Never Outshine Your Master: Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please or impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite – inspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power – Robert Greene
For those old enough to write their names in the 70’s and 80’s you will agree that. Although, the cold war was there, still the USSR and US maintained political niceties in public glare.
No doubt beyond cold war, developmental analyst with sufficient knowledge about Lagos political history will agree that all seems not to be rosy between Gov Ambode and his immediate predecessor, Babatunde Fashola who currently hold sway as the Honourable Minister of Works, Power and Housing. Although, some pundit might claim their grouse might not be unconnected to the former loyalty to the All Progressive Congress national leader over the later.
Over the last 2 years Lagos has witnessed sufficient infrastructural development and consistent first rate performance which some as attributed to the consistency of the current Governor even in the heat of biting economic recession . Others believe this might have trigger a power game in which violation of certain laws of power among which is- Outshining ones master. This may have trigger off the current impasses over the rehabilitation of the Oshodi – Airport road. Here is the observation of the Governor which give credence to such assertion :
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“The road linking Oshodi to the International Airport, you would all agree with me is a national embarrassment. In the spirit of the regeneration and urbanisation that this administration has set out to achieve, we believe strongly that the image that is exhumed by the decadence of that road must be repaired and we took it upon ourselves to appropriate the 2017 budget that the House of Assembly should approve the total reconstruction of the Airport Road from Oshodi to the International Airport.
“The state currently has a design of 10 lanes from Oshodi to the International Airport with interchange and flyover that would drop towards the local airport. The contractor is set to go and everything as I said has been completed and we already have the cash, but alas we are having challenges with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing. This is a Federal and not a state road. The Federal Ministry of Works believes that they should do the road, but they have not been able to do it all these years past.
No doubt one of the major reasons overwhelming political machinery within Lagos was deplore to ensure the emergence of the then opposition All Progressive Congress at the national level. Is to harness a fruitful developmental relationship with the Federal Government which the State previously lacked for 16 years being under an opposition political party.
If the current ugly situation isn’t arrested quickly and treated as a matter of political urgency, it might be the beginning of a sad end, not just for the political integrity of Babatunde Fashola, which seems to be a repetition of Senator Seye Ogunlewe dark days, who also from Lagos had a messy political fight with Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu while in office as the Minister Of Works, which led to his inability to fix the deplorable road that led through his country home.
Half a word……!!!
Awesu Olaniyi can be reached via [email protected]
