FORMER military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, could not conceal his surprise over the rate of development that has taken place in Edo State within three and half years. The statesman who fought with the gun during the civil war to ensure there is peace and unity in the country,as a much younger man in the 60s, is however sad with the insecu-rity of lives and properties and he has taken it upon himself to organise prayer sessions for God’s interven-tion. He fought a war of no victor no vanquish and succeeded in building a reputation of being a man of peace who himself symbolises development per excellence.
The combatant soldier was in Benin City, the capital of Edo State, not to pray but to commission some projects executed by the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole-led administration. Gowon declared at the ceremony, which was a carnival of sort, that he does not belong to any political party but noted that if anyone is doing well, he deserves gratitude.
Edo State, the heart beat of Nigeria, is home to many and cannot be measured only in terms of its human and mineral resources, or of its rich mineral deposits that are yet to be adequately explored nor exploited. There was the stagnation of the state for over a decade due to lack of good leaders and good governance and the coming of Comrade Oshiomhole’s administration has been welcome by many people as a God-sent deliver-ance from the bondage of evil forces that have underdeveloped the state.
In the past three and half years, the government of Adams Oshiomhole has devised strategies aimed at repositioning the state’s social and economic potentials, especially as it affects the plight of the less privileged. General Gowon therefore had no difficulty in throwing his support behind the second term bid of Governor Oshiomhole, after seeing for himself what has been done in the state.
Even though he was apolitical, the former Head of State had no reservations publicly urging the electorates to give the Comrade-Governor their total support to enable him continue the good works which are visible to all in the state.
Before he commissioned the Iheya Street and 10 adjourning roads, as well as street lights in the community, Gowon said, “From the performance of Comrade Oshiomhole, it was obvious that the common people have appreciated him and will continue to appreciate him. I know you want him to continue. If anyone is doing well, he deserves the gratitude of everybody. From what I have seen, I want you to give him your total support so that he can continue to do what he is doing in all the communities.”
The former Head of State clarified the point that he is not a member of any political party but believes on the mandate of a true leader who has the best interest of the masses at heart. According to him, what he saw had only confirmed what he had heard about the Comrade-Governor. He therefore, promised to render his support in any way possible for the continuity of the transformation agenda Oshiomhole has for the state.
At the inception of the Oshiom-hole’s administration, a slum called Costain Isonoro, which was a waste dump for several years was trans-formed into an high-class neighbor-hood now made up of tarred roads, underground drainage, street lights and renamed Gani Fawehinmi Layout, the late popular legal icon who fought for the rights of the less privileged.
The governor has always maintained that the decision of government is to concentrate projects in areas which will affect the greatest number of the people in his urban renewal drive and this has positively impacted on the common man.
Apart from the choice of roads been constructed in areas inhabited by majority of the less privileged people, there is the “red roof revolution” which has led to the transformation of public schools across the state and they can be compared with some higher institutions in the country.
The residents of Eheya Street and the adjoining 10 roads of Ivbiye, Uwa, 3rd Cemetry, Mid-West, Ivbiye lane, 1st, 2nd, 3rd Iheya Lanes came out in their thousands when they had the rare privilege of having General Gowon commission the roads, drainage system and street lights within the locality. The neighbour-hood, which was completely aban-doned by previous administrations, had been overtaken by flood and the landlords of the buildings had to abandon their houses.
In the words of Comrade Oshiom-hole, “the community typified what Edo degenerated to. After the transformation of Costain Isonoro Road, the next was this community. Exactly what we did at Gani Fawehinmi Layout by building the drains which can serve as walkways, asphalting of the roads and installation of street lights has been done here and, today, this area is far more beautiful than the government reservation area. We have made conscious efforts in identifying that projects are executed where the forgotten majority live.”
Though this has been an onerous task no doubt, the goals been pursued by the administration is to reach the poorest people by providing them with good schools, markets, roads, quality health care and improved social services.
Today, the less privileged people are now witnessing development around them across the nooks and crannies of the state and there is a connection between the rich and the poor as their children can have the benefit of attending good schools,
The secretary of the Iheya community, Mr Nosa Edogun, who gave a brief history of the area before the intervention by the government, said the area had been neglected and left to decay for decades. “At least three streets, 3rd Cemetery, Ivbiye and Uwa streets, were not passable for the greater part of the decades. Many houses collapsed and people were forced to sell off their properties.
