₦airaland Forum

Wishful thinking. I will remind u of this; u go chop cane 2day!

Yeah

@Jaybaby, since you are the one starting this s@#t, get ready also to splash ur pictures and ur profile 1ce more just to prove u r any better than the girl in question u r quick to diss and i will tell u in more than just a way, u would prefer to be in her shoes *hiss* bloody lowlife hater!!

@Sista, are you blind or just straighjacketedly dumb?? Did i call u a monkey or u've become Jaybaby?? Why do you have a problem comprehending simple things? Na wa o!

Pls let Gamine be for once, haba!! Seun, pls unban the girl, she's just trying to express herself!

Good writeup from a 'closed mind' that only accentuated the fact that Labour Party would be relying on sympathy votes abi? but really from where? lol, how relevant are exco members/chieftains of Labour Party in the scheme of events in Lagos? Do you know that with the seeming problems AC have, the structure was solidified with decampment to AC of 26 political juggernauts in the state? E easy? If no be panadol . . .

Yeah, I would only if you would apply such niceties urself, without recourse to treating Racism in all sections of NL, Cheers!

Eurpho, wetin Snazzy do you dearie?

Bolaoni, maybe i might not have posted here much prior to 2moro, just that i have been find it hard getting into d mix of all this bragging when we all know Woman Disunited is in for a walloping. As for Chelshit, maybe we should ask Uncle Akola or Peter Kenyon to refund money for the DEPTH wey dem see buy 4rm market!! Lol

No qualms about that really

@Streetcyph


The problem with most of you peeps is that you tend to overreact to issues that do not really call for names-calling


How could you have missed the humour in my statement?? Na wah o!!


Even at that why, attack me when on this thread i have not attacked you or the candidate you seem to have collected money from?

You claim he has no Godfather but the person that broght him to prominence at least politics-wise is no one else but Tinubu


I have already told you that you should forget it because no one but Fashola is winning in Lagos, take it or rue it


an interesting read for y'all http://www.thenewsng.com/modules/zmagazine/article.php?articleid=10742

REPRODUCED HERE

Barrister Tunde Raji Fashola (SAN), the Chief of Staff to Governor bola Ahmed Tinubu of Lagos State, and a governorship aspirant in Lagos State under the platform of Action Congress, fielded questionm from journalists in his office at Alausa, Ikeja on why he is in the race. was also there. Excerpts of the interactive session as recorded by Yisa Jamiu

Q: Who is Barrister Tunde Raji Fashola (SAN)?
A: I come from the Fashola Family of Isale Gangan in Lagos State. My roots are embedded in the family house at number 18-28, Princess Street in Lagos, in the area particularly referred to as Onola, a very well known family in Lagos. My father, fortunately or unfortunately, given the circumstances that we find ourselves today, was a journalist. He used to be the advert manager of Daily Times under Alhaji Jose, many years ago. He was one of the founding hands of Times Leisure Services when they tried to open up the business opportunities of Daily Times into some more commercial areas then at Eric Moore.

My mother was a nurse. She is now retired. I am the third of nine children and the first son. I went to school in Lagos all through from primary until I decided that I had had enough of Lagos. I wanted to leave the protection of my parents and move outside Lagos. I got their consent and opted for a school in Benin. I went to the University of Benin where I studied Law and after that I proceeded to the Law School and I practised my profession for a period of about 15 years before my appointment in 2002. But as a child, I have always been the pack leader. In my secondary school I was the school prefect as well as the house captain, a sportsman and still a sportsman. Am a married man with one wife and two children. My wife is a Roman Catholic still practising her religion and am a Muslim.

Q: Can you take us into your political antecedents?
A: My political antecedents? Well I have been an active participant in events that occurred around me. In school, particularly in the university, I was a member of the Law Students Association and although I did not hold any elective office, I was one of the people who spearheaded what became a revolution then to outlaw or to stop the practice of candidates spending money on perceived Godfathers to win elections. We outlawed it and we told every candidate go and campaign and we will make sure that nobody will spend money to win the election. We wanted people of integrity to run our association.

Beyond that, I have been a public commentator on national issues such as in the time of Abacha when people were detained over bailable offences. I criticised that policy in the paper published then. In my own way, I have contributed to the democratic struggle of this country. My contributions will better be told by those who know. I deliberately believe that a man shouldn’t blow his own trumpet and that in the theatre of life, we have different roles- complementary and confrontational- to play. Even in a film, everybody has a role. In the last four years that I have been here, you cannot work with a Governor like Bola Ahmed Tinubu and not have a political antecedents and knowledge.

The man breathes, sleeps, dreams and thinks politics 24 hours. If I have worked with him for four years and I have not lost my job, some of that political knowledge must have been passed to me somehow. I must have believed in some of the passion that he exudes, I must have some role to play in some of the events that developed around him.

