By Allen Sowore
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Election season is here and politicians are busy moving from one community to settlement talking to people about their plans and programmes. Some of the candidates are contesting legislative positions but they are promising what only the executive arm can do. It’s part of our democratization process. What we must not allow to go unchallenged is the mendacity some members of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, are talking  as if we have no memory of their past performance.

It’s pertinent sometimes to examine  critically so that we can turn the present to a better future. Otherwise, some of these utterances from members of PDP will be tantamount to insult to our collective psyche, more particularly in Ondo State.

In Ondo South for instance, where the PDP left the people in darkness for more than a decade; abandoned the only university in the district for eight years and ignored the genuine complaints of the people for the period under review. These same people will now turn around to mesmerize and hypnotize some innocent members of the public to the effect that they present themselves to be better. How ?

I’m still in Ondo South. Just last week, the State Executive Council awarded contracts for the construction of the 37.5km dual coastal carriage Araromi-Seaside-Akodo-Lekki Road. Not just that,  few days ago,  people from Igbokoda were on their own  uploading pictures of the electricity restored. Like one of my friends on Facebook commented, it’s not yet uhuru. Every town in Ondo South should be connected to the national grid. But we have seen strong political will demonstrated.

Honestly,  one can still tolerate campaigns and talks from members of other opposition political parties obviously not from the tattered political hegemony because of countless number of obnoxious policies.

Just yesterday as we were chatting in the office, suddenly, I remembered  the Dangote Refinery saga – the largest single-train refinery in the world. The Dangote Refinery at full production,  will be able to produce 50,000,000 litres (13,000,000 US gal) of gasoline and 17,000,000 litres (4,500,000 US gal) of diesel daily, as well as aviation fuel and plastic products.

 That Dangote Refinery with a greater capacity than the total output of Nigeria’s existing refining infrastructure would  have provided job opportunities for good number of our young people.

Did you know that that Dangote Refinery was originally designed to be sited in Ilaje Local Government area of Ondo State? Sadly,  because of short sightedness, greed and rapacity, the facility was relocated to Lagos.

I’m not trying to be sanctimonious. That yesterday I remembered  the remark Martha made when Lazarus died in John 11:21 “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Yesterday, I concluded that if Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN,  had been here, with his investment drive, the Dangote Refinery would have stayed.  Each time I see some of those characters moving around campaigning to be senators and members of the  House of Representatives, I feel the people should ask them,  where is Dangote Refinery ?