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The Egba Kingdom Authority, a socio-cultural group, yesterday
lamented that 35 years after its creation, the state capital, Abeokuta remains
in such deplorable shape. The Secretary General of the Supreme Council of
Islamic affairs, Lateef Adegbite who was the guest lecturer, noted this during
a lecture organised by the Egba Economic Summit at the Centenary Hall, Ake,
Abeokuta, yesterday.
He said, “When Ogun State was carved out of the former Western
State of Nigeria in 1976, and Abeokuta was made the state capital, the general
expectation was that Abeokuta’s lost glory would be revived, and the city would
once more become the envy of all.” He noted that this dream remained
unfulfilled, “Instead, Abeokuta is today a shadow of its old self and what
other state capitals have become. Its is suspected that the so-called policy of
even development of the four zones making up Ogun State namely Egba, Ijebu,
Remo and Yewa, may have worked against the transformation of Abeokuta,” he
said.
Mr Adegbite said while the policy of even development may be
legitimate in principle, its application ought to be more scientific, stressing
that, “Abeokuta should be singled out and accorded special treatment as a state
capital.”
He also noted that the Egbas have a veritable heritage of
enterprise and dynamism which sadly have been stifled by modern political
arrangements, “it is my submission that we should not allow the rot to subsist
rather, the Egbas should take their destiny in their hands. This is the time
for Egba Economic Self-Help and I urge the Egba Economic Summit to seize the
initiative and drive the programme to its logical destination in the true
Lisabi spirit,” he said.
In a statement, the representatives of the Egbas noted that the
locale of political power, is crucial, explaining that “while some of us would
always stand for the principle of the best man for the job, no matter where he
hails from, it would appear that most people still favour rotation of power, to
ensure what they called equity. Even so if rotation is to obtain in Ogun State,
the four zones cannot be treated as equal because they are not equal, therefore
the Egbas must have governorship twice, while the other zones have it once
respectively. This is simple justice and should be adhered to.”
