The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Best choice

  • Senate Race: Ajimobi is best choice for Oyo South

    By this time exactly a year ago, political pundits within and outside Oyo State had begun to pile pressure on the Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, to mull over having another shot at the Senate. This is against the backdrop of his public pronouncements that he was calling time on active politics, climaxed by his jinx-breaking election as governor for two uninterrupted tenures.

    He had vowed not to mount the soap box again, except to canvas for votes on behalf of his protégés. In the governor’s reckoning, 2019 is the destination point for his illustrious political career, having also served Oyo South Senatorial District in the Senate between 2003 and 2007 under the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD).

    In the February 19, 2018 edition of the Punch Newspaper, a respected Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Adeniyi Akintola, said, “Ido Local Government is launching the campaign to endorse him (Ajimobi) to go to the Senate and by the grace of God, he shall make it. Of course, this isn’t his first time; he wasn’t a bench warmer there as he gave quality representation. In the Senate, he will be a pride to Oyo State and the South West.”

    And since this move by the patriotic Ido elders and leaders, many other groups and individuals have asked the governor to take another shot at the Senate in the best interest of the state and the region. Having surrendered to the superior argument of his supporters, the governor participated in the October 2, 2018 National Assembly primaries of the All Progressives Congress. To underscore the beauty of democracy, his main challenger, Dr Fola Akinosun, refused all entreaties by party stalwarts to step down for the governor in deference to the political tradition that respects position and experience in such circumstance. But Akinosun eventually lost by 168 votes to Ajimobi’s 2659 as announced by the Chief Ademola Seriki-led electoral panel. Thus began another journey to the hallowed Red Chamber for the governor to represent Oyo South Senatorial District if elected by the historically appreciative and reflective electorate in the district.

    In a short acceptance speech after the primaries, Ajimobi had said, “I look forward to going back to the Red Chamber to contribute my quota to the national debate and the progress of the nation. I wish to bring to fore my parliamentary experience to grow a Nigeria that the next generation will be proud of.”

    Many reasons had been adduced by the proponents of Ajimobi should go to the senate, ranging from his enviable corporate and political experience, integrity, record of achievements, clout, robust political capital, inexhaustible physical agility, intelligence and most importantly because of his mettlesome disposition. Although, the uninitiated have derisively dubbed the Senate as the retirement place for two-term governors, but in advanced climes the Senate is populated by senior citizens who are regarded as the bulwark of democracy. Advanced age is seen in western democracy as an asset rather than liability.

    For instance, since 1981, the average age of representatives and senators in the US Congress has jumped from 49 and 53, respectively, to 57 and 61, according to Quorum. In the today’s 116th Congress of the US, Dianne Feinstein of California is the oldest sitting member of the Senate at 84 years old. She is known for being a liberal, left-leaning politician who has dedicated her life to serving the people of California.

    Another asset that Ajimobi possesses is his impeccable educational attainment, having bagged a BSc in Business Administration and Finance from The State University of New York, Buffalo. He also obtained an MBA in Operations Research and Marketing, with a concentration in Finance, from the Governor’s State University, Park Forest, Illinois.

    In 1979, Ajimobi became the youngest Manager at the National Oil and Chemical Marketing Company in Nigeria, and rose to the position of the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the National Oil and Chemical Marketing Company. As Managing Director he substantially improved the profitability of the company and the shareholders’ fortunes. In 2003, he voluntarily retired after 26 years of meritorious service in the Oil and Gas industry.

    Whether at the regional, national or international platforms, Ajimobi is consistently acknowledged as one of Nigeria’s most gifted and effective leaders with the ennobling characteristics of great and noble statesmen.

    During his first spell at the Senate in 2003, the governor and his AD colleagues, who were just six in number (with three others from Lagos State and one each from Ondo and Ekiti States), were hampered by their numerical disadvantage. In a sharp contrast, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had an overwhelming majority of 78 members, while the All Nigeria Peoples Party had 25 members.

    To underscore the respect his colleagues had for him, he was appointed the Deputy Minority Leader of the 5th Senate.

    In addition to his ably-discharged primary responsibility as a lawmaker, Governor Ajimobi deployed his personal resources and goodwill to carry out several grassroots projects in Oyo State, including the establishment of the first and the largest free vocational training center. The centre offers training in computer engineering, computer operations, telephone engineering, fashion designing, hair dressing, tie and dye etc. So far, the centre has turned out over 20,000 students. It has also been recognized and certified as a partner and training centre by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) of the Federal Government.

    Between 2003 and 2007 Senator Ajimobi also identified communities that lacked potable water, where he sunk boreholes. He also carried out many empowerment and grassroots programmes for his Senatorial District.

    During the infamous ‘third term agenda’ of the third republic it was alleged that some political jobbers, including National Assembly members, fell for the filthy lucre transported in the wee hours of the night in hefty Ghana Must Go bag by agents of the evil plot. It is on record that Ajimobi was among the very few that resisted the allure of the mint N50m doled to each pliant lawmaker to oil the botched civilian coup. Ajimobi was and is never afraid to speak truth to power no matter whose ox may be gored. When you talk about a contended man of integrity and patriotic zeal, Ajimobi stands tall. In the Senate, his views will be respected and he will not be in the league of absentee lawmakers or those whose voice are only heard during voice votes.

