Dear Governor Ambode,
This is an official demand for an apology. Please forgive me for not praising you, before demanding the apology. If I were, I would have started by thanking you for the many simultaneous infrastructure. and human capital development projects undertaken by your administration. I would have gone on to accuse those raising red flags about the costs of these projects, as political opponents with ill-intent. What do they know about running a mega city? Then I would have ended with prayers for your reign to be extended to the next term.
Instead, I demand an apology. I demand an apology for fooling us into thinking that the state had evolved and even leapt above some archaic problems, bedeviling the Nigerian nation. In 2018, where the world is filled with such amazing technological solutions in transportation, logistics, and security, a president shuts down the economy of a state. With this singular act, you have reversed all the developmental strides made by your party in the last 19years. How? Infrastructures are great for economic progress, but greater nations/states know that economies grow through systemic certainty. This is one of the biggest signals of systemic uncertainty since the last military coup. If Lagos, with all her display of sophistication, is unable to manage a presidential visit, one wonders what else the state is unable to manage?
I demand an apology for thinking Lagos was a beacon within the economy of the 36 states of Nigeria, for intelligence in leadership and governance. Today I have been proven wrong; not about the state being a beacon. I still maintain that the state remains the most sophisticated, but I have now come to the realization that this sophistication is cosmetic, and should never be alluded to some super-intelligence on the part of leadership. The state is just a lucky intersection of economic and human capital. Little wonder why the nation is like this, if her most sophisticated state misses epic opportunities such as this to display critical reasoning, why expect much of our charlatan federal leadership?
I demand an apology for believing in you. I actually initially didn’t. Your election campaign materials didn’t do you justice either, often portraying you as someone lacking in ability to empathize with the general populace. So I have to confess, I was initially skeptical about your leadership philosophy. However, you soon won me over with your many acts of exemplary governance. First, with the third mainland security challenge in the early days, and how you would leave the comfort of the government house at 5:30am to witness the problem firsthand, and then subsequently issue directives to tackle the challenge. Second, with your infrastructural projects, simultaneously tackling the many infrastructural deficits in the state. Third, with your human capital initiatives like LSETF and Lagos Innovates. You swept me off my feet with your actions and less with your words. Now I am beginning to wonder, maybe our honeymoon is over and the veil is off my face. I am beginning to see the real you. The lack of transparency in your procurement procedures, your continuous endorsement of the over-reaching influence of Bourdillon’s Alpha Beta, your many over-bloated contracts, Otodo-gbame, Cleaner Lagos and the land use charge alongside the introduction of multiple levies and charges led to scales falling of my eyes. Now you have added the back-breaking straw to my camel-back. A president visits and in two days, you shut the economy! Now I am scorned, and expressing my disappointment with the fury of a scorned lover.
In the end, I must first offer my own apologies. I apologize for ever believing that you were different. I apologize for believing there was a genuine vision for a mega city. I apologize for ever falling in love with your make-up. And while I await your half-hearted apologies and overtures, I must now sincerely ensure that no one else falls prey to your seduction scheme.
Signed,
Damilare Ogunleye,
Lagosian.
