FULL TEXT OF LECTURE DELIVERED BY H.E AT THE 2013 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION’S ANNUAL LECTURE OF THE LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY “RE-ORDERING OUR SOCIAL AND CULTURAL VALUES AS TOOLS FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENT” BEING THE ADDRESS OF THE GOVERNOR OF LAGOS STATE, HIS EXCELLENCY, MR. BABATUNDE RAJI FASHOLA, SAN AT THE 2013 ANNUAL LECTURE OF THE LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY ON TUESDAY, JUNE 25TH, 2013 PROTOCOL Let me thank the Vice Chancellor, and the University Management Board for the honour of inviting me to speak at this very important event. I say it is an important event for a couple of reasons. The first of these reasons is that it has provided a very quick opportunity for me to further deepen the relationship between the GOWN and the TOWN, which was the subject of my speech; when I spoke in these premises on the 6th of June, about 19 (nineteen) days ago. The second is that it is an event organized by the Alumni Association. The importance of this is that the quality of any University is very often assessed by many considerations, not the least of which is the quality of the membership of its Alumni. The question that is often asked is this:- what kind of people have been produced by the University? As far as LASU is concerned, I think she can hold her head high and say she has produced great people. I know this because many of them work with me in the Government and they labour selflessly and passionately in turning the wheels of progress in this State. Many of them are also acquitting themselves brilliantly in their chosen fields. This is what makes a University worth all the effort. The quality of human capital that it produces and their impact on their society. If Lagos is working it is because LASU has done well. We cannot write the history of the radical development of our State without acknowledging the contributions of LASU Alumni. Having said that much, I must say that the Secretary of the Association, Mr. Olawale M. Anthony, who signed the invitation letter dealt me a good and a bad hand simultaneously. On one hand he chose a very difficult topic about good governance, and this is not easy to deal with in this age of globalization. Every leader that I know, in all parts of the world is under immense pressure to do more, whether the country is developed, developing or under-developed. It is not easy to be a leader in these times, and I as I say, it is not a good time to be a leader. But Mr. Anthony was kind enough to allow me what he calls “…the latitude to either modify or choose a topic that is apt”. I must thank him for that. Instead of choosing a topic that is different, I have chosen to modify for two reasons; the first being that I think it is disingenuous to choose the easy path; or put differently, to set an examination for myself, mark it myself and say I have done well. The second reason is that if I do not say anything that satisfies the audience, I can blame Mr. Anthony for choosing a difficult topic. And the third and most important reason is that the topic he chose is apt. Governance and values are perhaps some of the most topical issues of our time. If we get them right, the rewards for our collective aspirations, their realization and common development will be simply monumental. Ladies and gentlemen, the topic offered to me was “Good Governance:- A tool for Revitalization of the Socio-cultural values for Social Development”. What I have done is simply to reverse it, within the latitude offered to me, to read: “Re-ordering our Social and Cultural Values as tools for Good Governance and Development” I have done this because I disagree with the suggestion in the original title, that it is good governance that will revitalise our values. In fact it is the reverse that is true. It is only a restoration of values that will enable good governance to thrive. I believe firmly that it is better to have a goal in life, and to lead your life by a set of principles, values, or morals. What do I mean by values? I’m talking about decency and diligence. I am talking about hardwork and humility. I am talking about honesty and integrity. You see, 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. The place to start for me is the family unit. That is the smallest unit of everyday governance. If we succeed in many families, they will accrue into a critical mass. Therefore I think we need to explore some of the choices we have made and the way we 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 are still living with mummy and daddy after, we have to reassess our values. When we travel abroad and our 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, then we have to reassess your values. Let us reflect on how we have managed time; have we kept appointments promptly even though we use some of the best time keeping devices? 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? Indeed for them to have won the bid, certain minimum facilities must have been in place. They make their own aircrafts, buses and vehicles. Other amenities that typify good governance are in place. 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. 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. In that same Brazil I understand that the Spanish team were robbed of their belongings. Meanwhile last year we hosted thousands at Eko 2012 without so much as a jersey reported missing. So things are not always as bad as they seem. This idea of “anywhere but here” is a fallacy. We need to re-evaluate even our choice of destinations when we travel. In Chicago, over 500 people were murdered last year alone and yet Nigerians are still flocking there. In Detroit the Mayor has announced that he will not be putting his name forward for re-election. The city has become ungovernable And yet a high proportion of Nigerians are still living there. When London was bombed, nobody ran away. When a bomb goes off here we start pointing fingers instead of seeking lasting solutions. If these examples have not communicated my message, let me give you a parallel between two police forces. Based on intelligence reports the first police force swiftly and successfully thwarted the planting of two bombs in a busy metropolis of a major city. Let us call them Police Force A. At around the same time another Police Force also had intelligence available on a possible attack on a busy area. Nothing was done, the bombs exploded and three people died with hundreds more permanently maimed and disfigured. Let us call the Police Force that did not act Police Force B. Police Force A was the Nigerian Police Force who recovered bombs in Ijora Badia. Their actions led to the saving of perhaps hundreds of lives. The intelligence failure came from the