By Wale Adedayo
There is extreme poverty in the land. Poverty cannot be eradicated. But a conscientious Government can alleviate poverty to make life worth living for the less privileged.
Because of the Federal System of Government adopted by Nigeria, ONLY the Local Governments can act decisively in this regard. They are the closest to the grassroots, where poverty is wreaking havoc among our people.
A good conscience MUST guide each Council Chairman. We will all die one day. But what LEGACY are we leaving behind for the generation coming after us? Whether you are religious or not does not matter. We will give an account of how we spent our days on earth at some point after we leave this planet.
Consequently, we MUST ensure that the duties of each local government are not hijacked by others for whatever purpose. The functions of each tier of Government are already specified by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Each state of the Nigerian Federation also has laws for their local governments. Funds are key in this endeavour. We MUST ensure that funds from the Federation Account get to each local government as expected by the Constitution. Anything short of this is an indirect way of adding to the poverty in the land.
In the specific case of Ogun State, even assistance from the Federal Government is not allowed to get to the local governments. This is not right. No Governor has any business paying salaries or other incidentals on behalf of ANY local government. Local Governments should be allowed to operate as a unit. It should help the system because those who can successfully pass through local government administration can effectively work at either the state or Federal level.
What is the status of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) concerning local governments? Are local governments expected to shoulder the responsibility of funding Primary Education alone? What is the status of local governments concerning Primary Healthcare? Are local governments expected to shoulder this responsibility alone?
Insecurity is ravaging the land. Functional local governments can tackle insecurity at the roots. And, once Federal and State assistance come in, such should be resolved within the shortest possible time. Bandits, terrorists, kidnappers and the like need a base to operate from; they need supply routes. If each local government does its job well, these criminals will have no place to operate from.
Large-scale, middle-scale and small-scale Agriculture could be built on the back of local governments. They know their terrain better than the State and the Federal Governments. Local Governments remain the actual foundation of Education in the country. If we do not get it right, may God help us.
I am still preparing for the criminal charges preferred against me by the Ogun State Government. The case is due again at the Abeokuta Chief Magistrate’s Court next month. My offence? Writing that Federal Allocations do not get to the local governments! They claimed I lied. Did the Supreme Court lie too? What was their defence at the Supreme Court when the highest court in the land delivered its judgement against them all?
*Hon. Wale Adedayo, a former Chairman, Ijebu East Local Government, wrote from Ijebu Ife, Ogun State.
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