Tetehjewels:
Neither!

I think people involved in politics make good actors. Acting and politics both involve fooling people. People like being fooled by actors. When you get right down to it, they probably like being fooled by politicians even more. A skillful actor will make you think, but a skillful politician will make you never have to think.

PMB is not a politician!

MuttleyLaff:
If he isnt a polithiefician, then he definitely is a diaper, so must be changed, and changed with automatic alacrity

MuttleyLaff:
Does the person and/or name Jakande strike a chord with you?

Tetehjewels:
I beg to disagree. We have had enough diapers for 16 years and now know how to upgrade from using diapers which is why we chose PMB who is not a politician.

The diapers left the building in 2015

MuttleyLaff:
"I choose the deep blue sea in PMB. Learning how to swim is choice"
- by Tetehjewels: 3:25pm On Jan 26, 2019

You are talking and typing as if there is no alternative option(s) to Atiku or PMB
Even if you arent fazed. Havent you kids? Is this the climate and present conditions you desire your kids to know and grow up in?
What of the marginalised, the oppressed, the poorest, those reduced to poverty etcetera who havent the means to learn to swim and/or dont know how to swim?

MuttleyLaff:
1/ A governorship candidate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Lagos state, Mr. Akintoye Branco-Rhodes, has said that All Progressives Congress, APC, has put the state under bondage.

Akintoye, who expressed hope that the PDP will take over power from the APC in the state in 2015, described Governor Babatunde Fashola as over-rated, saying he hasn’t done anything unusual.

“Fashola is over-rated, he has not done anything unusual to attract the accolades being showered on him by some people”, said Branco-Rhodes.
Published on October 17, 2014

2/ My recent academic research tour of Lagos State proved that Fashola was overrated. The Jimi Disu media conspired with elitists politicians to sell dummies to the general public about Fashola. What I saw during my tour was an eyesore, by Maxwell Adeyemi Adeleye
Published on June 14, 2015

3/ Fashola: A charade and overrated politician, by Jacob Ogunseye
Published on Oct 20, 2015

4/ He has always been overrated, his appointment as a Minister further exposed his ineptitude’
Published on December 13, 2018

"Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason"
- Mark Twain.

Tetehjewels:
What or who are the alternatives? Sowore?

He should go learn the ropes first from maybe an LG chairman then we can have a means of evaluating him.

Marginalization or Oppression in Nigeria is a deceipt of the mind. Whosoevers mind isn't broken by such thoughts can break through anything.

The poor will always be with us. Even the rich nations also have the poor.

Take away pride, laziness and lies and poverty will also leave the individual

MuttleyLaff:
Yes, Sowore is a worthy alternative

What ropes did PMB learn, when at 41 years old, he forcibly took power in a military coup d'état to be head of state?

Please be fair and have some compassion because, it is barely a week old that I was talking with an octogenarian, a retired Nigerian military nurse, she told me of the devastation of the SS. Told me about when she was growing up and to date, she kept seeing environmental devastations and exposed gas flaring caused by the oil companies. People couldnt farm nor fish, everywhere is polluted. No infrastructure as medicals, roads, power supplies are few and far in between, if not lacking but you have the effrontery to come on here to say marginalization or oppression in Nigeria is a deceit of the mind. SMH. May God have mercy on your hardened soul.

WORLDPEACE:
I see you are quoting people. It's good. But it's better you watch him for yourself so that you can form your own independent opinion.

WORLDPEACE:
I see you are quoting people. It's good. But it's better you watch him for yourself so that you can form your own independent opinion.

Tetehjewels:
Ahhh yes my soul is hardened to see the corrupt in my nation dealt with.

My soul is hardened to ensure the only man who has so far made any move against the

is reelected

My soul is hardened to ensure an experimentalist and novice like sowore doesn't come in now

My soul is hardened and I am glad it is.

PDP had 16 years to give you the eldorado you listed above and failed woefully.

In less than 4 years under PMB we are seeing completed projects which were abandoned for up to 30 years and people who were owed pensions for up to 20 years being paid.