But unfortunately, we have profiled politicians as only the people you see in the news. There are people who are actually politically conscious and you will never see them in the media, but they take decisions that affect your life or influence the people who take the decision that affects your life in many ways than one. They influence what the profiled politicians do or say and you will never see them. They are his reserved army.

All of us are political animals. It is how you choose to express your political ideas that matters. Some believe in being at the centre stage, some are quiet revolutionary. Am here to help the governor to succeed and I think I have done a very good job.

Q: You said you are the youngest among the governorship aspirants, then what is your age?
A: I believe I am the youngest amongst the governorship aspirants. At 43, I believe am the youngest.

Q: Why did it take you this long to declare your intention of contesting for the governorship position?
A: First of all, as to timing, I think that what Lagos State deserves is the best governor, not necessarily the first aspirants. Secondly, nobody who has been a keen political watcher or observer will deny the fact that until on Saturday, the 16th of September when we launched the Action Congress (AC) in Abuja, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) to which I belong was addressing some emerging issues that called for deeper thinking. Some people claimed they were factions of the AD, those issues were in court until lately.

So, in all of these circumstances I think it was rather hasty. That was my thinking. To be subjective, I thought it will be hasty to as it were announce an ambition on an uncertain platform. More importantly, about the perceived reactions of my colleagues in the cabinet, with every sense of modesty, we know our own strength, we have been a team that has been together for upward of seven years. In some cases, four years. We know the quality and ability of each person. I have spent four years here managing the governor's office and that involves a day-to-day problem solving efforts.

What this office is about is problem solving, crisis management on a day-to-day basis. On every working day here, I get nothing less than 350 letters addressed to the governor. Its either a widow's child is out of school, a husband is dead, somebody had an accident, somebody is fighting over land, all issues, it’s all problem solving. That is all I do everyday and that is all I have done in the last four years. Everything that concerns any ministry comes to me here. A petition about land comes here, a petition about refuse comes here, a petition about physical planning, every ministry comes here; party crisis, security, everything comes before me. I read all of those letters. I take decisions on those that I feel competent to decide without reference to the governor and the ones I think need his attention or advice or knowledge or information I pass on to him. He is a wonderful delegator of authority.

Q: Are you Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s anointed candidate?
A: Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu whom I know is a democrat. He is somebody whom I know and believe will not do anything other than democratic, and you must give me some measure of independence; you must credit me with some measure of knowledge for myself. Am a father, am an adult, am a husband. I must be able to take decisions for myself. In my profession as a lawyer, I am a trained problem solver. When I am defending a criminal, I am solving a problem for him, his family and those who depend on him. When I am trying a divorce case, am solving a family problem for whom ever am representing; when am managing the affairs of a company, am solving the problems of management and the shareholders of such company. I am a trained problem solver and that is the unique skill and ability that I have brought into governance.

Now as regards why I have decided to run, I have decided to accept the responsibility of my own generation. For too long, the only hero that we cry about is the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Where are our own heroes? When is our own generation going to be heroes? I was reading Professor Wole Soyinka's book recently and he quoted a Yoruba proverb which says “Ti eniyan ba dagba o un ye ogun ja" (meaning: as you grow older, you stop fomenting trouble). He said that unfortunately those who put the phrase together did not think of Nigerians because at over 70 he was still in the trenches fighting for democracy, fighting for justice, fighting for freedom of speech. And I felt that if somebody like Professor Soyinka who is old enough to be my father is still fighting, he is not fighting for me again.

In fighting for my own children, what way do I want do it? If you have not built a house at 45 years, it’s going to get increasingly more difficult for you to do so in Nigeria and that is the truth. At 45 years you are no longer employable. You are having children, what schools are they going to attend? And if that doesn’t concern you and doesn’t concern me, then we are having a problem. We are the greatest stakeholders now because of our children. That is the reason I am in the race. But more importantly, we have complained every time that the politicians have failed us. We the educated people must not leave the political space for them. If we say politics is a dirty game, who is going to clean it? The dirty people inside? No they don’t want you in there and they won’t get clean and that is why I am in the race. Politics is a serious business, nobody should be fooled. Chief Obafemi Awolowo was a very serious man, Bill Clinton was a very serious man, deep thinker, Nnamdi Azikwe also, Bola Tinubu ditto. Politics is about serious people. Let us not deceive ourselves and I think I am a very serious person.

Q: As the youngest governorship aspirant according to you, what new thinking are you bringing into governance since your intention is to come in and gradually ease out all the old brigade?
A: I am not saying I am going to ease out the old brigade. You see, in four years, I have experienced a nice time. I had no idea when I came here what the problems and the challenges of those in governance were especially in Lagos. I had the privilege to work with a governor like Tinubu for four years and I have been involved at the highest decision taking level of this place. I am a member of the State Welfare Board, I am a member of the State Executive Council. I am also a member of the State Treasury Board which is the body that prepares the annual budget and I am part of solving the problem of managing scarce resources for the greater good since resources will never be enough.

