The immediate past Lagos State Governor
Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has said some Nigerians prefer ‘stomach infrastructure’
to good governance, insisting that people must be enlightened for them to know
their role in providing good governance.
Speaking at the 16th annual Bishop Mike
Okonkwo lecture, tagged, “The Nigerian Political Class and the Citizens’ Quest
for Good Governance” held in Lagos yesterday as keynote speaker, Fashola said
stomach infrastructure has provided results in the past elections.
According to him, individuals and parties
at times don’t return to office on the basis of good governance, saying, “Some
Nigerians voted for party or individual as a result of various gifts received
from them, such as money, sponsorship to Jerusalem or Hajj.
“For some people, their own measure of good
governance is sponsorship to Hajj and Jerusalem by the government of the day
and by current figures revealed recently, sponsorship to Hajj this year will
cost about N785, 000 per person. Some have argued that some of these people
prefer to have the services monetised.
“The emphasis must be on the majority
because not all of the people will be happy with regular power and water
supply. Those who import generators or supply water in tankers will not be
happy with government that makes power and water regularly available.
“So it is the majority that matters, and
this is why the time tested principle for testing the value or benefit of
government policy is whether it brings the greatest good to the greatest number
and not whether it brings the greatest good to everyone”, he said.
Leadership
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