Guy leave me and this my hardened soul. I am loving it that way

MuttleyLaff:
I quoted sample of others agreeing that Fashola is overrated and that was to show, it's not just only me, to show it isnt an opinion but it is a fact that Fashola is overrated.

Where Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande stands, Fashola will be dwarfed. That inflated and over bloated Lagos Rail Mass Transit blue line was a vision initiated and conceived in 1983 by Jakande, only for Muhammadu Buhari to waltz in under the barrel of gun in 1985, truncated a democratically elected Jakande government. In the process, just like that, scrapped Jakande's Metroline project and so investments went down the drain, at a loss of over $78 million to Lagos State tax payers.
cc luvmijeje

Ajibel:


Unfortunately, what you think of Fashola today won't change the minds and opinions of the majority of Lagosians who believe he's been the best administrator so far.

Even Jimi Disu during his chat with Kadri Hamzat gave Fashola a lot of respect.

luvmijeje:
Time for confession..... I wasn't born in 1983 or 1985. So I can't make an objective rebuttal.

But during my lifetime, Fashola was and still remains the best governor of my lifetime.

List five things that makes Lateef Jakande far better than Fashola? And I'll list 10 things Fashola have done to revitalize Lagos State.

MuttleyLaff:
You must be a millennial then
1/ Free education from primary to tertiary level
2/ The present day Lagos State Secretariat at Alausa was built by Jakande's government within four years
3/ Built Lagos State University
4/ Constructed the Victoria Island/Epe Road, that APC have not only over bloated the cost but have spent 19 years trying to upgrade it
5/ Built Lagos State Television & Lagos Radio

luvmijeje:


Time for confession..... I wasn't born in 1983 nor 1985. So I can't make an objective rebuttal.

But during my time on earth, Fashola was and still remains the best governor of my lifetime.

List five things that makes Lateef Jakande far better than Fashola and I'll list 10 things Fashola have done to revitalize Lagos State.

naptu2:
Lagos State has always been blessed with very good governors. In my view, the best are:

Mobolaji Johnson (Itoikin Bridge, planning the Ring Road system [including Eko and 3rd Mainland bridges], Badagry Expressway, etc)

Lateef Jakande (LTV, Lekki Expressway, Lasu, Low Cost Housing Estates, etc)

Raji Rasaki (Adiyan Waterworks, completion of 3rd Mainland Bridge [Babangida ordered his secretary not to allow Rasaki into his office again, because Rasaki was always disturbing him about the 3rd Mainland Bridge], Lagos Horizon Newspaper, Opebi-Oregun Link Bridge, etc)

Mohammed Buba Marwa - Eko FM, LASUTH, Direct Labour Agency [which patched the roads that were left in a state of disrepair by Mr. No Bitumen ], Marwa Gardens, Eko FM, Operation Sweep


Bola Tinubu (Lasambus, BRT, Kai, Office of The Public Defender, Lagos Emergency Points, Millenium Schools, Lasuth, LASTMA, reconstruction of roads that were left in a state of disrepair by Mr. No Bitumen and patched by Governor Marwa, etc).

Raji Fashola (Okota-Itire Link Bridge, Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge, Lasu-Iba Road, Lasmi Cabs, Traffic Radio, LRT, Lagos HOMS, expension and modernisation of the Lekki Expressway, Lagos State Security Trust Fund, etc)


Governors Otedola, Akhigbe (Ikeja flyovers), Mudashiru (rehabilitation of Jakande schools), Kanu, Lawal and Ukiwe also did well. I won't rate them as the best, but I'll say they did very well.

The lone exception is Colonel Olagunsoye Oyinlola (Mr. No Bitumen) who did absolutely nothing. He sat and watched as Lagos roads became filled with ginormous craters, hills and valleys. Awolowo Road was an eyesore at this time.

However, if you tell some people that Governor Johnson did a lot, they will direct your attention to Eko Court and the armed robbery edict. If you tell them that Governor Rasaki was an action governor, they will remind you of Maroko and Ilado. If you tell them that Marwa was very popular, they will tell you that he served Abacha, that Operation Sweep killed many innocent people and they will ask you where he got the money with which he started his airline (some will even tell you that he was one of the people that delivered the parcel bomb to Dele Giwa's house and they will also remind you about Bagauda Kaltho's death). If you tell them that Tinubu transformed Lagos from the huge refuse dumps and bad roads of the 1990s to a clean place with smooth roads, they will tell you that Tinubu owns the whole of Lagos. If you tell them that Fashola brought back sanity to Oshodi and continued the progress started by Tinubu, they will tell you that Fashola is elitist.

