By Seyi Babalola
Dr Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran (JANDOR), the governorship candidate of the PDP in Lagos has replied the APC after the ruling party criticized him for visiting people whose vehicles were auctioned by the Lagos State government for violating the state’s traffic law.
The APC described Jandor’s visit to the victims as “appalling” and promotion of lawlessness.
According to the ruling party, Jandor and his running mate, Funke Akindele, have graduated from playing politics with human lives to blatantly encouraging the breakdown of law and order in our dear state.
However, Jandor in his response, said APC’s reaction is a wild ranting of a dying hegemony.
We read with amusement the desperate but futile attempts by the Lagos State APC to ridicule the kind gesture of the Lagos PDP Governorship Candidate, Dr Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran (JANDOR) and his running mate, Olufunke Akindele, in bringing succour to the victims of the ill-conceived and draconian Lagos State traffic law purportedly enacted to take away people’s sources of livelihood, even after one of the two victims of last week auction had served three months sentence in prison for the same offence and made to go through the anguish of losing his only daughter as the family had been deprived of their only source of income.
The clueless and insensitive state government on Thursday 15th September 2022 auctioned 134 vehicles impounded for traffic offences. A video report of the exercise showing some of the victims profusely begging for help drew the attention of well-meaning Lagosians, especially because of the perceived case of double jeopardy.
The point to note is that as responsible law-abiding citizens of Lagos State, neither JANDOR nor his running mate will ever condone the breaking of the state’s laws for any reason and this point was made very clear as he reprimanded the victims for breaking the law. However, we must realize that laws are made for the people and not people for the law, therefore all laws must bear a human face and seek to correct rather than destroy the very citizens whom they were made for.
In this instance, the penalty for breaking the law in question amounted to killing an ant with a sledgehammer and will potentially create more problems than it was meant to solve. One may wonder why a state government that is supposed to cater for the welfare of the people is so intent on taking away the means of livelihood of the same people when other measures such as hefty fines could have served as a deterrent to potential offenders.
Or could their pathetic outburst be the wild ranting of a dying hegemony having realized that their game is up and Lagosians are now sick and tired of the poor governance that they have been subjected to for the past 23 years and are now craving for the breath of fresh air which the dynamic duo of Dr Adediran and Olufunke Akindele represent?
Whatever their problem might be, one would have expected them to appreciate the lessons in good leadership demonstrated by JANDOR, the real People’s Governor, learn from it and apply the lessons learnt in the last remaining months of their dying dynasty instead of trying to demonize the act of succour being given to the victims of their anti-people policies.
JANDOR’s gesture is a true reflection of his deep appreciation and respect for one of the numerous wise sayings of true children of Oduduwa that if you use the right hand to beat a child, you have to use the left hand to cuddle him. This is what he has done and promoted that is making the APC peevish. The action of the Lagos State government negates this great Yoruba adage and shows they have no human heart. Their action brings to mind the refrain in Bob Marley’s song that it seems like total destruction is the only solution.
It is unfortunate that the APC government in Lagos State has chosen to dance on the grave of the hapless citizens that they have slaughtered psychologically, emotionally and economically. JANDOR has come to give life and hope to Lagosians more abundantly and would never toe the path of the APC that has only come to emasculate, oppress and destroy the people they are meant to protect and empower.