Boston Police and led to the Boston Marathon disaster. The question we must ask ourselves is this:- Whose achievements did we commemorate the most? We must further examine ourselves and ask why. Are we happy to accept that the place we call home is second best? So you see, it seems that our values have become rather distorted. Whenever there is a problem, the first resort is to point at those in government. I agree we must take some responsibility. Indeed, we must take a lot for the privilege you give us to serve. But let me ask if we have also bothered to look in the mirror. Do we like what we see? Do we even know that good governance is a two way traffic? Do we understand that it is a social contract? Let us examine the concept of citizenship and look at the duties of citizens prescribed in our Constitution in section 24(a) – (f), which provides as follows:- “It shall be the duty of every citizen to – (a) abide by this Constitution, respect its ideals and its institutions, the National Flag, the National Anthem, the National Pledge, and legitimate authorities; (b) help to enhance the power, prestige and good name of Nigeria, defend Nigeria and render such national service as may be required; (c) respect the dignity of other citizens and the rights and legitimate interests of others and live in unity and harmony and in the spirit of common brotherhood; (d) make positive and useful contribution to the advancement, progress and well-being of the community where he resides; (e) render assistance to appropriate and lawful agencies in the maintenance of law and order; and (f) declare his income honestly to appropriate and lawful agencies and pay his tax promptly. Let us look in the mirror of that Constitution and answer honestly whether we like what we see. 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. Ultimately, our country will be what we make her. I hope that by speaking so honestly I am not conveying the impression that I am free from blame. If you get that impression please dismiss it. I have myself been like some of you when I was not in Government. I did not understand how government worked. I am wiser by the privilege you gave me to serve, but I have been guilty of those failings too. A few weeks ago New York experienced heavy rainfall for eleven hours consecutively. Flights were cancelled, airports were closed and vehicular traffic was shut down for over 24 hours. The economy ground to a halt. Here in Lagos when we experienced eighteen hours of consecutive rain on July 10, 2011, our streets were flooded by an act of nature. But by the following morning less than 12 hours after the flood had receded, vehicular traffic was restored. Businesses were up and running. 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. That is good governance. The question I will ask again is that we look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we have ever thrown refuse in an improper place or built in an unapproved place. That is not bad governance. It is bad citizenship. In the aftermath of that massive rainfall, the contribution of our cynical opponents was to call for Fashola’s resignation. Unfortunately my resignation would not stop Lagos from flooding in the future, if there is heavy rainfall. This is because Lagos lies close to the coast and worse still, it is two meters below sea level. So I think we must all re-define what our expectation of Government is and from there we can discern what good governance is. We need to take more responsibility for our actions and our decisions. The government cannot be in every home nor can it make every decision for us. Put differently, we cannot outsource our own responsibilities within a social contract to the Government. Without a core sense of values we are bound to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again. When Mahama Ghandi famously spoke of the seven sins, he did not have Nigeria in mind. But he developed an enduring test to help every society retain or retrieve its moral compass. These were the seven sins he advised against:- “Wealth without Work Pleasure without Conscience Science without Humanity Knowledge without Character Politics without Principle Commerce without Morality Worship without Sacrifice “ Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, do these words, spoken 88 years ago in October 25, 1925 sound familiar? Are some of them or all of them true of our society today? It is family values and not government programs that will ensure that our children are properly raised, that our elderly are well cared for, our cultural and spiritual heritage prolonged and our laws observed. When I talk about our cultural heritage even the things we have been doing for many years are under threat. One example we can look at is the economics of the parties we like so much. Back in the day we used to hold them on the streets. But when this started causing unbearable inconveniences with public transportation, they had to move into designated halls and event centres, as a result of Government policy. Is this good governance? Yes I think it is. We win both ways. We have our parties and reduce the pain on ourselves and our neighbours. This created a brand new economy for party planning. The attendant businesses of entertainment, event hire, food and drink catering, tailoring enjoyed a huge boom. But what is happening now? Everyone wants to have a destination wedding. We travel out of our country to get married in Dubai or London or other far flung places outside Nigeria. So the boost to the economy that comes from these events has now started taking flight to other countries. The result is that the jobs and small businesses that are created and sustained by these parties either do not come to light or simply fold up. Yet we live with the reality of unemployed people. Is it bad governance that moved the parties away or the citizens? I leave you to decide what type of citizens they are by asking you to look in the mirror. In the area of religion, the story is not different. We are in too much of a hurry. Many treat religion no longer as a lifetime practice of strict tenets and values but rather as a short cut to wealth and posterity. Let me make it very clear that we cannot pray for posterity. We have to work for it. The only reason I can stand here today in front of you is down to hard work. Hard work will never leave you empty handed. In saying so, I acknowledge the awesome grace of God. Indeed, some might add luck. To this I say yes. But you can make your own luck if you work hard. Yes I pray but I don’t believe my God would favour my prayer if I prayed and then decide to kill a fellow human being in the belief that human parts can bring money. It has never happened. It will not happen. The only place money is printed is in a mint. And this is