Opinion 

Gentle Reminder to our “Daddy that also listens”

Photo: Independent Newspaper 

Safiu Kehinde

Couple of weeks ago, the entire staffs and students of Lagos State University of Science and Technology stood agog for the visit of His Excellency, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The ‘Welcome Mr. Governor’ banner erected few metres away from our now famous Helipad at the College of Technology defiled all breezy odds as it awaits the arrival of the governor. Good number of students loitered around with the hope of catching a glimpse of their Daddy. However, their hopes were dashed as the Governor forfeited our little welcome party, carrying us on handicap- in campus parlance, to go straight to the business of the day which was supervision of the ongoing Senate Building construction and the Publicity that follows as usual.

The students, however, reminded Mr. Governor that they never loose guard as they trooped into the site, rendering an impromptu welcome address which must have probably caught our Daddy off guard. After much preamble and compliments, the SUG President, Balogun Aderemi, went straight to the point, presenting four demands which include construction of new SUG building, Construction of a mini stadium, reduction of a likely increment in school fees ahead of the new session, and finally provision of school bus for the students. With all calmness and collectedness, our “Daddy that also listens” had reacted. He promised to ensure the construction of a mini stadium as soon as possible and renovation of the current SUG Building as it is not likely for them to embark on building a new one, while denouncing a possible increment in school fees ahead of the new session. While these promises had no specific duration attached, the governor gave assurance of providing two new school buses before the end of September. He had also added two extra promises which was the provision of free internet facility for the students and construction of hostels using the PPM model apllied in Lagos State University (LASU).

It is, however, no longer surprising that you have to check the sky to confirm if the sun is indeed up whenever Nigerian Politicians tells you it's daybreak. Thus, most students had reacted indifferent, maintaining skeptical views about the possibility of the governor fulfilling these promises. Some had even labelled the promises as our daddy’s campaign strategy for second term in office which had always been the case with politicians visit to tertiary institutions.

In 2017, ex-governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, promised the then Lagos State Polytechnic a standard stadium and new auditorium at the 25th Convocation ceremony of the institution. He also approved the construction of hostel accommodation on campus. While the hostel project failed to see the light of the day- with the Director of Students’ Affair revealing, earlier this year, that hostel construction was never in the agenda of the Polytechnic all through over forty years of existence, the said standard stadium has long been abandoned and gradually decaying out of negligence- just as the monumental Oshodi bus terminal which is yet to live up to expectations.

Just as his predecessor, our daddy had also promised the construction of hostel accommodation among others which I will rather tag as a click bait for second term than empty promise for I believe it is not beyond his capacity- considering the fact that he had seen to the conversion of the school from Polytechnic to University. The possibility of commencing such herculean task in this dying minutes of his first tenure is, however, near zero which most of us can obviously see and as such remain unconvinced about such promise.

Though most of these promises might have appeared like an attempt to build a castle in the air, there are some, however, that is least expected of Sanwo-Olu not to fulfill such as the free internet facility and the school buses. While little can be said of the free internet facility promise as our daddy was careful enough not to state a date for its fulfilment, the two new school buses promise is, however, a bullet on our daddy’s leg as he vowed to make them available before the end of September which is just a day to go.

To this effect, we kindly seek to remind our daddy, who we believe is also listening-just as he had said, to fulfill this least promise he made to us. We know the hostel accommodation might take years, but the one under his nose and watchful eyes should not take forever to be accomplished. Just as the school bus, the free internet facility is also a banana sucker that does not require cutlass to uproot. These are things that we know our dear daddy is capable of and can accomplish within a short period of time. Meanwhile, we urge Mr. Governor to see to the completion of our abandoned stadium rather than embarking on another one. We hope our daddy can hearken to our request and not carry us on handicap for the second time in a row.