Former Secretary to the Government of Lagos State Mr Olatunji Bello has carpeted the Akinwunmi Ambode administration, describing him as the worst since the Jakande era.
The said the administration was long on big projects but lacks emotional intelligence that defines the success of political leaders.
The scathing statement reads: “The
exit bell has sounded and it is time to say good bye to colleagues.
“We must seriously thank our Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode for bringing all of
us together in the last four years.
We must praise him for the successful strides in bringing Lagos to the present
level.
All the accomplishments and success stories of this
administration should go to him. We should be happy too because we are directly
or indirectly part of that success stories being his lieutenants.
We should be happy for the opportunity provided and
experience gained.
It is not what you can buy on the shelf even if you
have all the money. We should also be happy and thankful to God for seeing us
to the end.
Yet as we depart on our individual sojourn, we must
never forget to learn from our glaring weaknesses and failures.
Since we are all part of the success stories we
must also share in the weaknesses and failures.
Our main drawback is our Government’s inability to
apply enough emotional intelligence in the administration of the state.
Emotional intelligence includes interpersonal
skills, interpersonal relationship, humility, respect for the well established,
mores of governance, disregard for the accomplishments of others.
The belief that our way is the best without
considering other options in a democratic setting, absence of wider
consultations, distance from the governed, lack of effective communication
skill or amateurish display of government acts and political immaturity, deliberate
and open alienation of others.
We
undertook gigantic projects without the soul. We were too self-opinionated and
narrow in our approach to governance.
It is a big drawback which prevented the administration
from returning because it was punished for its lack of inclusiveness in a
democratic setting.
In leadership, emotional intelligence is 70 per
cent of application while individual brilliance is only 30 percent. Successful
leaderships across the world in history have thrived on this fact.
Besides, and apart from lack of enough camaraderie
compare to previous administrations, our cabinet has been less rigorous, less
fulfilled, less engaged and less accomplished.
And for the first time since the time of Governor
Lateef Jakande, this cabinet departs unappreciated and disenchanted.
