I want to believe that most of you guys who wine and dine with the political office holders do tell them the truth in private as opposed to the ‘bravado’ that most of you use to defend sometimes indefensible actions of theirs. Otherwise, you guys are the people responsible for our current woes, both at the State and federal levels. There shouldn’t be anything like State roads or federal roads. Who ply federal roads in Ekiti, people from the federal capital or Ekiti people? Whether the federal is reimbursing the State for money expended on fixing the roads or not is secondary. What the people want are good and motorable roads, irrespective of whether they have been constructed by the State or federal government. If there hasn’t been misplacement of priorities in the past, BAO’s critics wouldn’t have had the grounds to insinuate that the badness of our roads, most especially via Itawure to Ekiti was the reason the governor was not comfortable inviting the world to Ekiti. I think the time to have a reorientation in terms of what amenities to provide for the people of Ekiti State is now.
The Governor needs some ethically-grounded, intelligent, and well- educated advisors and assistants. Political grifters and hangers-on are a drain and add no value. In fact, because of their own personal shortcomings, their influence is damaging to the principal. He needs people who are not looking for the next pay check or contracts, who can give him sincere advice and lift him up. Ekiti will benefit greatly from this approach.
From what I understand, the Governor is a thoughtful person. He needs to surround himself with thoughtful people. Leadership is teamwork. A team is as good as the quality of the members of the team. A team’s strength, effectiveness and efficiency are indeed directly tied to the quality, skills, and dedication of its individual members. Indeed it is good for a leader to work with assets not liabilities. A good leader should always be in the company of people who will add value to organisational processes.
In reality, it is unlikely that in Nigeria, there will be a perfect team in the political space, because politics is a game of interests.There are stakeholders who have interests in government. It is not wise to ignore stakeholders. Stakeholders ordinarily should be met half way, at least. Who are the stakeholders in Ekiti government? I assume the greatest stakeholders in Ekiti government are Ekiti people who voted the leaders into power.Are we saying they should only be met halfway? Who gets the other half?And isn’t an ethical government good for everyone no matter what end of the stake they are holding?
