By Segun Showunmi
Strange indeed are the times in Ogun State. We have never had it so bad. The other day, I watched as Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State hosted a well put together Investment Summit, tagged ‘Kad 5.0.’ I listened with a very critical mind. Kaduna is an All Progressives Congress state, and I would say nobody wears a thicker Peoples Democratic Party toga than mine.
I was open minded but would certainly not consume media hype without substance.
As speaker after speaker took to the microphone, I found myself far away in thought. I was happy that the direction Kaduna was going was in my opinion, good for Kaduna and my scepticism yielded; I could see efforts in the right direction.
I was impressed with the former Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. He delivered true to type; insightful and intelligent contributions. Then the President and leader of the party, Muhammadu Buhari, joined in via zoom. I got a sense of pride that all things considered, Kaduna was conceptually in the right direction, and my mind came to my beloved Ogun State.
I remembered with nostalgia that the business of economic summit at subnational levels was something we had become used to from the administration of Otunba Gbenga Daniel, right down to the successor regime of Senator Ibikunle Amosun.
Ogun had an agenda-setting, business-like, and professionally delivered economic summit, year in year out, until we apparently found ourselves stuck with a governor with a non-ordinary state of consciousness and psychedelic tendencies.
In our new era, while others are busy reinventing the future, our man only appears to be spending an obscene amount of time on his looks and dressing with ever matching colours.
More annoying was the situation where the governor was nowhere to be found at his duty post for weeks on end, and his whereabouts were discussed in hush tones. At the height of it, he was rumoured to have fallen ill and needed urgent medical attention outside the country.
He finally showed up, and as expected, it was evident that the psychedelic governor had taken time from his duty post to grow a white beard and carve same in the style of a not so busy layabout.
I wondered: so, in the face of all that needs attention in our dear state, all our man can see to busy himself with is his looks! Really?
Ogun has not paid minimum wage; leave-bonuses of workers are outstanding; there is a shortfall in federal allocation as a result of the present reality, and all the governor worries about is white beards?
Jeremiah Oyeniyi Obafemi Awolowo, please look down from the great beyond and inspire our governor towards things that are important at this time. Who knows, he may hearken to celestial words of wisdom!
