By Daud Olatunji

PLANS to create LCDAs in Ogun Ogun state is more than ripe to have more than 20 local governments, the creation of local governments as it is today is just a mere paper work. Local governments administration is usually the closest to the people, and they only feel you if you are there for them. You will not expect a Shimawa indigene to always run to Shagamu or Abeokuka when the Headquarters is there or close by. And the thing is that if there is no venture, there is no gain. If you keep running away from trouble you will never find a solution.

Hon. Muyiwa-Oladipo

If this government had not come on board and we had not done certain things, there is no way the IGR would have increased from N750 to N4billion per month. And again don’t forget that in 2002, we created additional 32 Local Government Councils. If successful government had continued with the 52 local Government councils till date, it would have been stabilised. In a situation where a new government comes in and breaks away from the former this will not speak well for the growth of the state and the government.

Getting estabilised

If successful governments had continued the metro line project, we would have gotten somewhere today. Any attempt to start that metro line in Lagos today will run into billions of Naira and it would have cost $100 million in 1993.

How does government wants to go about it?

Everyone of us didn’t start walking the day we were born, it went through a lot of process, if we are allowed to do that, it will definitely get stabilized. Lagos State is just getting stabilized with its 20 local governments and 37 LCDAs. It was practically impossible for people to believe in 2011 that we can generate N4b monthly in this state. If we don’t attempt, we can’t get anything.

Who initiated this idea?

While I was still the speaker in 2002, we passed a law which was signed by the then governor of the state, Olusegun Osoba to create 52 local governments in the state, the report was sent to the National Assembly and there is no local government in Ogun State today that you can not divide no matter how small it is because we can bring towns from adjacent local governments to form another local government.

So, how many should be expected?

You should expect 52 , there is a subsisting law. It is either we continue or we create additional local governments to join the existing ones. The ones we created and was passed to law has not been repelled. So, as we speak, Ogun State by law has 52 local government areas. It is not a one day thing, don’t forget we have workforce across the state in all the local governments so, if you create additional local governments, you split them, you second them to all those areas. There is really no need of employing another staff.

Why Ogun has two Obas in each towns?

To every cause, there is an action. If you look at it very well, the entire Egbaland occupies almost all the communities in Ifo axis, all the components of Egba all has units in the community and they usually rotate it among themselves. Ifo for example, the last Oba before this present Oba is an Owu man. Ifo is a commercial settlement. All the four components of Egba, Egba Oke-Ona, Egba Alake, Egba Gbagura and Owu are all settled there.

So, they rotate the Obaship among themselves. That is why to a large extent they have two Obas possibly representing the community. Clashes come  up when they don’t realise or appreciate the need to co-exist peacefully.

On the number of recognised Obas in the state

At the last count we have 246 Obas. But, we have four paramount rulers and we have first class Obas  across the state. Although, it varies from one traditional council to the other. We cannot say Ikene does not have an Oba, we can only say there is no Alakene. In Ajaka today, there is no Oba and we are on it at the moment and the matter is in court. The last Alajaka had gone to join his ancestors and there is need to fill the vacant stool but the family is at loggerheads with one another.

On plan to rotate paramount tittle in Egbaland

The whole world is dynamic. So, its a suggestion and Alake has to some large extent been a bit above.

Paramount ruler

In the independent Egba kingdom, in 1852, it was the Alake that was regarded as the head of administration, while the other parts of Oke Ona, Gbragura and Owu were seen as component, like prime minister, treasurer and all that. So maybe if it is going to be a possibility, then, we will attempt it, but, for now there is just one paramount ruler in the whole of Ebgaland as we have one paramount ruler for the whole of Remo and of course Awujale is the paramount ruler of Ijebu land, while Olu Ilaro is the paramount ruler of Yewa land.

Power to sanction erring Obas by Government

Yes, it has the power, but it has to go through the local government. With records we have sanctioned about three Obas, but most times, what we do is to call any erring Oba and bring him to notice. We also query him privately, instead of making it public.