Once upon a political season in Nigeria, there was a politician known, called and addressed as ‘MKO Abiola’. Before he dared to venture into partisan civil politics in 1979, he was already a household name because of the quantum of money his chain of businesses fetched him and his extraordinary philanthropy. He also understood and played military politics in Nigeria and reaped quite a fortune! When he decided to run for the presidency in 1993 during General Babangida’s midwifed transition project, the response was overwhelming. He was a colossus; many pollsters did not doubt his victory but were more concerned with predicting his margin in the presidential election! But like most bittersweet experiences in Nigeria, the victory the people gave him at the polls was truncated by select military top brass whom he wined and dined with. The nation still believes that MKO could have made a difference in this beleaguered country’s leadership trajectory if the chance democratically given had not been militarily aborted! During his campaigns, the adroit use of Yoruba proverbs to address issues was top-notch. One of the notable wisecracks he told journalists during the annulment of his election by IBB, his long-standing friend, was that “With IBB as a friend, I don’t need an enemy!” When asked by journalists if he would accept a military-brokered national government, MKO retorted, “You can’t shave my head in my absence.” This food for thought by the best president Nigeria never had provides the ingredient for this MUSING! It’s all about consultation before action in governance.
Recently, Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State hosted the First Lady of the country, Senator Remi Tinubu, in Uyo. The razzmatazz lived up to its billing, and the state capital felt the presence of the august visitors, though in February! The project anchor for the visit was the commissioning of a recreation centre for senior citizens. The centre appears to be an architectural masterpiece. Much remains unknown or unsaid about its functionality until it is put to use sooner or later! But what is expedient now is why and how such a project should enjoy a priority pecking on the must-do list of the state government. Did the senior citizens express any urgent need for this non-residential centre? Even if such a project was captured among the components in the state blueprint called ARISE AGENDA, should it enjoy a priority attention over and above the deplorable conditions of both public primary and secondary schools in the state? Should an unsolicited senior citizens’ centre be prioritised over the constitution of a statutory commission to kick-start the distribution of power generated by the state’s independent power plant in Ikot Abasi? Why should generating and distributing power become a complex process, even after obtaining the necessary licences from relevant federal agencies years ago? Why should a white elephant project like the Senior Citizens’ centre be given priority over the resuscitation of the moribund state palm oil plantation in Esit Eket?
How come the physical leisure of Akwa Ibom senior citizens has become more important than the full implementation of the 32 thousand naira increase in pensions of retirees, for which the state government grudgingly approved only 27 thousand naira?
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The centre only looks good for tourists but is definitely not in sync with our culture and the immediate needs of the senior citizens of this state! The attendance register shall support this in weeks, months and years to come! How do you expect a 70-year-old man in Eastern Obolo and Obot Akara to make a day’s journey to Uyo to walk around a sprawling recreational facility, which he may not even know how to use some of the provided facilities? And return the same day to his village?
As many Akwa Ibomites advised during the service years of Udom Emmanuel as Governor, not every proposal presented to the Governor by smooth-talking consultants should be given a second look! Many who rejected Udom’s coconut refinery project were disparaged by his spin doctors in the propaganda mill. Today, like sagacious Nnamdi Azikiwe once posited: HISTORY (HAS) VINDICATED THE JUST! Billions of Akwa Ibom funds, which could have been ploughed into an agro-sector of comparative advantage, had gone down the drain. It’s time for the leadership to listen more to the people than to consultants and political buccaneers!