     Apart from his unprecedented achievements in the past eight years, Ajimobi has also amassed enormous goodwill and respect within the top hierarchy of the APC. Today, he is a leading light of the party at the national, regional and state levels judging by the several assignments he had been saddled with, including his appointment as chairman of the APC national convention committee and chairman of the party’s 2018 presidential primaries national convention. The governor is highly connected to the centre, having been robbing minds with the topmost echelon of the leadership of the country and the APC in the last eight years.

    It was not by fortuitous design that Ajimobi broke the second term jinx in Oyo State, having been the first governor to be re-elected by the good people of Oyo State and for two successive tenures. The governor had unwittingly wormed himself into the hearts of the people when on assumption of office in 2011he decided to challenge the status quo mediocre leadership. He braved the odds to tame the roughnecks disturbing the peace of the land, while he embarked on infrastructural revolution that changed the entire landscape of Ibadan, the state capital.

    That the respected Vanguard Newspaper named Ajimobi as the Governor of the year 2018 is not by happenstance, but recognition of his hard work. According to the newspaper, he was given the award “for his outstanding unfurling of infrastructural revolution in the state and his numerous accomplishments in the education sector.”

    In 2011 when Governor Abiola Ajimobi took over the reins of power, the state of affairs in the state was aptly captured in Thomas Hobbes state of nature, where there was perpetual fear and strives. Pre-2011, the rule of brawn superseded the rule of law; live was simply “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.”

    Brigandage and violence was the order of the day, headlined by incessant attacks and killings by rapacious drivers’ unions, as well as fatal bank robberies.

    Between 2011 and 2019, Governor Ajimobi restored sanity, peace, security, law and order by establishing a well-kitted and equipped joint security outfit codenamed ‘Operation Burst.’ Not intent on resting on his laurels, the governor introduced the Safe City project, which witnessed the installation of Closed Circuit Television cameras across flash points in the state. The latest initiative is, of course, meant to nip criminality in the bud.

    And to the credit of the Ajimobi-led administration, not a single incident of bank robbery has been recorded in the last five years unlike before. The establishment of a Security Trust Fund, which has donated multi-million naira worth of equipment to security outfits and refurbished many grounded patrol vans, has also boosted these efforts.

    Ajimobi has also in the last eight years impacted on the environment, education, health, civil service, a feat that has earned him the appellation of the builder of modern Oyo State. Sentiments apart, it is now up to the good people of Ibarapa North, Ibarapa East, Ibarapa Central, Ido, Ibadan North, Ibadan South-East, Ibadan South-West, Ibadan North-East and Ibadan North-West to reward Ajimobi for his eight years of service to the good people of Oyo State by voting him as their next Senator. Undoubtedly, it is a person of his stature and track record that has what it takes to take Oyo State to the next level of development.

     

    • Oyedele is the Senior Special Assistant on Media to Oyo State Governor

  • 2019: Buhari remains best choice for Nigeria – Ambode

    Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has reiterated his position that President Muhammadu Buhari, who is flag-bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 16 Presidential election, remains the best choice for Nigeria to move forward to the next level.

    Cornered by journalists at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna, venue of a Presidential rally, Governor Ambode said President Buhari in the last three and half years has set the nation on a trajectory of reviving its glorious days, adding it was expedient for him to consolidate on the achievements with another term of four years.

    “The choice before Nigerians is simple; to go back to the days of corruption, infrastructural decay and insecurity or continue with the trajectory of infrastructural development, steady anti-corruption war and the constant fight against territorial threats. This is what the Buhari and Osinbajo ticket represents.

    They have initiated social inclusion policies and constructed critical infrastructure across the federation which is gradually bringing back the nation’s economy in the right path and giving Nigerians a real sense of belonging. This is the way we want to go and Nigerians have shown that this is where they are going to go,” the Governor said.

    He said the unprecedented crowd that thronged out to witness the APC Presidential rally in Kaduna was a testament to the fact that Nigerians are fully in support of President Buhari’s government and are going to go all out to renew his mandate come February 16, 2019.

    “What we saw in Kaduna was unprecedented, just look at the crowd and the way they came out in droves.

    The passion, the trust and support that the Nigerian people have for Buhari is unrivalled and iconic. People just love Buhari; they trust him because he has performed well in the last three and half years, together with the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, they have delivered on their electoral promises and what is in the APC manifesto,” Governor Ambode said.

    He urged supporters of the party to remain focused and not be distracted by the campaign of calumny the opposition parties have decided to harp on rather than focus on issues affecting Nigeria, saying that President Buhari has remained focus to deliver a new Nigeria that would take its rightful place among the comity of nations.

