, polythene bags, liquid waste, and what have you, out of moving cars unto the highways, no better statement tells anyone that they think the country – especially its capital – is a mere dustbin, a waste dumpsite. Foreigners will hasten to treat the country in that manner in their business transactions, short-changing the country at will. If we have no respect for our country, why should a foreigner?
The other more serious issue competing with the litter, and the ugly posters that adorn Abuja today, is the rate of accidents and the car carcasses that one would find on the road. I joined the Special Marshal Corps of the FRSC just so that I could add my little quota in reducing the amount of madness, drink-driving, road rage, that goes on in Abuja. It is usual to see cars hanging on bridges or on streetlight poles on a Saturday or Sunday morning, victims of drink driving and/or over-speeding. The first question I asked them while going through Special Marshal training was ‘what are we going to do about over-speeding in this country?’ Over-speeding is the reason why accidents are often fatal, and Abuja is the headquarters of fatal accidents.
I find it impossible to believe that President Jonathan does not see anything wrong with this city where he lives, and even if he is too busy, what about his ministers? If I had my way, no one would paste a single poster in Abuja – political or religious! In Singapore, we heard about how Lee Kuan Yew, their long-term president banned chewing gums in its entirety. Here we are behaving like proper pigs, who have been given “white/white” uniform to wear. Abuja does have money, lots of it. It is meant to be the most funded ministry, but it is evident that those managing its affairs don’t see anything wrong in living in filth, in the midst of ostentation. Abuja has money to build roads, fantastic houses and monuments, and one flyover bridge per month, but it has become evident that those who manage the place have lost the philosophical underpinning for such a capital in the first place. Or perhaps for them, it is all about the contracts and kickbacks!
Enter Mr Raji Babatunde Fashola! Anytime you see this man, please hug him on my behalf. I so love the man who has turned around the story of chaotic Lagos. People who live in Lagos really do not know that the place has changed a lot but those who visit occasionally can tell.
Old taxis have almost been totally phased out in Lagos. They were expensive anyway. They still are. But this time, all Lagos Yellow Taxis are mandated to have Airconditioning! There is a standard, below which one’s car cannot be certified as a Taxi cab. Okada riders are difficult to get rid of, but it is perhaps a matter of time before Fashola will order them out of highbrow districts, like VI, Ikoyi, Ikeja and Surulere. You need to see the discipline with which they conduct themselves, and Fashola doesn’t joke with helmets! In Lagos, what Fashola has done is to activate a mindset change. Despite the difficulty of living in Lagos, and the intense competition for every Naira, what one sees on a recent visit to Lagos is that someone is trying to really reclaim the place from the jaws of despondency.
The Federal Government has all but abandoned its responsibilities in Lagos. But no sweat. The state government is full of smart thinkers who daily dream up new ideas in order to make a difference. And they are succeeding. As I write, Fashola is completing a Dubai-type Metro Rail system which, like Dubai, will help solve a lot of the transport problems in Lagos when it is completed. No other government has been able to do this in Nigeria. Not the Federal Government with all its oil money, or the South-South States with the same ‘black gold’. Not Abuja certainly, despite its brag about being an all-new capital. Shame!
A few lessons to learn from Fashola. One; a leader needs serious vision. Most times, it’s in-born. Dem no dey sell am for Harvard! After vision, a leader needs determination and discipline. Nothing should be allowed to stop a vision whose time has come. Fashola’s successes in cleaning up Lagos, is due to a certain militaristic streak, even though he is a lawyer. I personally believe that our people need serious direction at this time. Little wonder why Abuja and the rest of the country is the way it is today. Mr President has told us he is not a General, or a Tiger. Two key attributes we need on all the levels of leadership are lost at the very centre. That is why most state governors are merely looting the time of their lives. Fashola for President 2015! Another pipedream of mine, given PDP’s vow (and the reality), to rule for another 60 years!
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