A True Testimony of Jide Jimoh's Stewardship in Yaba Local Council Development Area

Recently, some group of persons, protested to the Lagos State House of Assembly, chanting and singing songs of war, insisting that they did not want the Chairman of Yaba Local Council Development Area, Honourable Jide Jimoh, to continue for a second term.

The groups alleged that the Chairman has not impacted the lives of the people of Yaba, since he assumed office in the last three years. They accused JJ, as he is fondly called by friends and well-wishers, of gross misconduct, embezzlement of funds and diversion of the LCDA's resources for personal businesses.

But then, I wonder where these people got their informations and/or indices from and whether they actually have proofs for all of these accusations. l'm not going to hold brief for JJ, but having been previewed to some achievements of JJ, as a Journalist, who has witnessed some, if not all activities of the Yaba LCDA, since JJ became the chairman, I believe I will be doing him a de-service, if I decide to shut-up and allow this group of persons, to get away with what I prefer to call a blackmail, owing to mere hatred and misunderstandings.

Let me begin from the point at which JJ started when he newly came into office about three years ago, as the Chairman of the Yaba LCDA. JJ, I must say, met the Yaba LCDA in shambles. In fact, I had wondered how the former chairman of the council copped in such an un-kept environment. The entire secretariat of the LCDA were nothing to write-home about. There were no furnitures in most of the offices. The offices were bared and untidy. The louvers were all broken, the windows were without any cover except for the burglaries and some plywoods. No doubt, the place was an eye-sour. It was worse than a madman habitat. But then, JJ came in with this great determination, innovation and political-will to serve, and knowing fully well that it would be practically impossible to serve and impact the people, if the work environment was not conducive, he decided to restructure the secretariat first, even before he started generating any tangible revenue. JJ started by transforming the Yaba LCDA into an ultra-modern secretariat that it is today. Every office and department in the Yaba LCDA today is computerised and air-conditioned. Once upon a time all photocopies in the LCDA were done outside. Today each office has its own photocopier, and all the wooden and broken furnitures have been changed into imported wares. Jide did not only give the secretariat a new look, he also equipped all the departments in the LCDA with the basic facilities that they needed to work, and also ensured staff trainings and workshops.

Before JJ could finish all of these rehabilitation works, the highway managers and clerical staff of the LCDA had staged a protest. The former Chairman had owed them about four months salaries, and they did not see any reason why they should allow the incoming Chairman -that was JJ - to settle down before staging the protest. But being an experienced lawmaker himself, and acknowledging the fact that democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people, JJ understood their plights, and unlike most newly elected public office holders would react to such crisis, he settled their four months salary arrears and also increased their salaries from N7,000 to N10,000, and ever since he has never failed in paying the amount.

Considering the appalling state of the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the Council when he came in, and been responsive to the enormity of the work ahead of him, JJ and his able team quickly sprang into action. They set an estimated revenue target of about N24million for themselves in 2008, about N99.5million in 2009, and N271million in 2010. Believe it or not, JJ and his team attained and even surpassed, all of these estimations, owing to their unmatched managerial skills and this, to a large extent, played a very significant role in the transformation being experienced today by the Yaba LCDA.

While the federal and most state, and local governments across the country hardly fixed a single road in their domains, JJ launched what one could call operation state of emergency on roads in the council area, and under this declaration, and for the first in the history of Yaba, if not that of the State, a local council chairman undertook such core capital consuming projects and constructed all the terrible roads in the area, with standardised drainages, starting from Wright street to Ebun street and close, Omitogun, Amusa, and Oyewale streets. Other roads included those on Victoria street, Ayodele, Igbore, Ameen and Thorborn streets, as well as the Yaba Roundabout, which now wears a new look and a symbolic cap of the National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

JJ did not stop there, he moved on to the education sector. And like non ever, he built new classrooms, libraries and laboratories for virtually all the public primary schools in the council area, and also rehabilitated old dilapidated buildings. He donated new furnitures and equipped the libraries and laboratories with modern facilities. He equally provided the pupils with free text and note books, as well as the schools with fully packed first aids boxes. He also dug boreholes for them and provided them with water-tanks and generating sets, to pump the water. The teachers were equally trained and motivated with different types of incentives and were also given scholarships, to improve their knowledge. Some of the schools, which benefited from JJ's gesture, include All Saint Pry School, Talumum Pry School, Army Children Pry School and Myhoung Pry School all within the Yaba LCDA.