But having been here, having participated in drawing up the road map of this governance which is the 10 point agenda, I believe that the super structure for Lagos is effective. We have designed a super structure for Lagos. What is important now is to consolidate on that super structure. As the Chief of Staff to the governor of Lagos State, nobody has information in any department of government than I do, because everything that comes from every ministry comes to me. I am privileged to see much more than any of my colleagues can see because whereas Urban Planning for example is limited to urban planning matter, I see what happens in the ministry from correspondences. I sit in meetings with the governor on issues concerning works, I sit in issues concerning economic planning, I sit in issues concerning finance, I sit in issues concerning lands.

I have a broader view than any of the aspirants because of my privileged position. And I now asked myself, do you want all these experience to go to waste? Do you want to go back and be a lawyer? How much change can you impact as a lawyer after acquiring all this knowledge and experience? And my conscience tells me that I must join the race as part of service to Lagos State.

Q: What will survive any administration are ideas. Our ideas are the 10 point agenda. I don’t see any administration in foreseeable 10-15 years changing that vision successfully. You can play with names, you can plan with concepts but those ideas derive from what represent the millennium development goals. How to tackle poverty, how to tackle urban housing problems, how to tackle transportation, how to tackle health, security. They are common issues, they are common problems that most of us encounter everyday, so you don’t need any Aristotle to come and tell us that we are having problems of transportation. You don’t need it. Now, we have a blue print for implementing it. We have designed a blue print. It's there, it's our collective efforts over the last seven years. And I am here, we started with about 23 issues from the various sub-committees. As we moved into the second term of the administration, we realised that some things had to be done immediately. That is what we called the 10-point agenda.
A: How do we move Lagos State forward, implement the 10 point agenda, continue with the implementation? That is why we subscribed to the belief that Lagos State would gain a lot if a member of the current executive takes over in 2007. Do you know why? In every democratic setting of four years, even in Washington, the citizens really get only three years of administration, the new governor spends the first year knowing the politicians and those who matter in his environment. If he does that in one year, may be he settles down in the second and third year, he spends the fourth year seeking re-election. In my own case as the serving Chief of Staff with so much knowledge, tax payers get one year extra if am running for re-election because in the first year, am not learning the programme, am not learning what is going on in Works, I was part of the planning team for the CBD projects; am not learning what is going on along the Lekki/Epe Expressway, I was part of the team that put that transactions together with my colleagues; am not learning what is going on in our health care sector, I was part of the team that put the programme together. So, I start running immediately I hit the track. So Lagosians get more value for their mandate.

Q: You said Lagos will gain a lot if any member of the current executive emerges as governor. If at the end of the day after due consideration you are asked to step down for any of your colleagues, would you be willing to do so?
A: My colleagues, with respect to them, would not decide who represents Lagos State at the elections. So the question of stepping down at their request does not matter. Lagosians must choose who they want to serve them. But it is instructive that they will gain a lot if one of us emerges as the next governor of the state.

It is a common sense advice if a member of the serving cabinet gets the mandate, particularly me, because of the knowledge I breathe, because of the youthfulness I breathe. The task of governing Lagos is a 24 hours job. I have done that job with the governor for four years and I am not tired of doing it. You need somebody who has the energy. If I take office next year, I will be taking office at just the age of 44 years. If I serve for eight years, I will quit at 52 years and I will still be a young man. That is what Lagos needs, not a 60-year-old or 70-year-old governor.

In any event, I am still the greatest stakeholder because I am still young so I know the problems of my generation and those of the elderly people in the state. Let them trust their future with us. The elders trust us to send us on errands, let them trust us to look after our affairs and their own.

@Radiant

They are on temporary sabbatical leave

Sista:
@Kitaun

kitaun link=topic=36536.msg828227#msg828227 date=1169227371:
Dont quote or refer to me if u wont make any sense, geddit??

Your so cute.


Neither do I.

Eurphoria:
kitaun please stop lmao, you nutter

jaybaby:
Eurphoria what he said wasnt funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--so Y d lmao?

kitaun:
Jaybaby, if u truly are/were half as intelligent as u thought u are/were, you would surely decipher/have deciphered what the 'lmao' was about

jaybaby:
Woman wrapper i dnt see your name as Eurphoria !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

& U no smtin i jus discovered about U---your keyboard thinks 4 U---Please sir think before typing!!!!!!!!!!

EGUN

@Jaybaby,

the sequence above shows just how stunted your mentality is innit?? MONKEY

Mr Fynewaka,


ME I NO SABI INGLISH oooooooooo


But the thing wey i no be say my monkey sabi everything pass you, even if na to toast woman sef, dem never born you well near am, PUNKASS

@Radiant, na Magheru dey do u so? lol

1.45pm Naijatime u meant

I doubt it

Hmmn

Snazzy, ssup jare?! abeg no mind that old shaka o! he's a bloody flirt! CyberHIV testing machines sef dey scream as him near dem!

Solidmind, what?

Na wa o!

Zulu, so you would deny them for real?

@David, am winking at you, u know?