Dr. Fredrick Fasehun
I found this piece and it may serve as interest to you. The National Chairman of the Unity Party of Nigeria, Dr. Fredrick Fasehun, speaks on how Fashola exploit money fin Lagosians..
The Unity Party of Nigeria, which you lead, bears the same name as the party led by the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Do you think the All Progressives Congress-led administration in Lagos has continued with the legacy left by the Lateef Jakande-led administration in Lagos?
The truth is that the APC regime runs Lagos State with impunity and it has turned Lagos State into an animal farm, where some people are more equal than others. The APC recently paid the price of impunity in Ekiti. And come 2015, Lagosians must ensure that they vote out this anti-people party. Lagos citizens must remember that this party used and dumped commercial motorcycle operators popularly known as okada rider after harnessing their support and services in the elections of 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011.
During campaigns for those polls, APC politicians even donated to okada riders branded helmets, motorcycles and reflective jackets. But no sooner did the Action Congress of Nigeria (now a part of the APC) come into power than they turned around to bite the finger that fed them, by banning okada all over Lagos State. Fashola should dedicate his last days in office to streamlining and reducing the financial yoke under which bus operators currently operate. Today, the average Lagos commercial driver bears the burden of multiple levies. Haba! How can any business survive under such a draconian regime? With all its pretentions to attaining mega-city status, Lagos has the worst transport extortion regime in Nigeria, Africa and perhaps the world. The world over, the drift is towards encouraging mass transportation, but the different levies and impositions being heaped on commercial buses in Lagos State have become a disincentive to commercial bus operators. And the drivers ultimately pass on the heavy bill to the commuters, the common man, who will be forced to pay more for transportation. In the area of education, when the students held peaceful demonstrations, the government unleashed the police and arresting tens of students. Finally, in response to students’ demand for a reduction of fees jacked up by up to 1,600 per cent, the Fashola government announced a reduction of 34 to 60 per cent. The government’s gesture amount to tokenism; and it is unacceptable as well as condemnable. And Lagos State University students have rightly rejected the fees and demand a 67 per cent reduction across board. We support the students’ stand.
In a state where workers earn N18,000 as minimum wage, and where the daily living income per family hovers around $2 (about N325), fees as high as N150,000 represent a death sentence for the educational aspirations of the youth population. This must not be allowed. The Lagos State Government must bow to the wishes of the students. LASU was conceptualised by the UPN government of Alhaji Lateef Jakande in 1982 to provide tertiary education for youths free of charge. We must return to those ideals and ensure that LASU students have access to affordable quality education.