I also know that JJ did not left out the markets in the council area. I'm aware and have equally witnessed the commissioning of newly built open market-stalls in Asejere and Hajia Habibat Magaji markets. JJ restructured these major markets, amongst others and, also provided them with boreholes, public toilets, water-tanks and generating sets. He also made it a point of duty to enforce the monthly and weekly sanitation exercises in the markets, which I'm aware he personally monitored on a monthly basis.

In the health sector, JJ's achievements so far, one must confess, are incomparable. His initiative of Floating Clinics for residents of Makoko and other riverine areas in the council, is one lofty project that worth commendation. JJ made it his prerogative and summation to give every community in the LCDA a Public Health Center, which he built from the scratch and also equipped with the necessary facilities and free drugs for all. Iwaya, Abule-Ijesha, Aiyetoro in Makoko and Igbobi Public Health Centers are evidences of JJ's commitment to the people's health and well-being.

The foregoing notwithstanding, JJ also believes that good health is not only a function of medical and/or physical well-being, but of mental balance and stable state or standard of living. To ensure this, and perhaps, attain a crime free society, JJ and his team, felt their was an urgent need to empower the unemployed skilled and unskilled youths in the council area. He set-up a committee and created a special job team, which he tasked with the responsibility of collating the names of all unemployed skilled and unskilled youths in all the wards that made up the council. The outcome of this exercise, was the poverty alleviation and empowerment programme, which was held in two phases by the council. The first engaged all the unemployed skilled youths and residents of the LCDA. Under this phase, the LCDA presented tricycles, popularly known as 'keke napep' to over 200 short-listed candidates, with each costing over N300,000. The second phase of the programme also empowered youths and persons, who have learnt one form of trade or other, especially craftsmanship and vocation, but lacked the capitals or tools to practice their trades. Under this phase, over 250 people went home with various boxes of mechanic and electronic tools, barbering clippers and generating sets, hairdressing dryers and generating sets, vulcanizing and pepper grinding machines, 'okadas', canoes and nets for fishermen at Makoko. The petty traders amongst them equally went away with four crates of minerals each and coolers, while those in the small-scale food stuff business got two bags of rice and beans each. JJ also provided some basic sports facilities as well as DSTV decoders for all the wards in the council area, to engage the youths in sports activities and of course, reduce crimes in the society.

The issue of security was also paramount to Honourable Jide Jimoh. He did not rest on his oars even after engaging the youths in the various sports activities. He went ahead to established a mutual understanding on security with the police and the Nigerian Army Intelligence School in the area, in order to make Yaba the safest LCDA in Lagos State. JJ equally provided patrol vans and bullet-proof jackets for police in Panti, to aid their operations.

No doubt, JJ touched every community in the area within the little time he has spent as chairman, and indeed has enhanced the standard of living of the residents. He has been able to prove to the people that his government was truly people's oriented. He made them decide what they want at every point in time. He did not just make promises to them for campaign sake, during his visits to their communities, but he ensured that he fulfilled every of his promises to the letter.

Take or leave it, JJ is a politician with a difference. As much as some sadists and antagonists may want to say that he has only succeeded in performing his statuary duties, we must understand that in the Nigeria of today, where everyone runs a rat-race of greed and survival, and if possible kill his fellow Nigeria in the course; worst still, with the current crops of self-centred politicians, one will agree with me that JJ deserves some commendations' if not several achievement awards. However, I must say from my own personal assessment, he has fulfilled above 98% of his promises to the people of Yaba. And even the dead in Atan cemetery,one must say, got a dose of JJ's good gesture and governance. Aside that he completely pulled down the dilapidated fence of the cemetery and rebuilt it within a twinkle of an eye, he also graded and tarred all the roads entering the place, perhaps to give the dead the dividends of democracy.

Sentiment apart, Honourable Jide Jimoh deserves a second term and I'm sure the good people of Yaba LCDA will not hesitate to vote him back into office.

Georges 'Rotimi Macnobleson-Idowu
Coolfm / Wazobiafm, 267a, Etim Inyand Crescent, V/Island, Lagos.

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Articles by Georges Macnobleson-Idowu