FASHOLA ADVOCATES SOUND SOCIAL, CULTURAL VALUES AS TOOLS FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE IN THE COUNTRY. DE FASH MAGAZINE · “We need to go back to some of the things that make us quintessentially African and the place to start is the family unit”, he says Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Tuesday advocated a return to sound social and cultural values as the only viable means to achieve good governance in the country. Governor Fashola, who spoke as Guest Lecturer at the 2013 Annual Lecture of the Lagos State University (LASU) Alumni Association, argued that it is only a restoration of values that will enable good governance to thrive in the country. Delivering his lecture titled “Re-ordering our Social and Cultural Values as tools for Good Governance and Development”, Governor Fashola, who said he had to reorder the original title suggested to him by the organizers, explained, “I have done this because I disagree with the suggestion in the original title, that it is good governance that will revitalize our values. In fact it is the reverse that is true”. “What do I mean by values? I’m talking about decency and diligence. I am talking about hard-work and humility. I am talking about honesty and integrity. As a nation we are losing some of these values at an alarming rate. In the ceaseless quest for prosperity and for quick fixes, we have somehow left behind some of the things that make us quintessentially African. And we need to go back to that”, Governor Fashola said. Identifying the family unit as the place to start in the development of good governance in the country, Governor Fashola declared, “That is the smallest unit of everyday governance. If we succeed in many families, they will accrue into a critical mass”, adding that Nigerians also need to re-examine some of the choices they have made and the way they have chosen to live. “Let us start with an example of our social choices. When we decide to celebrate, a birthday, a marriage, or burial, must we also bankrupt ourselves in the process? When we spend millions of Naira on a wedding and the newly married couple is still living with mummy and daddy after, we have to reassess our values”, he said. The Governor, who also cited the attitude of Nigerians when they travel abroad, noted that their eyes “only see the designer watches and clothes and not the compliance to order, proper refuse disposal, the location of buildings in the right places, driving in the approved manner, trading in designated places”, adding, “then you have to reassess your values”. Offering tips on how to achieve and reinforce a core set of values in the daily lives of the people, Governor Fashola gave such tips to include keeping promises, truthfulness, accountability, transparency, fairness and justice as well as tolerance. “Remember that the smallest things are often the biggest things. When you throw your refuse in the wrong place, when you disrespect an official, when you abuse traffic laws, it is these small things that contribute to the wider ills”, the Governor said adding, “Always play your own small part”. The Governor, who quoted copiously from the nation’s Constitution to buttress his point that good governance is a social contract between the government and the governed, declared, “Some of us may be thinking, what has Nigeria done for me that I should comply? My answer is that such thoughts can at best only come down to the chicken and egg debate about which came first. We can argue that our country must first do its duty before we do yours. True as that may be, let me remind us that there is no country without people”. Governor Fashola disagreed with the notion that things are not working in Nigeria saying ultimately; it is Nigerians that will make the country what they want her to be. “You see, good governance is not an event. It is an evolving process that has no end. The minute you think you have reached your destination, it means you have taken your eyes off the work”, the Governor said citing an example with Brazil. According to him, “I was in Brazil recently and was caught in the tail end of the protests. Many people were surprised that Brazilians were protesting in the middle of a football tournament. Don’t they all love football? Are they not concerned that FIFA will deny them the right to host the World Cup?” “Yes Brazilians love football. If you think we love football here go to Brazil. But these protesters were protesting in the name of good governance. Yes their country is hosting the World Cup and Olympics but they are asking what the cost of that is to the welfare of its citizens? Their government has lifted an estimated 40 million of their people out of poverty into middle class status in the last decade. Agriculture is thriving so they have little or no need to import food. These are indices of good governance. Yet the people demand more, because there is no finish line in quest for good governance”, the Governor said. Giving instances of good governance as demonstrated back home, Governor Fashola cited the incident recently where Police men in the State, based on intelligence report, swiftly and successfully thwarted the planting of two bombs in a busy Lagos metropolis whereas around the same time the Boston Police Force also had intelligence available on a possible attack on a busy area but did