But the argument that I find most fascinating and which was revived upper Sunday, is the debate about the tenure of Lateef Kayode Jakande (LKJ).

I believe that Baba Kekere is one of the best governors that Lagos has ever had (you'll see why in a minute), but I also acknowledge his flaws. However, it's very difficult for most people to assess him objectively. They either love him dearly or hate him passionately.


LKJ implemented the progressive/welfarist manifesto of the UPN to the letter. The LSTC was still running at the time that Jakande was governor and he converted some of the LSTC buses (including some of the air conditioned buses) into Scholars Bus, buses that were specifically designated to convey primary and secondary school children to and from school for free.

He utilised the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC) to build low cost houses/flats, which low and medium income people could buy via a mortgage scheme (they paid back in instalments over a 10-25 year period).

Jakande endeared himself to the people by using his private car, a Toyota Crown (or was it a Cressida?) as his official car, rather than one of the long wheel base mercedes limousines that were common at the time. (He used that same car as his official car when he became Minister of Works in the Abacha Government, but his motorcade looked funny to me because the official Peugoet 505 Evolution that was meant to be his official car was often driven behind the Toyota).

Governor Jakande revived the Lagos Metroline plan which had been abandoned by the previous military government. The system had been originally planned by United Nations experts that were advising the Federal Government in the 1960s, but successive governments were not serious about it. Governor Jakande was very serious about it and the right of way had already been demarcated by the time he was removed from office.

He established the Lagos Television (LTV), the only state tv station (the previous state and regional tv stations had been taken over by the Federal Military Government in the mid-1970s). The NPN controlled Federal Government quickly established a youth oriented tv station on the exact same frequency (NTA2 Channel 5) and LTV was eventually forced to move to Channel 8 (it was forced to move again in the 1990s, when the Federal Government reserved the VHF frequency band for only Federal Government owned stations. It eventually settled on Channel 35).

He also established Lasu, a multi-campus university that was modelled after the University of California multi-campus system.

But, the most controversial policy of the government (and the policy that was the subject of Sunday's debate) was the education policy.

The Federal Military Government had taken over private primary and secondary schools in the 1970s. Part of the reason for the take over was the fear that most of these schools were, in one way or another, controlled by foreign organisations and people, such as foreign missionaries and that it was dangerous to leave the education of Nigerian children in the hands of foreigners. These primary and secondary schools were handed over to the states by the Federal Government (the Federal Military Government also took over regional/state owned universities and still owns and manages those universities today).

Governor Jakande decided that every child must attend school, that they (and their parents) must spend little or nothing to get an education and that this must be done on budget (that is, the government must also not overspend in order to achieve this). So the government created numerous schools (I don't think any government in the history of Lagos has created as many schools as Jakande did).

The scholars buses ferried children to and from school free of charge and the government also reached agreements with publishers to supply books to the schools at no cost to the students.

I took some of those books from one of those students at that time and below are pictures of one of those books.





You can see that it has the Seal of the Lagos State Government on it. This notice is stamped on some of the pages of the book - "Property of the Lagos State Government. Not for sale" (the notice on the pages of another book reads - "Property of the Lagos State Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Not for sale" ). The name of the particular school was also stamped on the books and it was a huge offence to sell those books.

One of my favourite parts of the policy and one that was hated by many students, is the part that was known as Center. Basically, students from schools in a particular area or neighbourhood would congregate at a centre in which they would be taught woodwork, home economics and other hands on subjects.

So, how can anyone have a problem with this policy?

1) Multiple schools: - Remember that most of these schools were seized from their original owners, most of whom were european missionaries. The missionaries believed in total, all-round education. They believed that it was important to educate the mind, body and soul. So most of those schools had large football fields, cricket pitches, basketball and tennis courts, chapels and mosques and even swimming pools. They also had farms for agricultural science and facilities for music, arts and drama.

