Abuja worshippers: When governors abandon their states — by Ugo Egbujo

When Bola Tinubu was governor of Lagos, he rarely left the state.

He did not loiter in Abuja.

He stayed focused on governing Lagos.

Today, as President he watches

As half of his governors have become political almajiris.

Half of them live in Abuja.

They hang around the Villa, looking for opportunities to shine Tinubu’s shoes and dust his seat.

Back in their states, hunger and insecurity are in charge. Governance suffers constipation.

Yet they remain in Abuja, worshipping Tinubu as if he were an Ogwugwu deity.

During holidays, Pa Tinubu retreats to Lagos to gather his spirits

They run after him , bowing, genuflecting ,prostrating

Swarming Ikoyi like bees without a hive.

Dont they have families they can spend the holidays with?

When Tinubu prepares for one of his frequent foreign trips

They congregate at the airport

Stand like secondhand mannequins, one arm raised in servitude as the aircraft taxis.

Before the man has settled into his foreign office in France or England

Half of the governors are already there, loitering in those same cities with runs girls

Tinubu sees these things and says nothing.

He offers no rebuke.

He shows no concern for their truancy

Or its consequences for their states and the nation.

Instead, he inhabits the praise and attention.

If Tinubu were a truly transformative leader, the waywardness and obsequiousness of these governors would nauseate him.

No governor would dare loiter around him in this manner.

Even Trump, who enjoys being treated like an African king with aides singing praises into his ears, does not have American state governors camping around him or seeing him off at the airport.

We copied the presidential system from the United States. So why are our governors so footloose and nwa-boi-ish?

If Tinubu visits Ogun or Oyo

The governors will arrive before him and line up groveling as if they themselves were the red carpet.

But let put a nail on one if the heads

My father would say , “Sharpen it, you are a man.”

Let me start from home, lest I be accused of leaving the speck in my eye to dwell on logs elsewhere.

My governor has delivered good roads.

Yes, under Governor Hope Uzodimma, most of the major roads linking towns in Imo have been properly paved. Credit where it is due.

However , he promised more than asphalt, bricks and mortar in his second term.

Let pretend we didn’t hear of the 40,000 jobs in Europe.

That was election format

A state needs a sound, technology-driven, research-obsessed civil service.

We have none in Imo

A state needs to attract serious investments. Sometimes this requires initiating industrialization and then privatizing, or building public-private partnerships with private control and public protection. The Igbo in the diaspora are ready to engage such schemes.

A state needs to improve its schools and hospitals — not just erect buildings, but equip them with standard facilities and deliver quality service.

A state needs a clear development plan with measurable targets in critical sectors, honest measurement of outcomes, and transparent audits of its finances, books and policies.

A state should have huge ambitions. It should study and adapt the success stories of Singapore, South Korea or any model that fits its reality. Yet it must remain capable of clear-eyed, sober reflection.

So Imo hasnt started

How can any governor deliver diligent governance if he lives in Abuja licking Tinubu’s “Emi lo kan” boots and only visits his state occasionally to inspect projects and stage photo opportunities?

President Tinubu , lead the country right

The dangerous fusion of sycophancy, absentee governance and misplaced priorities is ruining the states