Another Political Movie from Tinubu: The New Lagos-HOS. The quest for absolute power is driving Lagos to the abyss, as the political situation is degenerating on a daily basis.
Lagosians no longer know the system of government being practised; the institutions of governance were decimated and rebuilt around a Godfather who sold an image of a democratic hero to the citizen.
Civil service, Civil society organizations, Nongovernmental organizations and the press have been infiltrated and lured into the self serving project, while the judiciary has been made to forever show gratitude after official and non official gratification. For the legislators and executives, the only law they know and are to abide by, is the absolute loyalty to the Godfather. An era of a one man Lagos!
Just about four months ago, we all watched how Tinubu: the man called Lagos, hatched out one of his dirty tricks by denying governor Ambode a second term ticket, despite an acknowledgement that the governor worked so much in terms of infrastructural development. In fact, a year before the imbroglio, Tinubu was full of praises on Ambode until the eternal quest for Lagos funds tore them apart. By September 2018, a new political terminology was coined, as Ambode was labelled a governor who has worked immensely but not a party man”. If in the nearest future any of our Nollywood directors decide to produce Not a Party Man in cinematographic format, am sure lagosians would want to know who the Lagos governor was elected to serve, the people or the man Tinubu? Will the governorship of Lagos ever revolve around meritocracy rather than mediocrity?
Like the Silver bird cinemas, the penchant for dishing out new movies by the man called Lagos got to a new crescendo by 31st December 2018; this time around it was The New Lagos-HOS. The appointment of Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola Tinubu’s former personal assistant as the new Lagos head of service, whose total number of years as a civil servant is just about 17years, was a shocker to all.
The Lagos Head of Service (H.O.S) is the highest rank in the Lagos state civil service, saddled with the responsibility of providing leadership and direction to all Government Agencies in the State. The Office is the custodian of Ethics, Ethos, Traditions and Conventions of the Public Service. It is an important office which was equivalent to that of the Deputy Governor during the military era; quality, experience and duration in service were important barometer in picking the head of service in time past.
In making the New Lagos – HOS, like in Not a Party Man, Tinubu consciously displays his authority over an helpless governor whose smile in recent times is coloured with contrasting expressions depicting a man in hook, an hijacked governor, or a scenario of a civilian coup! Can you imagine? Like a man under a spell, Ambode had to place 21 permanent secretaries on compulsory retirement between October and November to actualize Tinubu’s desire.
Hakeem Muri-Okunola, by all standards is a million miles from the exalted seat of the HOS considering the records and experience of his predecessors; aside from the very few years of experience as a civil servant, his records are so dirty and littered with accusations of fraud that no one in a sane community would recommend him as the custodian of ethics and values in the Lagos civil service!
No doubt, his appointments, as a Personal Assistant to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2003, Executive secretary to the Governor, Land Use and Allocation Committee in 2005 and Permanent secretary in the same ministry of Lands in 2011 were all for a mission. For those who know the issues about Tinubu and land in Lagos, fixing the puzzle would be a simple task.
Newspapers and magazines were filled with how Hakeem Muri-Okunola through the hand of the Godfather became the richest permanent secretary ever. January 17th 2014, the National Enquirer Magazine narrated how he lavishly celebrated one of his accounts which hit #1billion naira with a super duper party in one of his properties by the sea front in Ibeshe, where he and cronies rollicked amidst so many beautiful girls for a whole week.
In 2015, Governor Ambode had to transfer Hakeem Muri-okunola to Office of Sports to curb his excesses and perhaps to mitigate the litany of allegations and accusations on land grabbing. This was a time, when Ambode was in control of governance in Lagos.
With Hakeem Muri-Okunola on stage, as the New Lagos – HOS, Tinubu has once again redefined what meritorious service is all about; absolute loyalty to the Godfather. But for how long will this reckless lifestyle continue? To what extent will the institutions of governance be crippled because of the penchant of one man for power and money? When will Lagos be free from authoritarianism and absolutism? These are billion dollar