Jakande was determined to get as many people as possible into school, so he built new classroom blocks on those sports facilities. Several schools were built in the same compound. You had "Government College, School 1", "Government College, School 2", "Government College, School 3" (sounds like a nollywood movie, doesn't it?) and so on and so forth. Many of the schools (classroom blocks) were built so close to each other that they were poorly ventilated. If you go round Lagos, you'd see a lot of these schools that were established between 1980 and 1982.

Someone complained, "What kind of schools were those? They had no laboratories, no sports facilities, no libraries, just blocks of badly built classrooms".

The original owners and ex-students of these schools were also very upset that their school compounds were being broken up in this manner (a visit to Igbobi College or Maryland Comprehensive Secondary School will give you an idea of what happened. The Aunty Ayo School system was divided into 3 schools!).

2) The buildings: - The quality of the new buildings was also another source of concern. I watched a documentary on Jakande's birthday, in which the project coordinator explained what happened. Jakande told her that he wanted X number of classrooms built at Y amount. She went, did her study and came back and told him that it was impossible. He replied that he had faith in her and he knew that she could do it and restated that he wanted X number of classrooms built at Y amount. That she should find out where she can make savings. So she went back and made some adjustments. Rather than using glass window panes, they used wood. They made other similar adjustments and were able to build X number of schools for Y amount.

This was one of the things that infuriated people the most. One of my friends on Sunday complained that, "I can never like that guy. I don't know why people are trying to whitewash and launder his image. That guy built chicken sheds in my school and called them classrooms!"

Many of those classroom blocks were very basic. Some had no coat of paint, some had wooden windows, no fans, no electricity, etc.

Governor Mudashiru, who took over from Jakande, had to spend a lot of money to upgrade some of the classroom blocks.

3) Interview: - Like I said earlier, the missionairies and the colonial government believed in total education. They believed that they should not only educate the mind, but that they should also develop the body, social skills, behaviour and spiritual needs of the child. So there were sports activities, plays, musical performances, etc.

Thus, prospective students were interviewed and investigated to determine their suitability, not only academically (which would have been determined by the entrance examinations), but also in terms of character.

Jakande's policy dictated that school districts were divided into catchment areas. Principals of secondary schools had to accept students from specified primary schools in their catchment areas (so long as the student passed the G2 primary school leaving certificate exam [one of the easiest exams you could ever take). It was also very difficult for the principals to expel these students, except the student failed promotion exams twice.

The result was that many unruly students were admitted into these schools. Discipline broke down. It became quite normal to read stories in the newspapers about students beating up teachers and even principals. This was also one of the reasons why the old Principals Cup Competition was suspended. Extreme violence often accompanied these football matches. Secondary school students went to school and football matches with axes (known as UTC), cutlasses and other dangerous weapons.

4) Carrying capacity: - The policy led to a dramatic increase in school enrollment and this put a huge strain on facilities (despite the rapid increase in schools and classrooms). Most schools, pre-1979, had a student-class ratio of 25 or 30 students per class. This changed during the Jakande era and it was not unusual to see classrooms with 60 to 100 students.

5) Shift system and boarding facilities: - Jakande's aim was to provide education to as many people as possible, so it was very strange that he abolished the shift system.

Pre-1979, people who were unable to get an education when they were younger and those who could not make it into the regular morning session because of space constraints, could enroll in the evening school system. Most schools had both a morning and an evening session (usually using the same school buildings, but sometimes using separate buildings). Jakande abolished that system and the morning session became the only session. For example, the facilities that were used for St Gregory's College's evening session became the Government College Victoria Island (GoCoVi). The shift system was initially created by the civillian and military governments of the 1960s, when the launched "universal education" policies. The facilities overstretched the existing facilities, so they had to introduce a shift system.

Jakande also abolished the boarding school system. The government planned to demolish the hostels and build classroom blocks where the hostels previously stood.



