The former governor of Lagos
state, Babatunde Raji Fashola, has shown his readiness to become a minister of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria saying“nobody has alleged I embezzled money.
Speaking at the screening
plenary on the floor of the Senate, Fashola pointed out that the unfortunate
thing about money is that it raises suspicion even among brothers.

He noted that there is a need for effective policing where
states will be constitutionally responsible for police formations.
He said: “At the state level, you may not
know what other governors are going through because they have no capacity to
enforce their own laws. When you are talking of women issues, rape and violence
are all criminal offences in all states of the world, but who is prosecuting
them, because the officers are busy chasing robbery.
“Let us start the state
police, working with the federal. I propose an arrangement where we have six
zonal commands of the existing police force. Although, not every state should
start if they cannot fund it.”
Responding to Senator
Gemade’s question relating to his knowledge of the FCT, the ex-governor
revealed that he is not so conversant with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
since he lived all his life in Lagos, but stated categorically that there
are so many things to be done in the beautiful city.
“I think Abuja is about
twelve the size of Lagos with less than a million people as at the last
time I checked. The question is, how many millions of people coming every year?
“I know some areas like
Nyanya, Lugbe, Garki , I know Maitama of course. But state management is a
function of harnessing all resources and convincing the people what the
thoughts are and your master plan.”
Speaking on why the old are
still relevant in Nigerian politics, he said:“They
are our guide and compass for life, and in the way that children see life as a
mirror of their parents, they must guide the process. they must lead and no
matter how hard we try, we could never discount the experience in maturity, the
counselling and the guiding support of people that are older than us.
“In my own right as just a
52-year old person, I am an old man as far as some people are concerned. We
mush continue to interface with them.”
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