The Information Minister, Labaran Maku recently said that, at all levels, no government has done what the Jonathan administration had done. But here you are reeling out achievements. How does that make you feel, compared to the assertion that they have done the best? Governor Fashola Replies: All I can say is that I hope the best of Nigeria is really further ahead. I don’t want to be the best governor of Lagos. I want better governors to come after me. I think that it’s a leadership problem. When this sort of statement is made, you must contextualize it into whether or not we really have prepared ourselves for the kind of responsibilities that we have. Would there have been a Nigeria if those who fought the war didn’t sacrifice? So, for somebody to come after that to say, ‘we are the best…’ That was governance. Keeping the peace and unity of this country, people lost their lives. They served. How do you dishonour their memory and service by saying nobody has done what you have done? I have never heard any government that wants to progress say those kinds of things. There must be a place for your predecessors. Its a ladder and a house built on so many blocks of blood, sweat and tears. And whether you like it or not, you will hand over the baton. How would you feel after that, when somebody says you haven’t done anything? Let’s look at power. Did they pass the legislation? They are concluding the process. There is pension reform today. Did they pass the legislation? It’s a process of thinking and doing sometimes. As I told people, Thabo Mbeki hosted the World Cup, was he the one who did the bidding for it? What is the value they have added to the GSM today? There are more drop calls now than when the system started. Were they the ones who did it? It was a government that licensed private TV otherwise all of us would be locked on to NTA today and you won’t be here because there would only have been Daily Times. That’s the incremental contributions of your predecessors. So, how are they supposed to feel? And you want to build a nation? You’re provoking everybody? I think there can be better tactics to underscore your development. We can’t show that we are good by showing that everybody is bad. Unfortunately, it’s a strategy that has also worked in some states, but I have always said, look, you must acknowledge what your predecessors have done. They may not have done as much as you have done. They may have operated at a more difficult time than you are operating, but they added value. I don’t believe that anybody is absolutely useless. Everything operates in a time and space. It’s a leadership problem. Democracy is growing. We are building a nation undoubtedly, but we must recognize everybody’s contributions.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 12:07:22 +0000
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