Now, certain families have a tradition of attending the legacy schools in Lagos. The legacy schools include:

CMS Grammar School, Methodist Boys High School, Methodist Girls High School, Anwar-Ul Islam Model College (formerly Ahmadiyya College and before that, it was known as Saka Tinubu), Anwar-Ul Islam Girls High School (formerly Ahmadiyya Girls College), St Gregory's College, Holy Child College, Baptist Academy, Kings College, Queens College, St Finbarr's College, Our Lady Of Apostles Secondary School, Maryland Comprehensive Secondary School, Aunty Ayo International School, etc. (All of these schools, except Kings and Queens College, were taken over by the State Government. Aunty Ayo was divided into 3 and 2 of the schools were taken over by the State, while one remained private).

I know a family which has had at least one member in a particular school every decade since the 1920s. I know another family in which the tradition is so strong that the children are brought back to Lagos, from wherever they are in the world, to attend a particular school (or its sister school). These families were very angry at the way that Jakande was "destroying" "their" schools. The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Okogie, launched scathing attacks against Jakande in the newspapers. He also instituted several lawsuits against the Lagos State Government. The families made several attempts to stop the LASG's attempt to "destroy" their schools. The Old Boys of Igbobi College stopped funding the school at a point, because they were depressed by what was happening to it.

It became an insult to be referred to as a Jakande boy or Jakande girl (they were synonymous with the word "thug" ) or for someone to say that you attended a Jakande school.


However, like my other friend would point out, this policy enabled many people who would probably have been uneducated and a problem to society, to get an education, get a job, feed their family/be independent and contribute to Nigeria's development. Cricket pitches, football fields, etc are a small price to pay in exchange for that.

naptu2:


@ part in bold. I witnessed it and I wrote this in 2014. (I still have the text book and I'll post a picture of it when I get home).

Dantedasz:
^^^
Thank you.
It is so sad history is no longer taught in schools. Lateef Jakande built the foundation of Lagos state that every governor that came after him built on. Even Fashola dare not claim his administration was better than Jakandes regime.
In fact if not for military usurpers who truncated civilian rule in 1983 Lagos would have had a metroline ages ago. What Fashola was building along Badagry express way that has descended into a quagmire and bottomless pit of corruption was taken from Jakandes manual for Lagos State transportation. It was Buhari as a military ruler that cancelled the signed agreement between the Lagos State government of Jakande and his foreign partners thus setting the Lagos State transport plan of Jakande back by decades. An error from which Lagos state has not recovered up to the present day. Just visit the Lagos Badagry express way axis.

luvmijeje:


Really? If these is the best of his achievements, may Baba go sepe.

1. If I start listing all what Fashola commissioned during his administration, you will apologize to us his fans immediately. But let me list those I witnessed and what really inspire me to be his fan.

2. The ability to inspire.....Fashola is the first politician that will inspire me with his speech to believe in his programmes.

3. I've witnessed Fashola come to the general hospital to make an inspection without them knowing that he's coming.

4. Fashola is the first Politician that I'll see regularly checks up on going projects and not completed projects.

5. Under him, I got to see works being done on a major carnal during the dry season.

6. Under him, I got to see public transport drivers afraid to break traffic laws.

7. Under him, I got to see our emergency numbers working effectively.

8. Under him, I got to see State police patrolled during the darkest hours.

9. For the first time, I saw a leader who was passionate about leading.

10. For the first time, I saw a leader who understand the importance of communication.

For the numerous projects Fashola commissioned, please make use of Google and come back to apologize to us.

Ajibel:


I'll help you ma with some links to back you up, so that the anti Fashola goons can go through.

I'm not ashamed to say that Fashola is the only politician dead or alive today that I admire. The Tinubu that is his political mentor is not and can never be my fan.

https://www.nairaland.com/4734320/fasholas-first-term-ambode-incompetent

https://www.nairaland.com/4761332/fashola-ungrateful-ambode-2015-election

https://www.nairaland.com/3806623/fashola-still-unmatched-achievements-photos

Where is Deomelo when you need him sef

MuttleyLaff:
I[s] quoted sample of others agreeing that Fashola is overrated and that was to show, it's not just only me, to show it isnt an opinion but it is a fact that Fashola is overrated. Where Jakande stands, Fashola will be dwarfed[/s]. That inflated and over bloated Lagos Rail Mass Transit blue line was a vision initiated and conceived in 1985 by the Alhaji Lateef Jakande, only for Muhammadu Buhari to waltz in under the barrel of gun in 1985 and scrap Jakande's Metroline project and investment at a loss of over $78 million to the Lagos tax payers.

