In a world such as ours, avarice and inordinate desire for ill-gotten riches has made most politicians averse to the truth. Even when common sense demands the truth be told.
Governments everywhere in the world are not infallible since they are run by humans who are prone to mistakes. A policy crafted with good intentions may turn awry along the line due to poor implementation, ineffective staffing, lack of funds, or simply as a result of incompetent leadership as is the case with Oyo State. When things deviate from the desired expectation, it is only fair that the government come out with the truth, apologise and move on. If we must copy western democracies, it should not be limited to infrastructural development and environmental beautification, but also in terms of the character, honesty and integrity therein.
It is therefore a shame that the Senator Abiola Ajimobi-led government of Oyo State could not own up to a policy it initiated that has become one of the most gory occurrences the state has ever witnessed. The Oyo State Government, while attempting to aesthetically improve the environment, commissioned a certain Engr. Ibrahim Gbadamosi to rid the streets of destitute and the mentally-challenged. The task was simple: Get these people, lock them up in a government-owned property and starve them to death or so it seems the details of the contract specified. How else can what happened be explained?
With the active connivance of the state government, Engr. Gbadamosi took the blind, lame, mentally challenged and destitute to the Soka forest in Ibadan. He put them in a building owned by the state government and left them to die a slow, painful, hunger-induced death.
How callous can a government be ? To worsen matters, Senator Ajimobi and his aides turned around and claimed that the “rehabilitation centre” which they inaugurated through a proxy in 2012, had been in existence for over ten years ! This was not only irresponsible, but a clear manifestation of utmost insensitivity on the part of Senator Ajimobi.
Even the governor’s wife, a woman and a mother, who should have been touched by this inhuman treatment, joined her husband in the lie. And in a futile attempt to cover up evidence of this evil, the state governor hastily ordered the demolition of the building when the act came to the open. If the governor had no prior knowledge of the house of horror, why did he not call on the police to conduct a proper investigation before ordering its demolition ? Apparently, he wanted to quickly destroy any evidence that may link his administration to the shameful deed. Little wonder he was pelted with stones by an angry mob when he visited the scene. I suppose his continual denial of his government’s culpability comes under the heading of inspiring leadership. The leadership manual drafted for him by his godfather in lagos.
It was this ill-conceived policy that gave rise to the place being used by ritualists and dealers in human parts as an operational base. The contractor who was saddled with the maintenance of the facility abandoned it due to some financial squabbles with the state government, and the coast was clear for ritualists and traffickers in human body parts to use the building as base for their illicit trade .
Residents of the Soka area confirmed that it was Ajimobi’s government that created this human poultry. Why the government wants to blame it on perceived political opponents still remains a puzzle that beats ones imagination. When Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos state deported some destitute to their home states, we thought we had seen it all in a government’s open display of wickedness to the people they were meant to protect. However, Senator Ajimobi’s method of handling a similar issue makes Gov. Fashola seem like a saint.
It is however noteworthy that the Special Adviser to the state governor on the Environment, Abayomi Oke, chose to tread the part of honour by coming out with the truth when he revealed that the state government actually contracted Engr. Gbadegesin to evacuate the destitute from the streets of Ibadan. Oke deserves commendation. I encourage like minds in the Ajimobi administration to shed more light on the falsehood the administration is peddling about education, provision of water, health, pensioners,civil servants’ welfare, the heavy debt profile of Oyo state and sundry issues.
Senator Ajimobi has, from inception of his administration, been submissive to a poor start. Having on its trail is a long list of contemptible performances in critical sectors of the state. This latest development has only shown that the governor is through with governing Oyo State. The people are convinced that he has reached the zenith of his potentials and have had enough of his incompetence.
Omoetan is a social commentator resident in Awotan, Ibadan, Oyo State.
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