Business was at its lowest ebb as the area became a haven for criminals who took advantage of the terrain as it became practically impossible for the police to come to the aid of distress callers. When Your Excellency took over the mantle of leadership of the state and named our community as one of those to benefit from your lofty programme, our joy knew no bounds. Today, we have no words good enough to express our joy at this kind and marvelous work”, he noted.
A remarkable aspect of the admini-stration’s impact on the less privi-leged members of the society is the focus on internally generated revenue (IGR). There was an increase in the state IGR from N300 million monthly to about N1 billion which is truly astonishing because in the past, the rich never paid taxes and they contributed nothing towards the social-economic development of the state.
In the past, funds that would have been used in the overall development of the state were diverted into private pockets leaving the poor masses poorer and poorer. Edo people were made to believe that the state was poor and therefore could not embark on capital projects like the Comrade-Governor has done across the state. But to their surprise, it is now clear that there is a great difference between the poor legacy of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the revolution of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
But the governor has insisted that there is still so much to be done and that what has been done so far is a far cry from what is left to be done. That is why he needs another term to actualise the dream for Edo State and General Gowon agreed with him on this transformation agenda of the state.
Mayaki is the Senior Special Adviser (Media) to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State.
Oshiomhole is vulnerable - Airhiavbere
The gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Major-General Charles Airhiavbere (retd), is confident that he will emerge victorious in the July 14 governorship election in the state, claiming that the incumbent, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, is vulnerable. Leon Usigbe brings the excerpts.
From your background, you were a military man and you are coming to a different terrain. How do you intend to adjust to that?
I know that to have the military background, especially in the Nigerian setting, having risen all through to the rank of a Major-General, I believe that I have participated enough in the politics of Nigeria to get to that rank.
But having said that, when you look at history, most strong democracies of the world also have very strong armed forces; very strong military that create enabling environments for the entrenchment of democracy. Generalship in any army has its background from the political evolution and I believe that it is a blend that is gradually taking its root in the Nigerian polity, where people who have put in their best in the armed forces come out and take democratic office, through the structure of a democratisation policy of the country. I believe that the experience, discipline and background that I have in the military will definitely bring the difference in leadership in Edo State.
I believe that, having gone through the military, retired voluntarily unblemished, having won all the awards up to a distinguished serving star and having commanded the Nigerian Army Finance Corps, I won the Corps medal of honour; these are the things that put me ahead of any other contestant in the leadership of Edo State.
The loudest refrain we hear here is that Edo people should be careful not to return to the terrible and wasteful days of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rule. How do you intend to overcome this baggage of lack of performance?
It is my belief that government is a continuum; don’t forget that 1999 to date is a growing process. There has been a level of awareness in the political dispensation of Edo State and I want to assure you that, today, every Edo voter is very aware. It is a growing process and one cannot really be dismissive that nothing happened in the process. I believe that what has happened isn’t only in the eight years of PDP; it was just a platform for a group of people to lead Edo State.
But I can assure you that I know what it is to face an incumbent. I also know that the incumbent we have in Edo State is very vulnerable because a lot has been left undone. The same group of people; the present chairman of Edo Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) was formerly in PDP; he was the Chief of Staff and he was Secretary to thye State Government in the defunct PDP in Edo. So, the scorecard of the present government of ACN government is a continuation of the same PDP axis. Is it the senators representing Edo South or North that are now in ACN? It is the same people.
So, except we halt that process; it is like a child who suddenly got promoted from primary one to two on a score card of 10 per cent and then he now moves to 15 per cent and you believe that he is doing well. It is the same group. We have reached a level that we need a drastic change that must come through the ballot boxes come July and this is the awareness we are creating for the people of Edo State.
Maybe they couldn’t perform then because there was interference from some quarters...
Even today, it is a one-man show! It is unfortunate that when you see what happens in Edo State, it is sad. I can give you two examples. I am aware that the award of contracts in the state has never been advertised in any newspapers; there is no due process mechanism in this state.
I also want to let you know that a contract awarded for N4.5 billion for the Airport Road didn’t go through due process mechanism and when the contract was cancelled, the Works Committee of the Edo State House of Assembly failed in its oversight function by not inviting the contractor to find out why he didn’t perform. Two, the contract awarded for N2.5 billion for the Central Hospital was done without the consent of the Commissioner for Health. When the building collapsed... But we thank God it happened, because it hasn’t been completed. So, you can imagine if it happened with patients in it.
No member of the Edo State House of Assembly has queried the consultants that did the shoddy job. I can keep on running those aspects of corruption.
