Fashola’s faux pas -By Kene Obiezu

As governor of Lagos State between 2007 and 2015, Mr. Babatunde Fashola put in a superlative shift. So sensational was his performance in upgrading Lagos State which had long been Nigerias most innovative state that he became a reference point for leaders in Nigeria. At the conclusion of his tenure as governor, it was with a great sigh of relief that Nigerians welcomed his appointment into the cabinet of Mr. Muhammadu Buhari when it became obvious that he was not going to become president of Nigeria.

Nigerians were almost unanimous in their conclusion that Mr. Fashola was too good and too valuable to be allowed to slide into political obscurity. The presidents trust in him was confirmed when he was given the power, works and housing portfolio during Mr. Buharis first term in office. Even when the power portfolio was excised from the portfolios he held, the administrations trust in him appeared as solid as ever.

However, as things stand today, the general mood around the once highflying Lagos state governor is one of disappointment and even anger. Nigerians feel that he has underperformed just like the entire cabinet of which he is a key cog.

Maybe, just maybe with the benefit of hindsight posterity will judge the current administration a bit less harshly. But the truth remains unassailable that today there is an overwhelming feeling among Nigerians that the current administration has been an overwhelming disappointment.

While some other cabinet members have been unsurprisingly disappointing in the discharge of their duties given that they did not come into the administration with any positive antecedents. Some of them who had governed some hapless states in Nigeria had done their best to empty the coffers of their states before they left office.

Some of them did all within their power to impose on their states men who had neither vision nor vitality to make a success of the considerably demanding task of governing a state. But from people like Mr. Fashola, Nigerians expected more and the degree of disappointment has been well commensurate with the weight of expectation.

Another art that the officials of the current administration have perfected is that of blaming the past administration for all its struggles. Under the current administration, it has become a perfect riposte for those who would question the direction of the administration to say that for sixteen years a certain party practically did nothing to.

Recently, at an event in Kano State, Mr. Fashola was said to have compared the state of infrastructural development in Nigeria to what is obtainable in the US. Unavoidably, he could not resist poking a finger in the direction of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Although he recently came out to blame the Peoples Democratic Party over what he described as the deliberate misinterpretation of his words, there can be no doubt that in some way, Mr. Fashola favourably compared the infrastructure in Nigeria to what is obtainable in the United States of America which is the world`s preeminent country and oldest democracy.

There is no doubt that the degree of delusion, operative in the current administration is very high. There is an intoxicating sense of false superiority inherent in the administration that convinces it that whatever it is doing, it is doing it better than all previous administrations did. Whatever that is and wherever it is coming from, it is a grand illusion. The earlier the illusion is shaken off, the better for Nigeria.

Kene Obiezu,
keneobiezu@gmail.com