BY JACOB BRIGHT
An uneasy calm returned to parks in Lagos after the reported clash between loyalists of the erstwhile chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (Lagos State branch) and Head of the newly constituted Lagos State Parks Management Committee, Musiliu Akinsanya, (aka MC Oluomo) and members of the suspended state branch of the National Union of Roads Transport Workers.
The state branch of NURTW was suspended by the Lagos State Government after a leadership vacuum existed in the state council when the national body suspended MC Oluomo for insubordination, inciting members of the state chapter against the NURTW national body, and refusal to apologize for his misconduct.
Before the Lagos State Government put its foot down over the leadership tussle that embroiled the transport union, there had been some damning allegations against MC Oluomo by the national body headed by Tajudeen Ibikunle Baruwa, and prior to Oluomo’s suspension, they had issued him with a query over alleged meddlesomeness in Union matters, and for staging a protest against the national body for its alleged continuous interference in state affairs. He was subsequently ordered to vacate office and pass the baton to his deputy chairman and surrender all union property in his possession to the State Secretary, in order to avoid a leadership vacuum in the State.
Disgruntled, Oluomo took his grievance to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. He (Oluomo) released a statement calling for the intervention of the Lagos State Government and requested the government take over the affairs of the Union in order to avert a crisis and a breakdown of law and order in the state.
“Just remember that 2023 is around the corner. As we are talking now, the issues of the presidential candidate, and not just the presidential candidate, virtually all the political offices, are on the ground. It is right there in the front burner of all the parties, from APC to PDP and others
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Sanwo-Olu heeded Oluomo’s plea and suspended all NURTW union activities in the state, and in its place constituted a 25-man Parks Management Committee to run the affairs of Lagos parks and garages, so as “to ensure that activities and events of NURTW do not/are not allowed to threaten the law and order in the state.”
However, troubles began to brew in the state when men loyal to Oluomo allegedly went to the Fagba area of Lagos to forcefully take over parks and garages there, but were resisted by NURTW members who used to oversee activities at those parks. Three people were feared dead and many others injured in the skirmish which spiraled into Ogba in Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area and Pen Cinema in Agege Local Government Area.
However, Oluomo, through his spokesman, Jimoh Buhari, said no life was lost in the incident. He allayed the fears of Lagosians over any outbreak of law and order, saying there is no need for any panic over their taking over of Lagos parks and garages. He added that contrary to reports, Oluomo, on that day, went to pay a visit to the traditional ruler of Fagba, and no clashes occurred.
Apart from Oluomo who will chair the committee, there is also Hakeem Odumosu, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police and former Commissioner of Police in Lagos, listed as number one, serving as the Government Liaison Officer, as well as Sulyman Ojora (Deputy Chairman).
Others are Taiwo Olufemi Salaam (Secretary), Olayiwola Lemboye, Mustapha Adekunle, Ganiyu Shittu, Mukaila Runsewe, Sulyman Yusuf, Mufutau Mutiu, Yinka Hassan, Sunday Ogunleye and Moshood Omojowa.
Making up the list are Ismaila Aigoro, Ibrahim Yusuf, Akeem Tijani, Omolabake Adelakun, Kazeem Hassan, Wasiu Amole, Ganiyu Ayinde, Anthony Adeboye, John Owolabi, Saburi Salami, Ibrahim Onitiju and Odusanya Gbenga.
After the names of the committee members were made public, the credibility of some of its members was called into question. Lagosians were befuddled why individuals like Mustapha Adekunle (aka Saygo), Ganiyu Ayinde (aka Koko Zaria) and Sulyman Ojora (aka Kudeleti), were included in the Committee. For instance, in January 2019, Mustapha Adekunle (Saygo) was declared wanted by the Police after Oluomo himself was stabbed during the flag-off of the APC gubernatorial campaign at the Skypower Club, in Ikeja.
