By Adeola Soetan
CITIZENS COMPASS–Governo Oluwaseyi Abiodun Makinde enters the National profligacy race with N63. 4bn Government House Renovation. Haba! Very ridiculous and unreasonable in this era of grinding mass poverty and hunger.
In Oyo state where no single public primary and secondary school or public hospital is of basic standard not to talk of international standard, such a luxurious pleasure that bears no relevance to the common man on the street, should not be an economic priority of any public interest driven government. It can’t be defended on the economic scale of preference or opportunity cost in a state of overwhelming majority of economically stranded people where over 70% of the population can’t eat a plate of delicious Amala & Abula with Ogufe, Bokoto & Orishirishi now.
Ibadan is my second home since 1976 till date, so i do know that those who need such huge government spending are Ibadan poverty striken interior areas of shattered brown roofs like Beere, Orita Merin, Born Photo, Idi Arere, Gege Olorun, Labo, Elekuro, Ode Aje, Agungun, Aremo, Foko, Sabo, old Agbeni, Ogunpa etc, where people exist but not alive, with inadequate or no existing facility like pipe borne water, good drainage, habitable homes but people are daily struggling for breathe in squalor like people living in refugee camps, but are daily consoled by the regular noise of churches and mosques in their midst that heaven not Ibadan nor Oyo state is their home of fantastic pleasure. This type of squalor exists in all major towns of Oyo state, they need the spending more than government house renovation at such unreasonable cost in this period.
Like the president’s profligacy, like the governors too. When there’s too much money in their pockets they waste it on elephant projects for looting purpose.
The gains from oil subsidy removal & extra revenue through over taxing people and their small businesses among other goods and service price hikes must be wasted one way or the other. It’s a question of misplaced priority so as to loot public fund more so with election approaching.. If not, how can any sane governor or president be wasting public funds to rebuild a government house with multi billion naira? . Buying jets, a fleet of very expensive vehicles, pretending to be building airports when over 70% of roads are not motorable, schools and hospitals are in shambles? Unnecessary!.
Any national or state assembly that approves this kind of wasteful spending is an assembly of conscience-less and dishonourable people. Resistance is a necessity now. .
Adeola Soetan, a social critic writes from Lagos State, Nigeria.
