Chime and the thieving mayors

From the events of the recent past, Barrister Sullivan Chime, governor of Enugu state, looks different from the other Nigerian leaders who see public treasury as a gold mine. Read this story:

Last Christmas, local government chairmen in Enugu state under the platform of Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) took a Toyota Rav 4 (2008 model) jeep to Governor Chime as a Christmas gift in his Udi home. The Toyota Rav (2008) costs N9 million. The council chiefs, led by their chairman, Barrister Julius Ogbuke of Ezeagu council area (Pictured right)had, after their earlier meeting, come up with the decision to purchase the jeep for Governor Chime who, according to them, had been releasing their councils’ monthly allocations to them intact.

KlinReports learnt that the council chiefs had contributed N3 million each for Governor Chime’s Christmas gift, as well as gifts for selected prominent indigenes of the state and beyond.

But Chime did the unexpected. The lawyer governor got angry with the council chairmen, rejected the car gift, and walked them out of his house.

The bemused chairmen, subsequently, resolved to take the jeep back to the Lagos based dealer, but the dealer refused to take back the vehicle. At a loss what next to do with the vehicle, the council bosses resolved to convert it to an official vehicle of ALGON, to be used by the chairman, Ogbuke. This brings Ogbuke’s official car to two, as he, also, uses a white Hilux jeep.

KlinReports uses this medium to commend Governor Chime’s action in sending the council chairmen back with their ‘Greek’ gift. Why, in the first place, did the council chairmen need to buy the governor a N9 million jeep as Christmas gift if not to lobby him to look away from their corrupt ways as chief executives of their councils?

Chime deserves kudos because some others in position of authority like him would have readily accepted the jeep gift, to add it to his car gallery. Some others would have given out the jeep to their very acquaintances. But Chime chose not.

Governor Chime was justified in rejecting this gift. For N9 million is a whole lot of money. These local government ‘thieves’ appear to have abandoned the development of Enugu state to the state government alone. This is why, except in a few council areas, most of the on-going projects in the state are those embarked upon by Chime’s government.

Come to think of it: N9 million could be used to improve the deplorable living conditions of rural dwellers, who the council chairmen were elected to cater for their welfare. N9 million could be used to make some of the pot-hole ridden rural roads motorable. N9 million could be used to provide pipe-borne water or, at least, bore holes for the thirsty rural people. N9 million could be used in providing medical assistance to the sick in the councils. Yet, these chairmen have continued to revel in squandermania, corruption and indiscipline in the discharge of their duties to their hapless electorate.

But history and posterity will judge everybody at the end of the day. For Chime, he is a hero, only if he continues to hold on to his forthrightness. Only if he remains himself and refuses to be converted to the evil ways of the present Nigerian politicians.