A senior lawyer, Fred Aigbadumah, told The Point that no matter how the government tried, they cannot hide the character of Oluomo. He described the Parks chairman as someone who uses hoodlums to invade garages or parks in Lagos State, and who also tries to hijack and take over the affairs of other transport bodies like the Tricycle Owners and Operators Association of Nigeria, led by Azeez Abiola, aka Istijabah.
Aigbadumah also said he believed that Lagos State government aligned with Oluomo because they (government) wanted to give him “a soft landing” after his suspension by the NURTW national body.
“I think Lagos is trying to support or to help him when he has been suspended by the union at the national level. Now, the government is saying they would be called the Parks and Garages Committee. That one is just to make a way for him by giving him a soft landing device,” he said.
Asked to react upon the notion that the government gave Oluomo a soft landing, the notary public said there was a political undertone in the appointment of Oluomo because election year was approaching and politicians needed people who would support and stand behind them.
His words, “Just remember that 2023 is around the corner. As we are talking now, the issues of the presidential candidate, and not just the presidential candidate, virtually all the political offices, are on the ground. It is right there in the front burner of all the parties, from APC to PDP and others. So, all the politicians or aspirants are looking for backup. They’re looking for support,” he declared.
He told The Point that politicians were “bending backwards forward” to see where they can stand or who can stand behind them as a pillar.
“We all know that Oluomo is very close to the so-called national leader of the APC, and we know that the national leader of the APC is “a number one kingmaker”, not just in Lagos, but the whole of the South West.
“We also know that the governor of Lagos State, without the support of the national leader or the Jagaban, is nowhere in Lagos politics. We can, therefore, read between the lines to know where this is all coming from, and how they are trying to create a soft landing for MC Oluomo,” he explained.
In a related development, an anti-corruption and accountability civil society group, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda, has questioned the legality of the Lagos state government running the affairs of motor parks and garages in the state.
The group, in a letter written to the Speaker of the Lagos state House of Assembly and the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, and signed by its chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, said that based on the provisions of Section 1(e) of the Fourth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), parks and garages fell under the purview of local government councils.
According to Suraju, Section 1(e) details the main functions of a Local Government Councils to include the establishment, maintenance and regulation of slaughterhouses, slaughter slabs, markets, motor parks and public conveniences. He therefore averred that the Lagos State Car Parking Authority legislation passed into law by the State House of Assembly and which vested power on the state government to run parks and garages, be repealed immediately.
The Car Parking Authority policy was the law purportedly used to constitute the Parks Management Committee, and according to the HEDA boss, because of its unconstitutionality, there is no law backing Oluomo and the other 24 committee members who were inaugurated by the Lagos State government. The HEDA Resource centre threatened legal actions if their demand was not met.
‘’The Lagos state Parking Authority law of Lagos State is totally unconstitutional and by virtue of Section 1(3) of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria (as amended), we demand that the Lagos State Parking Authority Law be repealed immediately.
‘’If our demand is not attended to within seven (7) days of receipt of this letter, we shall not hesitate to approach the court for an order, declaring the Lagos State Parking Authority Law as illegal and unconstitutional,’’ he said.
While fielding questions from our correspondent, the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotosho, who released the list of the 25-man committee members, said the aims of the Lagos State Government for constituting the committee haven’t been defeated despite the fight which broke out in the Fagba area of Lagos between the loyalists of Oluomo and NURTW members.
Omotosho said such incidents were “common around here”, and how they are handled should be the focused. He also added that the government acted in the best interest of the public by setting up a committee of stakeholders who are familiar with transport business and operations.
“If you set up a committee so that there won’t be a vacuum (in leadership), what I want you to remember is that you should not forget where we are coming from. The NURTW people massed on the Governor’s lodge and said they were no longer going to be a part of the NURTW, and the Governor told them to take it easy. They (Lagos NURTW) brought a letter and all that, so a few days after, the national body of the NURTW said they were suspending the Lagos chapter who replied by saying they were no longer part of NURTW members, and the Governor came in and said “hold it, we don’t want any breakdown of law and order in Lagos. All NURTW Union activities have been suspended in all parks” and that was the situation we had for several weeks.
