Development in any clime needs a multi-faceted approach if it is to be significantly achieved. This is why the idea of Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun to execute 236 projects across wards in the state through the councillors is a welcome development.
The development, if genuinely executed will mean that 236 developmental projects will be achieved simultaneously across the state for the betterment of residents and the communities. That’s huge! Be it the rehabilitation or construction of roads, primary healthcare centres, drainages, or even borehole water systems among others.
One thing is sure and that is the fact that the impact of Governor Abiodun is likely to be more felt in his second and last tenure in all the 236 political wards thereby giving the coucillors bragging rights for facilitating the development.
This is not the first time a state governor will toe this path to complement whatever it is that the local governments are doing by bringing development closer to the people at the grassroots.
The incumbent Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, during his first tenure executed 377 ward projects across 20 LGAs and 37 LCDAs across the state.
Arguably the initiative was unprecedented in the history of governance in Nigeria and it further confirms why Lagos is a pathfinder and centre of excellence. It is safe to conclude that the Ogun State governor got the idea from Lagos and it’s best to holistically and critically analyse Lagos’ template to ensure that the initiative is well-implemented in the gateway state.
During the flag-off exercise held at Alausa, Ikeja on September 25th, 2020 when the world was just recovering from the ravaging effect of the COVID-19 Virus, and consequent lockdown, Sanwo-Olu said the intervention was one way he hoped to fulfill some of his campaign promises especially to people at the local level of governance. He appreciated the fact and actually declared that the grassroots is “the bedrock of development.”
He underscored the importance of the idea by stating: “The state-wide 377 ward projects being launched today are state intervention projects in grassroots development.
“The projects are conceived in response to requests by the various communities across the State to address specific challenges. These projects are not universal; they are diverse, reflecting the needs of each ward across the state,” the governor was quoted as saying.
He added that: “This administration’s development agenda is driven by the spirit to build a Greater Lagos that is livable, and conducive for the growth and development of enterprise. The dream of a greater Lagos is not exclusive; it is predicated on the principle of inclusiveness by which development is not considered as satisfactory until it has addressed the yearnings of the greatest number of the people who contributes to the commonwealth.”
The 377 projects executed were all peculiar to the wards as the request of the ward councilors formed the yardstick of what and what project was carried out. This showed that the councilors were in charge as it was meant to be. The breakdown showed that 257 were road/drainage construction or rehabilitation, 86 were constructions or rehabilitation of public buildings, installation of two jetties, nine water projects and 23 power projects.
One of the lessons from this is that the project executed in each of the wards was the request of the councilors who had hitherto carried out a needs assessment of their wards to know which project was in dire need.
For instance, in Ilasamaja Ward, Isolo LCDA, the then councilor who is now leader of the legislative arm of Isolo LCDA, Hon. Akeem Adeyemi met with the community heads and they agreed that a townhall was what the ancient community needed most to save itself from the shame of not having a befitting community-owned place where communal meeting could be held.
Also, in Akinbaiye Ward of the same Local Government, the request of the councilor was the construction of a Primary Healthcare centre in his ward to ensure that the royal ward meets up with WHO standards that recommended a PHC per ward.
Yes, Governor Dapo Abiodun, when informing the councilors about the initiative, assured them that it was to empower them. I believe he meant this sincerely and a substantial amount of money will be committed to the projects with the councilor being in charge fully.
What the councillors must first do is take a cue from how their Lagos counterparts took charge of their various projects right from start to the completion stage. They saw it that the funds allocated were judiciously spent to put the projects in standard shape.
It is worthy of mention that the ward project ensured that most of Lagos councillors had more interesting stewardship accounts to give. In addition to their lawmaking and oversight functions, they were able to brag about the Sanwo-Olu-inspired ward projects to complement whatever little they were able to do from their compassionate volition. This initiative earned them more goodwill and a better chance for re-election.