Ajibel:
My Dad was a big fan of Jakande and he also liked Fashola a lot.

He told me stories of governance during the Jakande era and all I did while listening to him was create a mental picture of Jakande's successes. But you see, we can't compare his time with that of BRF.

I listened to BRF's argument one day about Jakande's mass housing programme and why he can't implement such. Now with naptu2's brilliant expose on the state of education and housing during Jakande's era, I understand better why Fashola now says it's not possible to build a low cost housing because there are no low cost cements or blocks or labour and they have to maintain some standard which Jakande wasn't really concerned about as long as he built large number of homes and schools.

luvmijeje:


You didn't finish reading it. Did you see the flaws that Naptu listed?

luvmijeje:
Really? If these is the best of his achievements, may Baba go sepe.
1. If I start listing all what Fashola commissioned during his administration, you will apologize to us his fans immediately. But let me list those I witnessed and what really inspire me to be his fan.

2. The ability to inspire.....Fashola is the first politician that will inspire me with his speech to believe in his programmes.

3. I've witnessed Fashola come to the general hospital to make an inspection without them knowing that he's coming.

4. Fashola is the first Politician that I'll see regularly checks up on going projects and not completed projects.

5. Under him, I got to see works being done on a major carnal during the dry season.

6. Under him, I got to see public transport drivers afraid to break traffic laws.

7. Under him, I got to see our emergency numbers working effectively.

8. Under him, I got to see State police patrolled during the darkest hours.

9. For the first time, I saw a leader who was passionate about leading.

10. For the first time, I saw a leader who understand the importance of communication.

For the numerous projects Fashola commissioned, please make use of Google and come back to apologize to us.

Ajibel:
I'll help you ma with some links to back you up, so that the anti Fashola goons can go through.
I'm not ashamed to say that Fashola is the only politician dead or alive today that I admire.
The Tinubu that is his political mentor is not and can never be my fan.
https://www.nairaland.com/4734320/fasholas-first-term-ambode-incompetent

https://www.nairaland.com/4761332/fashola-ungrateful-ambode-2015-election

https://www.nairaland.com/3806623/fashola-still-unmatched-achievements-photos

Where is Deo melo when you need him sef

luvmijeje:
Thank you Sir.
cc MuttleyLaff

989900:
You're only feeling nostalgic, you'll get over it.

Fashola is administratively the most qualified Nigerian to be president.

MuttleyLaff:
You asked for five, so I restricted myself to the limit. Do you see the magnanimity of the dividends of democracy from those five list enjoyed? Did you read what naptu2 posted about Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande being one of the best governors that Lagos has ever had (i.e. if not the best, but that's naptu2 not wanting to be truthful and committed. He was also conservative with LKJ's achievements)

Are you aware at all that the octogenarian Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande is still alive?



The thing about 989900, Ajibel, luvmijeje and others, is that you all are suffering from a Stockholm Syndrome situation and so have developed sympathy for the oppressors of Lagos State. Even in far way Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings, former Head of State and President of Ghana, just recently, has said that Nigerians are still in love with their "oppressors"

The Ethiopia-Djibouti railway line modernisation, was initiated in 2011 and completed in October 2016. China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) who was among the contractors for this project is also the company appointed as the contractor for the construction of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue line. Now, the same China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) that was responsible for constructing the 339km railway from Mieso to Djibouti section of the Ethiopia-Djibouti heavy duty railway line modernisation, with a contract cost of $579m or 579 million USD is the same company contracted to build the 35km the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue line at $1.2bn. Started after Nigeria's own and finished it but the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue line is still crawling to completion, with the completion kept kicked ahead in the tall grass
cc Dantedasz

989900:
Bunch of mumbojumbo, big fat malarkey.

MuttleyLaff:


Are you aware at all that the octogenarian Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande is still alive?