The level of revenue that has accrued to the present government in the state isn’t comparable to what the past administrations that had been in Edo State collected. Thirdly, in the past three and half years, the local councils have been run by transition committees. The people of Edo State have been denied the opportunity to express their franchise; they have been denied the opportunity to express the power of their thumb to elect those that should rule them. Lastly, I have taken time to study the budget of Edo State; I have gone through their Budget of Consolidation; I have gone through their Budget of Continuity; they are just a selection of figures.
What do you have to offer the people of Edo State that Governor Adams Oshiomhole hasn’t been able to do?
I want to offer the people of Edo State a leadership with a human face; a leadership that is transparent, honourable and accountable to the people and this is with a view to rapidly transforming Edo that has been in a state of decay, abandonment, with the people highly traumatised since democracy came back on track in 1999. When I came in and I decided to join politics in Edo State, I took a trip to the 109 wards that make up the state and it is easy to know that a lot is left undone. The people haven’t benefited from their franchise of voting for a leader in Edo State. This vacuum, this gap in leadership exists and that’s exactly what I intend to do for my people: give them a leadership with a human face.
You said the people are highly traumatised since 1999 to date. That period also involved the eight years of a PDP administration in the state.
Yes! 1999 to date is the period that democracy has actually come on board and I believe that the evolution of a democratisation process that has led to the third election process has given a new platform to showcase the PDP in Edo State and that’s exactly what I am talking about. The present election that is coming on July 14, is giving Edo the opportunity for the people to express their franchise of electing new political leadership in a state that will take them to the next level of development.
Fundamentally, Benin City has not changed, with erosion all over the places. What is responsible for this? Is it the traditional institution that is Well, I think what is lacking in Edo State is the political will. Edo State has good followers but I think that there has been a leadership vacuum that hasn’t made the state to develop at a very, very fast level and it is that leadership vacuum that I have come to fill, through the PDP.
But don’t you think that the political elite have been the encumbrance on the leadership?
The political elite? Well, it would be difficult to see the divide because what you observe in Edo State is very unique in the sense that the PDP was in power from 1999 to 2008 and most of the leaders in ACN today were in the same old PDP.
They just found a new platform to still continue with that level of political gap that exists in the state and that’s why the new PDP is creating a new platform for young vibrant democrats that believe that security and the welfare of the people of Edo State is the purpose of governance. The April 2011 election created a platform for reconciliation and for reconstruction of the PDP and, today, we have a gubernatorial candidate that is prepared, physically, mentally and well focused to face the incumbent administration in Edo State to create a change. That change has been through a transformation process that will take Edo State to the next level of governance.
In concrete terms, taking into cognisance what the present administration is doing, what are you going to do for the people of Edo State?
Sincerely speaking, looking at Edo State in its entirety, the level of infrastructure is in such a level of decay that you just must start afresh. If you look at the roads that are being constructed, they are roads that are referred to as show case roads—roads that lead to nowhere and that aren’t of any economic value. The roads that have been constructed have been very selective. If you look at Benin for example, they have less than seven kilometres road being constructed for over N10 billion. As at today, that money is enough to construct roads that will take you to the various communities in the state. If you look at the enormous sum of money sunk into ventures that aren’t viable, these are things that when we come into government, we will quickly complete all those ongoing projects.
The street lights are powered by generators that are using diesel; sometimes around 1’0’ clock in the night the lights are off. But in a modern day setting, the solar light system should do it better. We would move from there to the health service system and I want to tell you that the community health centres should be in the 192 wards; they aren’t available. Doctors aren’t available to take care of those primary health care issues that will give you 70 per cent of health promotion for the state.
When you come to the secondary health care, where every local government area should have secondary health care provision, the doctors aren’t there, the nurses aren’t there. The policy thrust I will put in place is that there will be free health care services for every Edo child born, between age zero and age five; our pregnant women, because for every 1000 children born in Edo State 15 go back. So, maternal mortality is at the rate of 15 to a thousand.
We intend to bring this to the barest minimum, by making sure that our pregnant women, from the third month of pregnancy to delivery, are taken care of by government. No matter the complication at delivery, government picks the bill.
Come back to Edo State, especially for those that don’t have the opportunities to travel out of the country, because of the health provision in Edo State. So, I believe with that, we would be able to quickly transform the health sector in Edo State, in such a way that we have health care delivered to our people in good time. That will be the framework of our health policy in Edo State, come November 12, 2012.
