By Olubọdé Mac Ọsẹrinde
Dear Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwoolu, Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat, APC Lagos… I put up this piece to seek for your candid reassessment of the situation and employ fairness on issues as it concerns the Ikorodu Division.
Just yesterday, we received a cheery news of this proactive government nominating some great minds to constitute the board of Lagos State Local Government Service Commission. A cursory look at the list of nominees shows that indeed the Governor and his team did a good work of selecting sound minds for the appointment, and I must say Kudos to the Governor and his team.
However, my joy was short-lived as the stark realization of the fact that my dear Ikorodu Division sadly don’t have a representation on that list dawned on me. I realized that like what has been a perceived over-the-time marginalisation or shortchanging of Ikorodu Division has come to play here again.
For the want of space, I may not be able to highlight ALL areas where Ikorodu Division had been roundly CHEATED by successive government, but I’d bring to the fore at least 2-3 occurrences which underscores our belief that Ikorodu Division is being marginalised despite our voting power.
One in very fresh memory is the lopsided appointment of membership of Lagos House Assembly Service Commission (LAHASCOM) where the representative of this division would not be allowed to go for another term as his colleagues from other divisions and another individual from Agege (Ikeja Division) filled that space for good four years despite our outcry. Invariably, Ikeja Division got 2 allotments whilst Ikorodu Division got nothing! Pray, how else do we describe unfair treatment and inequality other than this.
Also, another sad case of marginalisation is the several road repairs being carried out by the Lagos State Public Works Corporation. We know & evidences abound that for every average of 20 repairs/maintenance works carried out in the state in a month, Ikorodu DIVISION gets JUST ONE! We had even witnessed times where the @LSPWC_Official would include the name of a previously repaired road in Ikorodu Division in the list of roads to be repaired for a new month or week. This is not a spurious claim, we have evidential references.
& now, we have another case of lopsided appointment coming up in the new nomination for Lagos State Local Government Service Commission. Of the five names listed there which selection essentially should have been tailored around the IBILE principle, no one is from Ikorodu or representing Ikorodu Division. Invariably, it is safe to say that one of the 5 divisions which constitutes IBILE Forum would have two representatives in the commission at the detriment of Ikorodu Division! How fair could this be Mr. Governor, Mr. Deputy Governor, Mr. Speaker @mudashiru_obasa, & APC Lagos?
Much as we believe that appointments should be based on merit & putting the round peg in the round hole, we must not lose sight of the fact that the binding fulcrum of governance in Lagos State is fairness, justice and equality in allocation of offices. And since the creation of the state, this has been demonstrated with deference to IBILE forum (divisional constitution of Lagos State: Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja, Lagos & Epe) whenever consideration for State’s appointive or elective positions arises. But sadly, things went southwards during the days of Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration.
With the Government of Mr. #BabajideSanwoolu & Dr. #ObafemiHamzat which we believe to be one that will always uphold the principle of justice and fairness, we do not expect anything less than equal distribution of opportunities, and responsibilities amongst IBILE forum.
It is on this note that I as a concerned stakeholder in Ikorodu Division wish to call on the aforementioned concerned authorities in the State to critically look into this unsavoury abnormality which is gradually becoming a norm.
It is a sore on our psyche as a people and must not be allowed to fester beyond this stage.
Olubọdé Mac Ọsẹrinde writes from Ikorodu
