Hon Ramota Adeyeri.
When
john Strauss mills a renowned expert on local government and development molded
the word ‘’pedagogical’’ in his understanding, his narrative was how is
developing the people can be done by the people and for the people them- self’s and that in actual
sense, was what he meant with such word .This is by know means a new dimension
of inculcating good governance with excellent leadership quality in the annals
of self transformation and inter dependency that is geared towards development
of the grass root. Doing it your self, indeed, is what this concept preaches
and in-doing, the reality of happening in our government at the grassroots can
be best described as the independent of having elective leaders in every segment
of both the legislatures as Councilor and its executive arm.
Local council development area as a product of
decentralization that have other affiliation with other components units,
doubtless, has behind its shoulder, the ideology to co-ordinate and stimulates
development at the grass-root level by involving inclusively, its people in the
planning processes through their representatives. The fore-going however,
usually has, in its agenda, a plan objective to transfer authority on a
geographic basis through delegation to various field units of the grassroots
people.
The
contention here is that, Local government is the third tier of government in
the context of federal system that Nigeria is practicing and can be regarded as
a new modern democratic government, very multi ethnic with diverse political
and economic orientation. It is striving more especially now, that some states
had saw its hidden potential and made more provision in creating local council
development area for it to be more ‘’pedagogical’’ to the teaching of self
independence when the need to give more priority to areas with more potentials
like the state of Lagos had done in creating more thirty seven additional
council development areas. In specifics, the rate at which the application of policies is being disseminated in particular, iba local
council development areas, is entirely not catching up with other of its
counterparts that was created the same day and delineated within the sub-region
for the same purpose of extending developments closer to grass
roots and for the purpose of reaching the core areas that is seriously in need
of it to start the practice of teaching each other on how to develop one
another, ensure even developments of social and physical
infrastructure, considering the levels of development being achieved by
other counterparts within the limited time it was being created. This can be
well visualized when evaluating the levels of development in other sister
council within its delineation of geographic location that makes the whole of
Ojo region.
Physical observation of happenings has it that
those poor applications are those little things that actually count in the
transformation of such area where political leaders is always recalcitrant
about. The development of this little things that count, even though not in
judgment of every once’s eye, has culminated into governance that has
manifested in high levels of poverty and economic decline at the local level.
The root of this manifestation can be attributed to low level and poor quality
of dividend of democracy. Low level of dividend of democracy in these sense, is
that the infrastructures and social services provided as a result of practice
of grassroots democracy and development by the people and for the people are
inadequate to promote and make people contribute adequately to the grass root
socio economic development in iba local council development area with-which the
writer has seen physically, given the fact that he has been a residence their
for more than a decade, and still counting. All factors considered, for
instance, the Low quality of dividend of democracy on the other hand is that
some social facilities and infrastructures at Afro media primary school and in
fauzi Omar Amadiya school located along major road adjacent to council area
revenue office at okokomaiko, was indeed as a result of practice of grass-root
democracy with metamorphosis of poor quality in out look and social amenities
as we speak, as resulted in low durability, poor social services derived from
its usage.
This
challenge arises from ill policies and lack of good understanding of clear cut
policy directions. Indeed, are these not little things that matter to the
inhabitants of iba council development area?’’ We must not fail to understand
that corruption and poverty are inter-twin, both of them work together; there
is no known time where corruption and poverty stands on their own Indeed, they
are as a result of each other’’ therefore, we must bear in mind that true life
is lived when little things occur, and that the man who want to move a mountain
begins by carrying small stone not by establishing a loop-hole to leverage on
the people’s treasure. A test case of misplacement of priority that should not
be allowed to escalates and further affect the already rise in poverty index
which has continue to have a far reaching effect on our city development.
One may even add for measure and a sign of prosperity whether the
increasing numbers of official cars purchased for use in the council has
another means indeed to prosperity or backwardness? If you reel out the growth
statistics about which political office holders have made much, in a
political economy class however, a clear headed undergraduate may inquire about
how much of the growth is an out working of economic management at the grass
root and how much of it is an expression of natural and material
endowment the local government is saddled within the cause of developing raw
potentials and materials.
As
a clue, john Strauss mills also projected as far back in the mid 1990’s that
local government hold the key for economic renaissance since most resources
have their roots from it, if it could get it act together. Leaving that point
aside, the whimsical educational policies of iba council development area is
far incomparable with its counterparts of Ajeromi ifelodun. Shifting education
policies as those of ‘’chicken to rope’’. Today, the challenges are those
little things that matters, where we have the underlining issues specific of
under –staffed, under-equipped and under-funding as the bane of self
sufficiency in all its elementary schools. Even where certain policies are
intended to raise standards, some are based on false premises and unilaterally
imposed on those elementary schools. Unlike its counterparts at
Ajeromi-ifelodun local government, where they have an executive secretary who
oversees the periodic needs of what keeps the smooth running of education
management and development on high standard.. Not with-standing the fore-going,
the leadership vacuum are of serious priority on things of these nature. On the
front line, the grass-root people of Ajeromi saw the importance of bringing in
some one who will tailor such policy as closely as that of the eyes and the
nose.
Regarding road infrastructure, Hon Ramota
Oseni Adeyeri had promised during her campaign to rehabilitate access roads
within its jurisdiction to ensure smooth carriage for both pedestrian and road
users. No matter what government propaganda claims, the woes of consumers, as
revealed in distress calls published in various news papers provided convincing
gauge that little or no progress has been recorded on this score. The road map
to sustainable roads is on the slow wheels, while the incremental positioning that should convince
us that we are on the high way to sporadic development at iba council
development area is despairingly absent. Has waste management been
complimentary to that of the state government as the council chairman promised?
Well, the recent lament of the people concerning heap of waste refuse and
stench in various location provides a useful hints. The promise to ‘’run an
inclusive government within the local government with out being biased’’? Ask
the okokomaiko and the isashi people who have been shouting from the rooftop
about marginalization of this present dispensation with buttressing statistic
on the pattern of appointments to prove their point. Not many believe how
important those little things could be, most especially when promises made during campaign do count
even as a justification to fight corruption regardless of the position of the
person involved. Her critics say that she is too much a part of the system to
do any such thing, pointing out that little things of such is of no importance
to her, other than moving and searching for another tenure. On the hopeful
side, Hon Ramota Oseni Adeyeri should learn that excellent leadership and
good governance are the basis for climbing higher in life, therefore these
alarm must be sounded for her to learn form other counterparts before
graduating to another position and indeed when to seek the mandates of the people.
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