“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to the men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all”.Eccle. 9 v 11.
The above quotation summarised the event that took place at Western Sun Hotel, Ede, recently. It was an occasion that produced leadership of Local Goverment Workers at the State Level under the aegies of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE).
Prior to this was the forced holidays for Local Government workers and what could be described as tragicomedy season films involving our paymasters.No one in his or her right senses would expect more or reoccurrence of these warlike situations. It will take God and the gods to determine the end of this man- made mystics.
The NULGE State elections have come and gone; the major players i.e.the contestants,delegates and every other stakeholders have one story or another to tell and above all, posterity will never forget what transpired before, during and after the elections.
Do I need to delve into matter of Constitution, the integrity of the umpire, the electioneering, the zoning preference and the likes? I think, it is rather left for the future, which begins with the new leadership.
Now, the best candidates may not have emerged, the all – sought- for candidates may not have been produced but there is no doubt that time and chance have ordained these once for the moment,at least for the next four years; some coming in new while others got re-elected, William Goldings in one of his books entitled Nineteen eighty- four wrote:”The big brothers are watching”, this is to say, all eyes are on you.
In the olden days, there was no victor, no vanquished in Union elections, but events in the recent past have proved this wrong, as there exists factions within the rank and file of the system, a creation of some of us, as a result of greed and selfishness.The question is, must this trend continue?
If it is business as usual, then the future of the union is endangered and probably in shambles, and to speak with one voice may become an illussion to be pursued and never attained.
May I charge the returned President, Comrade Nathaniel Kehinde Ogungbangbe and his team to be humble enough to look in the direction of his fellow contestants and tap into the rich potentials of former leaders at various levels for the collective uplift of our vibrant, highly robust and respected NULGE.Together we can make it work!
While welcoming them on board, it is pertinent to add that we remain a Pressure Group, and any attempt to be more Catholic than the Pope, we may end up in becoming Puns.
I congratulate you all and wish you a successful tenure of office.
Comrade Sola Olatundun,
Former NULGE Chairman
Ifelodun LG.
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