nothing until the bombs exploded and three people died with hundreds more permanently maimed and disfigured. “The question we must ask ourselves is this: Whose achievements did we commend the most? We must further examine ourselves and ask why are we happy to accept that the place we call home is second best? It seems that our values have become rather distorted”, the Governor said adding that although in Chicago, over 500 people were murdered last year alone and the city of Detroit has become ungovernable as a result of crime yet a high proportion of Nigerians are still living or visiting those places. The Governor also cited the example of New York which experienced heavy rainfall for eleven hours consecutively as a result of which flights were cancelled, airports were closed and vehicular traffic was shut down for over 24 hours while in Lagos where rain also fell for 18 hours the flood disappeared less than 12 hours after and businesses were up and running. ”That is good governance”, he said. “But how many people bothered to ask how the flood went? The flood did not just disappear. The drainage system worked. As imperfect and obstructed by human activity as they were, they worked, because we made sure they work by cleaning and constantly improving and expanding them”, he said. Thanking the Association for the honour of the invitation, Governor Fashola commended the faculty members and management of the University for their commitment to the development of the institution adding, “Our administration has committed to a renewed focus on improving the fortunes and fame of this University”. Speaking earlier, the former Head of the Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan who chaired the occasion urged the Alumni association to continue to pursue its laudable objectives without looking back. He also challenged the Alumni Association to rise up to the occasion of the specific challenges facing the institution and partner with the authorities to make contributions in the promotion of scholarship among the students and academia. The former Head of State commended Governor Fashola for his exceptional leadership in spite of the enormous challenges that Lagos faces as the nation’s economic hub urging him to continue to challenge himself and push the boundaries of development. “Good governance must improve the life of the people through accountability, transparency, predictability, openness, rule of law and sanctity of the social contract”, Shonekan said adding that the Governor has demonstrated these in the last six years. Also speaking the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor John Obafunwa commended the Alumni association for their efforts at giving back to the institution in their own little way, saying the institution is already gradually overcoming its challenges. He said the guiding principle of the institution has always been about accountability, prudence and maximally utilizing whatever has been given to the institution towards making it a better institution of higher learning. In a keynote address preparatory to the main lecture, delivered by a Professor of Political Science, Professor Abubakar Momoh, he said good governance evolved as a result of the fear and anxiety of the World Bank while grappling with various social forces contending for the states and countries in the continent. He explained that the ideology of good governance was the only way through which the World Bank could stabilize regimes on the Continent and ensure reforms in the third world countries, adding that governance must be human centred. “Any development that is not human centered is not development. Governance must be human centred. We must treat people respect. There can be no second class citizens in this country. They have a civic right to complain. It is a contract between you and them to fulfill their mandate and expectation. It is about inclusiveness and participation”, Professor Momoh added. Earlier, in his address of welcome, the President of the Lagos State University (LASU) Alumni Association, General Cecil Esekhaigbe (Rtd), thanked the Governor for the infrastructural upgrade that is going on in Lagos State University. He added that several projects like the prototype hostels, the Central Library, the Senate Building among several others and the de-flooding engineering work on the campus have assisted in reducing flooding to the barest minimum on the campus. According to General Esekhaigbe, the on- going expansion of the Lagos Badagry Expressway is also another project that will add glamour and relief to the LASU community when it is completed adding that there is no going back on the effort to develop the University to meet world class standard. The Governor was later presented with a pre-50th birthday card by the institution at the well attended event which was witnessed by some members of the State Executive Council including the Special Adviser on Education, Otunba Fatai Olukoga and Special Adviser on Rural Development, Mr Tunde Hunpe, member of the State House of Assembly representing Amuwo Odofin, Hon (Mrs.) Ramota Akinola- Hassan, the Elegushi of Ikateland, Oba Saheed Elegushi, members of the academic community and students from the institution.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 07:00:40 +0000
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