Nigeria Content Online

From the stables of
the Alliance of Retrogressive Politicians comes the latest sequel in
this blockbuster joke of a movie. Starring the regulars: Governor of
Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, loved by residents of Lagos, despised
by others; The Lagos State House of Assembly, a group more interested
in pointing the finger and ensuring every other finger points in every
other direction but theirs; and of course the not-so-phantom group
tagged True Face of Lagos. In the first instalment, the True Face had
no face. In the second, a face suddenly emerged. In the third, the
state assembly hid behind the face, but was squashed by the arm of the
law. Now, the honourables appear to have assumed full facial features
of the True Face.

Warning:

The following scenes contain alarming doses of things not good for your sanity. Read on at your own peril.

Present Day:

March 30, 2010, the
Lagos State house of assembly was once again agog with excitement,
rumblings and a host of other activities like children whose toys,
earlier seized by an adult for their unruliness, had suddenly been
returned. You could see the faces of the honourables light up with the
presentation of the latest in petitions by the renowned group tagged
True Face of Lagos. The new petition contained many of the previous
allegations plus a few new ideas to add a twist to the tale (I mean
petition). After a brief silence, suggesting awe, the kind experienced
by “Z” after arriving in “Insectopia”, one of the bigger children spoke
up, “I don’t know what is in the mind of this True Face of Lagos but I
can see a determination in them. We are running towards election period
and our party’s determination to change Lagos is at stake. I don’t know
how Lagosians will feel about it but don’t you think we need to clean
ourselves of (the allegations)?”

I’ll tell him “what
is in the mind of” Lagosians: We would very much appreciate a
legislative arm of government that is determined to carry out their
functions of checking the executive and guarding against excessive acts
on the part of the governor, not a bunch of people more concerned with
what we think of them now that they are “running towards election
period.” That said, some might wonder how we made it to this point in
the first place. For this part of the movie, a flashback would be
necessary.

January 28, 2010:

It was another day
in the lives of citizens of the country. Many, however, wondered what
intrigue the day held as everyday in the country seemed to hold some
drama in store. They didn’t have to wait for long to find out for
splashed conspicuously in a national daily was an advertorial, alleging
mega corruption in the Lagos State government, and indicting the
executive governor and members of the house of assembly. In a swift
reaction to their ordeal, “Delta Force” style, the honourables swung
into action setting up an ad-hoc committee of six members to
investigate allegations of misappropriation levelled against the state
governor. Lest I forget, I should also mention that the group also
claimed members of the Lagos Sate House of Assembly were given the sum
of N20m each.

Without recourse to
any standard political process, the house proceeds to investigate the
governor. The actions however, seemed more like an attempt at saving
face. How successful was this investigation? What did it turn up? For
answers to these questions, we shall need to speed things up a little
and move on to the future.

March 16, 2010:

The Lagos State
House of Assembly was told to put a sock in it. A court order
restrained it from proceeding with its resolution to investigate
alleged impropriety levied against the executive and legislative arms
of government. Baffling to the presiding judge was how the House
decided to set up a committee to investigate allegations from an
unknown body. Also, he wondered – and I do as well – if the House will
expend tax payers money to set up another committee based on any other
advertorial from a faceless body.

Back to present day:

The antics of the
House of Assembly and the so-called True Face of Lagos is reminiscent
of the technical prowess of a Shuaibu Amodu – absolutely tactless. The
True Face of Lagos seems to have on another face, one very willing to
face its agenda, whatever they may be. It is very evident the last has
not been heard of this debacle. And the anticipation grows as we await
the next sequence in the series. And, just as an afterthought, I’m
wondering if there is another face beneath these faces.