“People thought that there was going to be a crisis, people fighting for the control of parks, and the government at that time promised that it was going to set up a committee of stakeholders who are familiar with the business and operations of the parks. You and I know that you or I cannot do it. I am also a reporter, and I can’t do it. So, the government appointed people into that committee, and then we cannot say that after appointing people into that committee, there was now a fight somewhere and because of that the peace we are aiming at has been defeated or deflated. No, you can’t say so because of that incident.
“I am not a lawyer. But I think the government has the constitutional power to set up committees. I can’t remember the number of committees I have headed which the government had set up to resolve one issue or the other, to keep an eye on an issue or the other, or to ensure that things are done the right way
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“Such incidents are common around here. It is how they’re handled that we should be looking at. I was monitoring the news. As soon as the incident happened, the security agencies moved in and ensured that it was quelled. So, any human activity that you have, there’s bound to be conflict, and once conflicts occur, it is the reaction of the authorities that will show whether we really care or whether we are genuinely searching for peace, and in this particular instance, I think the security agencies deserve kudos. They moved in fast and ensured that the incident didn’t last long,” he added.
Confronted with concerns the newly constituted committee was not constitutional and the Lagos Parks Authority Law making provisions only for a General Manager and six other members as against the 25-man committee Oluomo was chairing, Omotosho said though he wasn’t a lawyer, he believed that the government has the constitutional powers to “set up any committee into any matter”.
“I am not a lawyer. But I think the government has the constitutional power to set up committees. I can’t remember the number of committees I have headed which the government had set up to resolve one issue or the other, to keep an eye on an issue or the other, or to ensure that things are done the right way. So, I think that as a layman, the government has the power to set up any committee into any matter,” he submitted.
Asked to also comment on the matter relating to the 1999 constitution putting parks and garages under the purview of Local Council Areas, and not the state government, Omotosho said that was a matter for lawyers to debate upon.
Concerning those who doubt the leadership qualities and abilities of Oluomo, the Commissioner said he would choose to not comment on that because he has never worked with the suspended NURTW chairman, and didn’t know his leadership capabilities.
“I am not MC Oluomo’s spokesman. I have never worked with him. So, I don’t know his leadership capabilities, and wouldn’t want to comment on that,” he said.
On the credentials of the other members of the committee, Omotosho said they were all chosen by the government after a painstaking effort and weeks of consultations. He urged the public to give some credit to the government. “There is a Liaison Officer who is number one on the list (of committee members the government released). And there are so many others there. They are all people who were chosen after the government had consulted for weeks. What we should do is to credit the government, no matter how little, for its intelligence. They may have seen things which we are not seeing, but that’s the price of leadership. You take a decision and people can criticize the decision, and many of those people will not know why you took that decision because it wasn’t taken in the market place.”
On the allegation there is a political undertone reverberating owing to the constitution of the committee members and because Oluomo and most of the other committee members are staunch All Progressives Congress supporters, Omotosho said, “I don’t think so. What do they mean by political undertone? Oluomo is not the only APC member in Lagos. There are millions of APC members in the state. It is not true there is a political undertone to their appointment.”
On the raging debate about members of the committee who, it is claimed, have bad antecedents and records, and who may eventually bring to pass the fears of citizens concerning Sanwo-Olu placing a seal on thuggery and lawlessness, Omotosho said he wasn’t aware of the CV, personal lifestyles or antecedents anybody who is being criticized in the committee has. According to him, “All I know is that the government consulted widely and in a thorough manner before choosing them.”
He insisted that the character of the members of a committee having a retired AIG in it should not be in doubt, and it was anyone’s choice to think otherwise.
“If a committee in which you have an AIG as number one (in the committee) is said not to be a person with good character or conduct, it is a matter of personal opinion. Like I have said, I have not pried into the background of each and every one of the people in the committee,” he concluded.