    “We are not deterred by all the false narratives the opposition are spreading; we would rather focus on the issues and these issues are basically on how to make the life of Nigerians better,” he added.

  • Dankwambo is the best choice for the nation in 2019 – ex Jonathan aide

    Ex-President Jonathan aid on Youths and Students Affairs, Comrade Jude Imagwe has said Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo is the best leader that has the quality to rule the country in 2019.

    In a statement issued in Jos yesterday, Imagwe said out of the list of northerners aspiring to be president of the country in 2019, non of them posses the leadership quality of Dankwambo.

    He said, “Leadership is not an exclusive club for some strata. The activities of some Nigerians have shown that in working with people to actualize desirable outcomes that they genuinely possess the requisite traits of leadership. One notable person in this category is Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo, the incumbent Governor of Gombe State and frontrunner to succeed President Muhammad Buhari in the next general elections.

    “His antecedents portray a humane administrator with unwavering commitment to deliver to Nigeria and Nigerians great, pro people governance hinged on the outstanding values of integrity, service, and respect for fundamental human rights. In a period where economic and social security are in a state of near chaos, Governor Dankwanbo remains a popular and fascinating figure because of his style of leadership, huge and colourful personality, and discipline. He has a rich history of gaining the trust, affection, and respect of those who have worked with and for him. Contrary to the picture of arrogance associated with many political leaders Governor Dankwambo has a reputation for generosity and hard work.

    “It is important to understand that Alhaji Dankwambo’s leadership is nationally acclaimed today because his achievements are unrivaled especially in the areas of education, health Care, agriculture, and most importantly, human capital development.

    “The scale and complexity of Nigeria’s problems are intensifying alarmingly. The current systems engaged in combating the issues are inadequate to cope with the challenges. This is what is necessitating a move towards a new governance system where decision making and implementation is shared between all stakeholders so that Nigeria will become truly Federal, more inclusive, safer, and a healthy destination for investment.

    “Alhaji Dankwambo recognises the imperative need to act decisively in the areas of good governance, education, and combating poverty. He acknowledges the fact that the issues affecting quality of life in Nigeria are interrelated and that the quality can be improved by learning and engaging the experience of viable nations. Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo is a great communicator and sound economic expert with a principle of never accepting unviable existing practices and policies as unchangeable.

    Imagwe who describes Dankwambo as a great thinker also said “he is a leader who constantly reaches beyond his specific area of influence, a social democrat who places vital significance on vision, values, and motivation. He possesses strong political skills to cope with the heterogeneous nature of the nation’s constituents.

    “As at today, the reality that confronts Nigeria and Nigerians is that Nigeria and Nigerians don’t want to be managed. They want to be led, and Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo is the best available alternative that can fulfill the ultimate agenda.” He said

  • Luggage: Best choice for travellers

    Luggage: Best choice for travellers

    Travelling at week ends is like a norm, not only by Nigerians but by people all over the world. To schedule long and short distance journey, the luggage is said to be most convenient. Luggage happen to be the most important item in the shopping list of travellers in preparation for a journey. Travel bags generally have revolutionised over the years as civilisation has firmly rooted itself in the country. Before civilisation, wrappers from cloth materials were used as bags to carry personal belongings when embarking on a journey, after which the leather travel bag was introduced.

    Years later, the popular ‘Ghana-must-go’ bag was introduced in the 80’s when Ghanian immigrants were sent back to their country. In the heat of the moment, they made use of big sack bags (popularly known as ‘Ghana-must-go’) to pack their belongings, thereby creating a trend Nigerians came to accept and use as their travel bags. It was later improved on to appear in different patterns, designs and sizes till date.

    A luggage retailer simply known as Favour own a shop in Oshodi called  Nwaya   she said: “Luggage are more sophiticated, stronger and in vouge compare to Ghana-must-go’ bags ”.

    Mr Ayo Coker, a staff of Samuel Adegboyega University (S.A.U.) said, “I prefer sophisticated luggage to ‘Ghana-must-go’ because I feel they are more secure and compact, particularly, the medium sized luggage for my long distance journey”.

    Females,who are known to have a lot of personal belongings, constitute the larger percentage of customers in the luggage business because it is fashionable, comes in different colours and has enough space making it the most preferred’.  Another retailer,Tochukwu, a seller of luggage told the Nation Shopping that luggage sell more because of their durability.

    “I have more female customers” , “My customers prefer luggage to ‘Ghana-must-go’ bags because it is fine and durable”, he said.

    Unisex luggage are also available, thereby accommodating the male counterparts  in its demand. Children are also not left out as luggage are also designed with cartoon heroes. Also, some distinctive qualities are an additional advantage to attract target customer.

    Apart from its durability, de sign, convenience and space, it  is also affordable. The prices  vary based on their sizes and quality. A small size luggage cost  N2500, the medium size costs N4000, N3000, N2500  while the big sizes sell for  N6500 and N6000.

    Luggage are widely distributed in the country and can be  easily bought from  neighbourhood stores around. The internet is another easier platform to purchase any luggage of choice.