Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole By Monday Obaze
They
swore to be our servant, placing their right hand on the Bible or Koran; they
lift their voice to the heavens
proclaiming all sorts of loyal ties to the people, little did we know that their action was an irony, a
ruse, because in reality we are their servant and they our lord and master.
The local government reform carried out by the
military in 1976 was done with the view of taking government closer to the
people and embodied in various parts of the reform is the baseline that the
local government is there to serve the local people, to carry out those vital
functions that are necessary for grassroots development. It is written in the
guideline for local government reform that local government is government at
local level exercised through representative councils established by law to
exercise specific powers within defined areas.
These
powers should give the council substantial control over local affairs as well
as the staff and institution, and financial powers to initiate and direct the
provision of service and to determine activities of the state and federal
government in their areas; and to ensure through devolution of functions to the
council and through active participation of the people and traditional
institution that local initiative and response to local needs and condition are
maximized.
The local government was created for the
people but now the reverse is the case, the local government headed by a
chairman and other council has now grown so big to the extent that the need of
the people has now become insignificant. The local people can’t have access to
their local government because the personnel in charge are either not around to
listen to their complaints or simply do not care.
On
several occasion I tried to contact two local government chairmen in Edo State
but failed. One was consistently not in office while the other couldn’t grant
me an audience because to him what I have to say was not important probably
because I was not in a three piece suit and was not recommended by a high
ranking political officer.
Every
time I go to these offices, I was tossed around like a round leather ball in a
Barcelona game, a scenario that will not occur if I was the son of a very
important person in the state. The local government is no longer for the local
people, and for the common man seeing the local government chairman is like a
camel passing through the eye of a needle. It is time to get local government leaders
who will actually be servants of the people as it should be.
Monday Obaze is a political scientist based in Benin City, Edo State
No comments:
Post a Comment