Aside “zoning” which was one of the cardinal reasons the Jang administration was ousted from office, another reason widely touted –was the perceived turning of government into a family affair.

When Lalong assumed leadership, he made clear that he will not repeat mistakes of the past by running a more inclusive government –as such, he distributed appointments “equitably”, channelled resources and developments to all three senatorial zones, he engaged stakeholders from all 17 LGAs and quickly relegated Wummen Bako to the background when allegations of him (Wummen) operating as the defacto governor arose.

Since then however, Lalong appears to have somewhat departed from this philosophy –in pursuit of positions not too dissimilar to those that he (and others) vehemently condemned about the past administration.

Last week 6^th April 2017, Nde Joshua Waklek (father of Governor Lalong’s wife) was appointed chairman of the governing council of the University of Ibadan. See:

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/228215-23-federal-universities-get-new-governing-councils-full-list-chairpersons.html

This appointment bears massive similarities to the appointment of Professor Sam Ale (the father inlaw of Yakubu Jang) as Chairman of the Governing Council of the Plateau State University, Bokkos.

It would be recalled that when Prof. Ale’s appointment was made, it was trailed by immense condemnation by the then APC opposition. They posited that “the personal aggrandisement of government was wrong, immoral and unacceptable”.  And as the 2015 elections approached, they anchored their entire manifesto on the mantra of “Recuing Plateau” from the shackles of what was termed the personalisation of government. It now beggars belief that the same ills of the last administration are being visit on Plateau.

Without a doubt, Joshua Waklek is an incredibly talented fellow and I have a lot of respect for him, particularly from his days serving in the “re-engineering” administration of Chief Dariye. But the previous utterances and the posture by the then opposition makes mockery of the appointment of this fine elder statesman.

It is key that the standards we held the past administration by are also upheld by the current administration. What was wrong then, cannot be right now. We must practice what we preach, not simply use certain concepts conveniently for political gain.

Dr. Chinan Mclean.

count | 1148

Prof. Sam Ale is to Jang what Joshua Waklek is to Lalong