GOVERNOR AIYEDATIWA COMMISSIONS ‘KEKE AMBULANCE’, BOREHOLE IN ONDO

GOVERNOR AIYEDATIWA COMMISSIONS ‘KEKE AMBULANCE’, BOREHOLE IN ONDO. Only in Nigeria: When a tricycle becomes emergency healthcare and a borehole passes for development. In what has quickly become one of the most talked-about commissioning ceremonies in recent Nigerian political history, Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has officially commissioned a Keke Napep — a commercial tricycle — as an ambulance, alongside a borehole, in what his administration is presenting as a stride in grassroots development. Yes, you read that right. A Keke. With a red cross on it. An ambulance. The commissioning ceremony, complete with the fanfare and speeches that typically accompany major government projects, has since gone viral — and not for the reasons the governor’s media team probably hoped.

Nigerians on social media have been having a field day, and honestly, can you blame them?Let’s be clear about what a Keke Napep is. It is a three-wheeled commercial tricycle, primarily used for short-distance transportation in Nigerian towns and cities. It has no suspension to speak of, no medical equipment, no climate control, and — crucially — no meaningful capacity to serve as an emergency vehicle for someone experiencing a medical crisis.And yet, here we are.The borehole commissioning is slightly less baffling, but only slightly. Boreholes have long been a staple of Nigerian political commissioning culture — a low-cost project that photographs well and sounds meaningful.

But in 2026, in a state with a governor, a budget, and a functioning government apparatus, commissioning a single borehole as a development milestone raises more questions than it answers.To be fair, some will argue that any infrastructure is better than none. That a Keke ambulance in a rural community where no ambulance previously existed is still an improvement. That a borehole where there was no clean water is still a win.And there is something to that argument — in theory.But governance is not just about what you do. It is about what you choose to prioritise, what you present as achievement, and what message you send to the people you govern. When a sitting governor stands before cameras to commission a tricycle as emergency healthcare, the message — intentional or not — is that this is the best his administration believes those communities deserve.

The people of Ondo deserve better than a Keke with a red cross painted on the side.Nigeria has a long and proud tradition of commissioning the uncommissionable — roads that lead nowhere, boreholes that dry up in a month, projects that exist mainly as backdrops for photographs. Governor Aiyedatiwa’s Keke ambulance now joins that hall of fame.We wish the Keke a long and healthy service life. The patients who may one day ride in it will need all the luck they can get. Tags: #Ondo #GovernorAiyedatiwa #KeKe #KeKeAmbulance #NigerianPolitics #Governance #OndoState