By Ismail Isah
Perhaps, two of the major indices of
measuring the performance of government in the Nigerian context is the level of
visible infrastructure and the impact it bears in the lives of the people. An
ancillary to development in physical
infrastructure is the improvement in the capacity of the populace in terms of
critical skills and vocational exposure to excel in a given career or trade.
Over the years, the below par
performance of the government in these two areas have attracted the most
attention, albeit criticism from the
people and analysts whose position is that a government can only justify its
existence if its activities cause proven improvement in the wellbeing of the
people. For majority of the public affairs analysts and critics alike,
development of physical infrastructure and genuine efforts in giving the people
a lifeline for survival amidst the harsh socio-economic order of the day is
only next to guaranteeing security of lives and property in the ranking
government's responsibility to the people.
These, unarguably, are responsible
for the barrage of criticism often leveled against our government- federal,
state and local government- who are seen as not doing enough for the society
for whom they hold office as trustees.
The situation has gone from bad to worse in most of our states where
there seems to be a little left to develop infrastructure. With most of the 36
states now headed for a fiscal cliff; they are unable to even pay basic
salaries of workers and meet other statutory obligation, the country may not
have seen the last of the hard times yet.
Despite, the challenging fiscal
crunch being witnessed in the country, it is safe to say that prudent
management of resources at the disposal of some of our state governments could
reverse the tide of the biting effect of dwindling revenue and their attendant
inability to develop critical infrastructure.
One of the few states that appear to
be setting a good example in this direction is Kogi. the present of Captain
Idris Wada in Kogi State has done fairly well in developing physical infrastructure
such as roads, housing, health facilities, educational institutions and it has
continued to record developmental strides in other sectors of the economy. Although most of its over 3 Million
population live in rural areas, the rate of migration to Lokoja and a few of the sub-urban settlements like
Idah, Anyigba, where the state university is located; Okene and Kabba
townships and the fact that Kogi is the
gateway for people moving to and from the North and the South of Nigeria have
compelled the present administration to up the ante in developing facilities to
cope with growing socio-economic activities in the state.
In the last few weeks, the State
Governor, Captain Idris Wada has embarked on a tour of commissioning and inspection
of on-going projects in different parts of the state. Some of these projects are: the Nigeria-Korea
Friendship Institute of Vocational and Advanced Technology; the new Kogi Hotel
and the Lokoja Mega Transport Terminal.
The Nigeria-Korea Friendship Institute of
Vocational and Advanced Technology
The Nigeria-Korea Friendship Institute of
Vocational and Advanced Technology in Lokoja is technical cooperation established
by the Kogi State Government in partnership with the Korea International
Cooperation Agency (KOICA). At the commissioning ceremony in Lokoja a few days ago, Governor Wada was reported to
have described the project as a world class centre vocational training and
skills acquisition that will raise the standard in international partnership
for human capital development in Nigeria and the West African sub-region.
The Governor said the impact of the
project in the lives of the young people in the state will see hundreds
acquiring skills and training that will make them self-reliant and net
employers thereby contributing their quota to the socio-economic development of
the state.
Also speaking at the occasion, the
Project Director at the Institute, Nafisa Waziri said the mandate of the project
was to develop a highly effective and relevant technical and vocational
education and training that delivers a flexible, demand-driven programmes in
automobile engineering, welding and fabrication, electrical engineering and
information and communication technology
to meet the manpower needs of industries and the emerging Medium and
Small Scale Enterprises in Nigeria.
According the Project Director, the institute
is equipped with world class training facilities and instructors trained at the
Daelim University in the Republic of Korea
and it is already receiving applications from intending students seeking
the best in vocational and technical education.
The new Kogi
Hotel in Lokoja
Located in the old premises that
houses the courtyard of Lord Lugard, the famous colonial Governor-General of
Northern Nigeria who made Lokoja his home, the new Kogi Hotels reflects the
historical relevance and aura of undeniable hospitality of the Kogi State
capital.
While inspecting the Kogi Hotel
project , Governor Wada had explained that the remodeling of the hotel would
enable the state to attract tourists by providing quality accommodation,
conferences and sports facilities for the people and visitors to the state
capital.
Conducting the Governor round
the project, the state commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr. Kayode
Olowomoran said the project which is 95 percent completed has up to 100
standard rooms, 6 VIP Guest Chalets, 500-seater Conference Centre, an
Olympic-size Swimming Pool and a court yard which overlooks the colonial
courtyard and the first prison yard in Northern Nigeria which have been
preserved as historical relics in Lokoja.
Lokoja Mega
Terminal
Located at Felele, along Abuja-Lokoja
highway, the Lokoja Mega Terminal is an ambitious transportation hub that
accentuates the status of Lokoja as the gateway to North and Southern part of
Nigeria.
According to the Kogi State
Commissioner for Transport, Abdulrahaman Wuya, the terminal has the capacity to accommodate over 250 vehicles and
over 5000 passengers at a time; with a
clinic, automobile workshop, drivers' lounge, eatery, a bank, police post,
offices and a shopping complex; and it is designed to decongest the highway of vehicles that cluster
the road and prevent obstruction to free flow of traffic.
After being conducted round the
facility, Governor Wada said the terminal, whose civil work has reached 75
percent completion, will increase the Internally-Generated Revenue profile of
the state, adding that the facility will provide quality services to road
transport workers, vehicle operators and travelers from Kogi and other parts of
Nigeria.
Governor Wada's example in Kogi
is indicative of the all-time truism that a state governments do not need all
the money available in Nigeria to birth a culture of prudence and initiate
infrastructural projects that have proven impact on the lives of their people.
This is the Kogi standard in building
in infrastructure and human capital development for posterity.
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