Dear Governor,
I am obliged to address you openly since personal access to you may be barred by your bureaucratic and routine security protocol.
True, heresy is not the “pride of a saint or superman” but a comrade’s voice helping others. In this open letter, I shall analyse some of the fundamental issues that have separated the government from Lagosian (indigenes and residents) in our state and country.
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I read and listened to your speeches and official statements, full of positives, direction and kudos to your administration, an excellent per Excellency. However, some still point to the long-familiar hackneyed, sophistries and rhetorical phrases that could be boring to many who considered it too commonplace in moving us forward.
The younger generations have no patience for long messages, their understanding outstrips speeches and press statements that lack facts and pragmatism. What they want today is a vital social ideal for which to live and labour in. A system that will ensure their voices count while the equitable distribution of wealth and resources is guarantee now and in the future.
I trust you must have realised this since the protest turned to looting, thuggery and violence. It has shown that government policy, at all levels with elaborate media celebration, is no longer enough in modern Lagos.
The trust deficit and loss of faith in you as the governor of our esteemed state is in dire need of rebuilding and assurance. I am particularly hoping you do this in earnest, so that it won’t go down in history as one governor who lost his fort to secure his people out of obscurity and perpetual distrust in governance.
My dear governor, please note this, our youths, who graduated recently, are in large numbers and many cannot find means for a decent livelihood. Many who desire to advance their education further cannot do so. Many of them, due to pressure, fall prey to employment scammers. The hard life experience pushed many into drug peddling, organised groups engaged in stealing and all sorts of crimes. More worrisome, our lovely young beautiful women and girls turned to prostitution and suffer as victims of rape and gender-based violence.
Even though many have attributed the problems of our nation to corruption, injustice, poverty, unemployment, deindustrialisation, widen-inequality, ethnic and tribal sentiments and religious bigotry, however, one thing we cannot rule out is the ethical values of capitalism, the mode of production and economy Nigeria subscribes to.
The tendency of acquisition of property for individuals taking prominence over the acquisition of property for the use of the millions leads to the propensity to commit crimes. Thus, inequality is deepened, poverty is weaponised, and exclusion from resource distribution take the centre stage. All these practices exist in Lagos and Nigeria at a larger scale.
Significantly, young men and women in Lagos today are not ready for any frustration from any politician or businessmen and women, as well as other VIPs. Instead, they are hoping for honest and capable men and women whose mission and vision is not to turn dreams into a nightmare.
It is going to be a great thing if His Excellency’s administration would avoid lip service to youth’s plights but work concretely with them, not just with celebrities and most opinionated social media activists alone. We must also not forget to accommodate the army of young people that do not possess any skill and therefore would not fit into any formal employment description.
In conclusion, it stands to reason to say here that of all the governors currently serving, you command the necessary loyalty, reputation and admiration to mobilise Lagosians against the forces that encumber the development of our dear state. The resourcefulness of Lagos youths are enormous, of which I know your Excellency is very much aware of going by the information at your disposal as our governor.
We hope the protest leads us to a new and better Lagos and a united Nigeria. The losses must be accounted for, while the gains should expose us to re-thinking in governance that demands sensitivity on the paths of leadership and followers.
Adefolarin A.Olamilekan ([email protected])
