Lagos – Making A Difference With The COVID-19 Palliative

“Whenever you commend, add your reasons for doing so; it is this which distinguishes the approbation of a man of sense from the flattery of sycophants and admiration of fools. I would rather a thousand times be a free soul in jail than to be a sycophant and coward in the streets”.

The above quote by Richard Steele .is instructive, in fact, germane to the discussions of today
In any case, sycophancy has always been part of any society of humans but appears to be prevalent in our society.

You can’t totally divorce this from the subsisting economic system in our land, much more, the certain schemes orchestrated by resolute and crafty fellows in our midst, who have worked their way into the very corridors of power at the different levels.

The graver pain is that rather than make things work, they stall progress. For their concert of evil, ours is a society that begs for virtually everything:  access to sound education; access to quality health care service, in fact, you have to also beg for the construction of the road that leads to your village.

Nigeria, therefore, has become a begging society, a system where the majority of the citizens are dependent on the generosity of those in power for daily sustenance. It is quite shameful.

I wasn’t aware of the prevalence of this in our society growing up. But with childlike innocence, one could usually hear Grandmother make regular reference to it. She would always accuse me of eye service and warned me to desist from such an act.

Growing up, I was determined to heed my grandmother advice and shun eye service but to say it as it is particularly to those saddled with the enviable responsibility of leading us. Not for its sake, but as a way of highlighting their deficiencies while yet, applauding their good deeds in the shared interest of the society.

A good leader must surround himself with honest and sincere people; not those who would only tell him what he wants to hear, but what he needs to do.

The advice of charlatans only ends in uproarious and empty laughter, usually goading the leader on the path of delusion and misguided policies, and ultimately to a societal deformation and a personal disaster.

Unfortunately, this has been the bane of our society and the characteristic of our political system, even when it does not seem to be so, in the short and immediate analyses.

And my beloved state, Lagos State is not exempt from this charade of lies, the dosage of obsequious acts towards our leaders in exchange for special favour and pecuniary gains.

This has not augured well for them, which is why these leaders and their lieutenants see themselves as being larger than life. They arrogate unnecessary power to such bosses and even provide the needed shield for their inadequacies.

It is for the above reasons that one exception should be well celebrated, hence, my commendation, using this avenue, of Gov Sanwo-Olu’s palliative programme of which I became a beneficiary, a few days ago.

An initiative occasioned by the ravaging pandemic followed by a lockdown directive, it was meant to provide respite for the underprivileged and the needy.

The question you might be asking is, how was I qualified If it was meant for the needy? I might not have qualified as one of the underprivileged but a beneficiary of a good structure that will always work if we are all law-abiding., pure and simple.

Beyond that our society is in need of good and compassionate governance – delivering goods roads, educational system and health care delivery service that are second to none, I have always been desirous these so-called dividends of democracy.

Has Sanwo-Olu delivered on those scores?
Only a dispassionate assessment would do justice to the poser.

With what he is doing in Lagos State, Sanwo-Olu has demonstrated convincingly, his crisis-management competences, far above what has been experienced in other states also trying to contain coronavirus. His strategic response and clear leadership are what has made all the difference

This can be seen in the number of confirmed cases in Lagos, as against its staggering population of 27 million.

In responding to the challenges of observing mandatory lockdown, he initiated several palliative measures for Lagosians.

The exercise was not without its initial setbacks though as it was largely hijacked by the political class, hence becoming chaotic and failing in reaching those it was intended.

Nonetheless, the programme left the desired impact, as can be attested to by those who benefitted. This was because undaunted, the administration went back to the drawing table and was able to bring out a fresh strategy to address the obvious inadequacies.

This time around they instituted a system that works. Text messages were sent to all LASTRA cardholders in the state which was one of the major criteria for eligibility. It was therefore not surprising that I received one of those messages.

The next stage was to randomly select the recipients, given the impossibility of reaching the entire 27 million Lagosians of which almost 70 % of them are below the poverty line. This shocking statistics is also reflective of the disparity in tax payment (4.5 million paying taxes out of almost 27million).

Again, I was one of the chosen few, not because I needed the relief materials but the approach which the administration had chosen, in its bid to be fair and yet just.

When I received a call on a Sunday afternoon that I should report at Ikeja local government to collect the package, that provided an opportunity to assess its efficiency and otherwise well-intentioned intervention.

On arrival and upon presentation of my LASTRA card and verification with the register, I was handed over a black bag. I don’t know the contents nor did I even bother to open it because I ended up giving the package to another person that truly needs it.  I was just excited about being a witness to an administration’s demonstration of care, and it was because of this that I duly followed all the laid-down protocols.

For example, I was asked to append my signature in a register which had the names of all the recipients.

I took a picture with the coordinator as evidence that I appeared in person to collect the items, protocols that ordinarily would have elicited some resentment.

Suffice it to say that it was well planned and well-executed and it never mattered what you were asked to do.

You can now understand why I began by acknowledging the state government efforts, and affirming that the palliative programme is no doubt a success. I was a beneficiary.

From the coordinator’s assertion, the exercise held simultaneously in all the local governments and LCDAs across the state including the riverine areas

I rest my case, except to say that the video below will tell the rest of the story

By Otunba T.J Abass