Food For Thought

This quote aptly captures the state of affairs in our dear state. At the onset of the administration of the late Dr. Olusegun Agagu, a blueprint that was targeted at laying a solid foundation which was to take the Sunshine State to the next level, was unveiled.

Perhaps, most important of the projects mapped out to showcase the state was the Owena water project.  On completion, the project was meant to provide uninterrupted power supply to the six local governments in the Central senatorial zone. In conjunction with the World Bank, the Owena water project was at the reticulation stage when the Agagu government was forced out.

More than eight years after, the project remains at the stage it was before Agagu left office. And, interestingly, shortly after leaving office in 2009, the late governor had, while reacting to a reporter’s question on the propriety of the water fountain constructed by his successor and located at the First Bank roundabout, said: “What the people need is potable water in their homes. It is a matter of time before the people throng the fountain to fetch water.”

How prophetic those words have become. Except for the fear that the people may one day go to the fountain to fetch water someday, people of the six local government areas have suffered the unenviable pains of paying huge sums of money to purchase water for domestic use.

And it is even more regretful that the much-vaunted fountain, which during its best days, was fed with water from a nearby tank, which is in turn supplied by water tankers, stopped working long before the Mmiko administration left office.

Also, a short distance away from the ministry of information in Alagbaka is located the ruins of a modern state banquet hall planned by the Agagu administration.

As in every contract awarded by the Agagu administration, 50 percent of the contract sum was paid at the foundation laying ceremony, with the balance placed in the bank. The banquet hall was planned to host government functions, and expected to meet the standard of presidential banquet hall anywhere in the world. Nine years down the line, the project remains at the stage the Agagu administration left it on February 24, 2009.

Surprisingly, while the planned banquet hall lays in ruins almost one decade after its foundation was laid, the Mimiko-led government found it convenient to spend N14 billion to construct a new hall it christened ‘The Dome’.

This has no doubt raised many questions that are begging for answers. A few of the questions are: what motivated the former governor to act the way he did? Was it a case of trying to obliterate his predecessor’s enviable legacies? And, of course, at what cost to the people of the state?

Imagine what N14 billion would have done to alleviate the sufferings of the people. Imagine how many months’ salaries N14 billion would have paid. You can continue to imagine what other things the money would have done for the good people of the Sunshine State, and you’ll realize how profligate the immediate past administration had been.

A stroll to schools across the state tells a sordid story about the education system in the state. To an outsider, the derelict state of most school buildings seriously contradicts the beautiful and heavenly stories that are painted about the state’s Mega schools.

It is true that scattered across the state are beautiful structures, equipped with modern technological equipment, tagged Mega schools. However, it is also true that those structures cut the picture of white elephant projects.

It is tragic to note here that despite the beautiful picture painted about the mega schools by the immediate past administration, most students in the state are still compelled to receive lessons in dilapidated structures.

A case in focus is the mega school at Uso in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State. At this moment, the school, having been overgrown with weeds and shrubs, is populated by reptiles of different species rather than the students it was built to house.

Meanwhile, for the students of Ansarudeen School, Arigidi Akoko, in place of a beautiful structure fitted with modern equipment, are weather-beaten buildings with their roofs blown off. And in place of the reptiles were students who are unfortunate to find themselves there.

The story is the same with students in dilapidated schools across the state. The question here, therefore, is, why spend so much money to build a few Mega structures for a few when a quarter of the sum could be used to better the lot of the generality of all the schools in the state?

To discerning minds,  the Mega schools project is a mere attempt to pull wool over the eyes of the people. But, the truth about liars is that they will always need 10 more lie to cover up just one lie. And, like the famous author, James Hadley Chase said, ‘a champion leaves himself to open to a sucker punch when he gets too confident’.

The Mimiko administration, like the champion, got too confident, believing it could get away with anything, including the Mega schools fraud.

‘The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant’—-Max Depree

 This quote captures, in totality, the story of the mega schools project in Ondo State. The leaders of the state at the time failed in their simple responsibility to define reality and what is realistic. Yes, what was realistic at the time was to spend the money on renovating schools across the state to the benefit of all. But, instead, the leaders at the time spent the money to build a few fanciful mega schools to the detriment of the generality of the people and enriched a few ‘yes men’ who put on the garb of contractors.

It is interesting that this ugly story is repeated with the neglect of the Ondo State University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa, and the establishment of the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo.

One thing that seems constant in all of these is the unbridled ego of the leader. To all intent and purpose, it is clear that the leader acted to outdo others in terms of legacies. For him, nobody’s name must be heard or mentioned except his.

The leader of the immediate-past administration failed to learn from the story of those before him. You may recall that at the onset of the present democratic dispensation in 1999, the governors in Kwara, Oyo, Osun and a few others decided to appropriate state glory to themselves. It was the era of Up Lawal, Oyin ni o and several other messages on posters and billboards. But what has become of those billboards and posters? Today, they have all been consigned to the bin of history.