Foreign

By David Titiloye

Different psychologists in time past have conducted studies asserting that adapting to change is a major challenge in human evolution. This is why we are encouraged to develop our minds by not confining our visions and aspirations to our present realities but picturing ourselves as far as our mind can conceive so that when the opportunities arrive, we won’t struggle to adapt, rather, our behavioural patterns would reflect that of someone who was always prepared for that reality.

As with many other members of the ‘Egbekegbe’ Otoge Crusade, Rafiu Ajakaye, the Chief Press Secretary to the Kwara State Governor, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, presents himself as yet another case study of how lack of preparation and development of one’s mind can drastically affect adapting to new realities.

How do you describe a Chief Press Secretary who after about 3 years in office still hasn’t been able to change his orientation from being an attack dog to a senior spokesperson in government.

The first time I saw an Op-ed from Mallam Ajakaye attacking a respected politician through a blog, I assumed he was ignorant of his duties and surely there must be at least an informed person around him to enlighten him on the duties of a CSP, an embarrassment for which a simple Google search would have helped avoided.

However, his last piece attacking the former Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, clearly showed that I have overestimated his intelligence and I am irritated by that fact.

Like Rafiu Ajakaye, we have had many writers and editors of media outfits who went on to become media aides to Presidents, and Governors but these men immediately transitioned from being opinion writers by adapting to the professional dictates of their office, an assignment for which Ajakaye has failed woefully.

The CPS appears to be suffering from dissociative identity disorder thereby failing to reconcile the fact that by virtue of his position, he ordinarily shouldn’t be an attack dog anymore but like they say, a man is only as good as what he thinks of himself. Ajakaye has become the proverbial dog of the king who thinks of himself as the king of dogs.

However, it is also understandable that Ajakaye is failing in his duties because after almost 3 years in government, his principal still doesn’t have a groundbreaking achievement to boast of so in a bid to maintain appearance in view of their dwindling popularity, he has resorted to their grand strategy of “When Everything Fails, Attack Saraki”.

For a government that couldn’t account for N8 billion expended on health at the inception of its administration to be giving surface account on health is sad to see quite frankly. How did he miss the dwindling numbers of Doctors and the fact that our salary to health workers is the least in the North Central Zone?

Once upon a time, under the past regime, Kwara State Government slightly paid more to health workers (Doctors) than even their counterparts in Federal Teaching Hospital (UITH). It is however shameful that Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq led administration doesn’t know the core problem facing our Doctors and Nurses in the state. Truly the state has employed sizeable number of Doctors and Nurses but after six months of employment, health workers desert Kwara for other neighboring state hospitals (Osun, Niger, Ogun, Lagos, Ekiti etc).

On maternal Mortality Ratio for Kwara that had reduced from 1,404.4 in 2019 per 100,000 deaths to 20.7 percent per 100,000 deaths by end of 2020 have seen a slight improvement on the reduction of the maternal deaths in our State. Kwarans should know that the rise on maternal deaths in 2019 was largely contributed by the Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq following his sole administration for 6 months in office without a commissioner for Health managing the health sector. The present administration makes a generic comparison of 2019 maternal crisis at our health facilities with that of 2020 without clearly telling Kwarans the huge burden of maternal deaths when he assumed office for 6 months without Commissioners.

Kwarans must also understand that you cannot make analysis in health improvement, health outcomes without first looking at the baseline for which your analysis are based on. Kwarans should demand from this administration to be more open and stop politicizing our health sector thereby exposing more risk of our dwellers to a better health management. Health data or indicators are compared and analyzed on quarterly basis. That is; comparing January-March 2019 with that of January-March 2020. Or January-June 2019 with that of January-June 2020. This is how best data analysis or presentations work for health.

The government maternal death is not sincere as this current government spent substantial amount of months (6months) in 2019 that could call for a review of any health program globally. I challenge the Government of Mallam Abdulrazaq Abdulrahman to publish data from July – December 2019 when he took over and compare to that of July – December 2020 which he is celebrating now. This will allow Kwarans to fairly judge his first six months in office and how badly he had contributed to high maternal deaths in the State. The government should also publish January – June 2019 data ( while not in office) and compare to that of January – June 2020 (while in office). This is when Kwarans will take his administration serious.

I remember the poor narrative this Government earlier put on the wall about the oxygen plant. They came with their short memory of history linking the establishment of the project to an administration before Saraki led administration. Thanks to few individuals with accurate knowledge of history to lay their false claims to rest. The same resuscitation that this administration expended millions of Naira is under serious question because the so called oxygen plant has not served the purpose. The oxygen one can get for N700 at UITH is available for N5000 at General Hospital in Ilorin and these bunch of liars had sold the news of workable Oxygen plant on Channels TV, AIT, TVC and even NTA in Abuja for the public consumption. Let me charge our “local” notable platforms, like informant247, Fresh insight, Factual times, insider and others to conduct an independent story about its condition and make it available to our people.

Of the numerous issues before us remains how COVID-19 intervention funds expended remains unaccounted for, perhaps they thought people have forgotten that the case by Brain Builders was technically knocked out when they demanded for accountability on how the N8 billion was expended. The court never said they were accountable till date, no such declaration was made. Part of the excuse then was that the Deputy Governor tested positive for COVID-19 which perhaps he is yet to recover from till date to give account of how N525m palliative money was spent. Ajakaye must have been using his entire night begging for forgiveness each day for being the CPS seeing all these actions against the teachings of his faith.

The Kwara State government under Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq only employd health workers every six months without studying the underlying factors causing the disengagement of the workers every six months. There was no single Doctor at Oke-Oyi, Alalubosa Cottage when one of my friends was a victim of the Nigerian factor that threatened his life. In the end, hospitals were just painted and not equipped. Quality service delivery which should be the result of various interventions is missing.

Local Government elections were conducted twice under Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and Abdulfatah Ahmed respectively. Abdulrahman is yet to conduct one since assuming office and the President of his party still ranted about how Governors crippled the LGAs and turned it to a platform of political followership. Even the President must be disappointed in the government of AA.

These people talk about recruitment of SUBEB teachers, was that recruitment or replacement?

Perhaps, to Ajakaye, all roads is just between Challenge to Ahmadu Bello, if he moves well with his good car, he would see the actual condition of roads in Ilorin. Most importantly, which road has this administration opened as a fresh project since assuming power. Kindly tell us one… interlocking and surface dressing can’t win people’s heart.

I read an informed response by one Engr Almajiri 24 hours ago and he dwelt on a fact that Saraki constructed the longest road in Kwara North of approximately more than 100km. Similarly, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed led administration constructed more than 30 kilometers of roads in Kwara South. Which new road has this administration constructed from the beginning?

If not for the transgression of Barrister Iyiola Akogun Oyedepo and his obsessive hatred for the old order which led him to compare the previous administrations with the incumbent, one would have said his usage of “minimum government” tag was correct. However, that is forgivable, he was merely crunching on biscuits when he said so and such tag seems not bothered Ajakaye as he came for Saraki instead. Perhaps, in hope that maybe Akogun and AA will reunite one day.

David Titiloye writes from Isin LGA, Kwara State.