By Kehinde Adegbulugbe
The sacred obligation of elected officials and political parties is to advance the cause of good governance and responsible representation, not the promotion of self-interest and political agendas.
I, along with several citizens of Lagos State, on the 14th of January 2025, woke up to the disturbing news of a legislative coup against the Speaker of the House, Honorable Obasa
The dramatis personae was not seated at the chambers and was well known to be in Atlanta US at the time. The development has all the flavor and intrigue of a palace coup. The question to ask is, how is this of benefit to the electorate/citizens of the state?
The allegations levied against the Speaker were remarkable by their frivolity. Whilst seemingly justified, why did they become issues at this time? Is the house saying these allegations are fresh? What new evidence compelled the impeachment action?
This suggests that the entire debacle was a product of partisan political fallout. The elected members have used the privilege of their representation to pursue partisan interests. Or as we like to put it in our local parlance, “playing politics.”
What is distressing about the entire development is that rather than focusing on developing, deliberating, and deploying favorable legislative policies and oversight monitoring for progressive value delivery to the people, these elected officials are focused on petty political feuds that promote personal interests.
It becomes even more alarming when it is observed that a political party, APC, holds the majority and the Speaker as well as a member of the same APC. Even the beneficiary of the coup is an APC member!
Rather than pushing legislature and oversight functions to improve road transport delivery, housing shortage, waste management, flood and sewage control, security, etc., the state’s legislature is focused on titular privileges for personal aggrandizement.
Why should the votes of the people be wasted on people who are short on solutions but long on political drama? Why should the hallowed halls of the State Assembly be reduced to a Wrestlemania brawl room?
Leadership and governance share the responsibility of ensuring effective and ethical operations, but with distinct focuses: leadership inspires and motivates towards a vision, while governance ensures accountability and compliance through systems and processes. On both counts, the Lagos State House of Assembly led by the APC has failed the people.
Lagos State is rightly called the Center of Excellence. It is the melting pot of Nigeria’s identity and economy. As Lagos goes, so does the rest of the country.
Thus, it is important to address the foundation and example being set by Lagos State’s electoral representatives. Governance should be about the people, not about the politicians.
The people need representation that is looking out for the public good, not partisan interests. Each constituency should question it’s representatives position on how the pursuit of political drama benefits the constituency.
To further denigrate the citizens as inconsequential puppets of the political game, a return to status quo was established, outside of the courts, after a legislative process was pursued and legally concluded
Lagosians, it is time we have a rethink not just about who are representing us but also why they are representing us. Governance is bout the people. Good governance is a right of the people.
Kehinde Adegbulugbe is the Lagos State Chairman of Action Alliance.