where we appear to be heading now. The spate of kidnappings, of money rituals and the like are just down to people who are not prepared to work. They are willing to trade in their souls for the sake of illusory short term gains that never materialize. And this is affecting our young people. Let me illustrate this by sharing with you the story of a young man I came across a few weeks ago. It was quite late, about 2 a.m I think and I was driving home from a meeting. When all of a sudden my headlights beamed on this young man who was casually strolling around Marina chanting to himself and with no clothes on at all. I mean he was stark naked. His clothes were piled on his head. Naturally I stopped immediately thinking this young man was deranged and needed help. I instructed my security aides to apprehend him and take him to the General Hospital which was close by. I then telephoned the Special Adviser on Youth and Social Development whose office has supervisory responsibility for our juvenile and remand homes to investigate his case and look for ways we could assist. Is this good governance? But the story is not finished. You can imagine my surprise when the Special Adviser reported that the young man was not deranged at all and that he even had a perfectly normal conversation with him. The young man said he was an apprentice vulcaniser who had been robbed of his phone and some money. He further revealed that rather than contact the Police or any law enforcement authority he went to see a herbalist. The herbalist collected even more money from him and told him that if he wanted to recover his money, there were some things he had to do. First he had to strip down naked. Then he had to walk naked at midnight and chant repeatedly to himself. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, has the herbalist acted as a good citizen? My appeal is that we should do away with these quick fixes to life please. Life has no fast forward button. Let us go back to our family values. When families collapse, societies also collapse. We cannot outsource the value of good parenting. It is the first leadership responsibility we have. The Government of our country did not employ my driver for me. I am responsible for that. The Government did not fail to do background checks on the cook I employed. I am responsible for that. When our children behave badly at school, we do not need to send a memo to Abuja or Alausa to correct them. We are responsible for helping them. The state is not a father or a mother. So we cannot keep looking to government as a panacea for all our ills. It cannot work. Our sense of values must re-focus from escapism to confrontation. We must stop being ostriches and become lions meaning that we can no longer can we bury our heads in the sand about our problems and keep pointing fingers; we must face problems head on. Everybody has a role to play. But we must be on ground to make these changes happen. Change will not happen in the diaspora. I know that some of you are contemplating further education in other countries. I will not discourage you from going. Go, but if you go make sure you come back o!. Those countries have already been built up so please come back and help build our own. When you get there tell your friends and family to come back too. We have missed them. We want to see them, so that everybody can go back to his homestead and re-start the arduous but achievable task of nation building. When I was younger I too had the option to pursue my studies abroad. I chose not to. Some of my siblings and many of my friends went. I remained here. The faith I have in the promise of this country is unshakeable. And I believe that all my goals can be achieved right here. I will conclude now with just a few more tips on how to achieve and reinforce a core set of values in our lives: 1. Make only those promises that you intend to keep. In many cases in life, your word is the only asset you have. Treat that asset preciously. 2. Tell the truth as quickly as you can. You have to think before you lie but the truth comes out instantly. 3. Be accountable to yourself first. Before you even start thinking about who else your actions will impact, invite transparency to your life. Is it something that you will be proud of doing? 4. Let fairness and justice be an obsession. This applies at every level. Man has an innate sense of fairness. We know what is wrong when it is wrong. 5. 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. Always play your own small part. 6. Be tolerant. We do not own this world, we are merely visitors. Anywhere we are let us take the time to research and appreciate the customs and ways of those around us. Ladies and gentlemen, I could go on, but I would still be unable to fully capture the depths of your own imaginations and experiences about how our social and cultural choices have become stumbling rather than building blocks as far as our developmental aspirations are. But I think these 6 (six) things I have focused on in my conclusion, namely (1) the importance and fidelity of promises, (2) the inherent value and virtue of truthfulness, (3) the necessity for accountability, (4) a resolute commitment to fair play and justice, (5) the importance of simple and small things and (6) the value of tolerance substantially encompasses the missing virtues of our private and public life. In other words, those who will manage our public life will undoubtedly emerge from amongst those we interact with in our daily and private lives. If those 6 (six) things become a way of life for us and our children, it can only mean that we can expect that when they take public office and govern on our behalf:- 1. they will take the promises they make during campaigns and in office seriously and we can hold them to it; 2. they will act truthfully such that issues of corruption will be consigned to the back burner of our daily life; 3. It will be easy to hold them accountable for how they utilize the human and material resources we entrust them with; 4. they will govern us fairly and with justices; 5. they will attend to simple things as they do complex things, because those who cannot do small things are unlikely to achieve big things; and 6. they will be tolerant enough to accommodate our demand for improved services. I want to commend the faculty members and board of this great institution. Our administration has committed to a renewed focus on improving the fortunes and fame of this University. But even with all the best buildings and the best lecturers, it is your own innate sense of values that will distinguish you as you make your way in this world. Thank you all for listening and God bless.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 08:44:51 +0000
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