Most observers of Ekiti political history, pre BAO, should be ‘ad idem’ on the fact that it was atavistic and cold blooded; something akin to “bo ba o pa, bo ba o bu lese”, that is, just harm your political opponent, any which way. Nobody could ever have believed, based on our politics then, that we are the most homogeneous people in Nigeria.
It was with that scurrilous situation in mind that I wrote as follows on this column a whole sixteen whole years ago, on 31 October, 2010 shortly after the Apeal Court, Ilorin, ruled in the Fayemi Vs Oni election case, while reflecting on the way forward for the state in: ‘Ekiti – Beyond Politics: “As William Shakespeare wrote in Julius Caesar, “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures”.
You would think the Bard of Avon had Ekiti in mind when he penned those memorable words as they fit us so uncannily, looking like a clarion call to every Ekiti, young and old, to take our destiny in our hands and blow off the shibboleths that have stuck to us like ‘amutorunwa spots’.
The time is not now to ask how we got here. Rather, it is a time for total reconciliation: first, with our God, and then amongst ourselves, Ekitis.
The appropriate questions for us now are: what is the way forward? How do we rediscover, hold , cherish and nourish again, those pristine and immaculate Ekiti cultural traits which have served generations of Ekiti so splendidly? How do we get back that bonhomie, that espirit de corps that total strangers saw in us and thought we were all born of one mother? How do we begin to re- discover those economic traits that galvanized and enabled the poorest of our fathers to see his children and wards through college; how do we begin to seriously contend with the multi-faceted problems that today confront all of us, Ekitis, but especially our youth, educated thousands of them, who are paving the streets of Abuja, Lagos and Ado-Ekiti in search of non-existent jobs?
How do we take Ekiti back into the main economic artery of our country? How do we get our respectability and honour back? Where do we go from here?”
These are questions I believe that governor Biodun Oyebanji, then only an incoming commissioner in the emergent Fayemi administration, must have ruminated over, wondering if he could ever be in a position to attempt answering them.
The past three years have seen him doing exactly that because Ekitis, in the words of Shakespeare, have through the auspices of the governor, “taken the current when it served”, and as captured by Wole Olujobi, the sagacious and very accomplished journalist, observer and writer on Ekiti politics when he wrote, inter alia, in ‘Oyebanji: Three Years Of Focused Leadership and Service Delivery:
“Three years after, Ekiti people now wake up daily to tell stories of peace and progress in a state once notoriously renowned as a state of one day, one trouble”. “In a state where adversarial politics was the norm, Oyebanji, who is firmly rooted in the ideological nuances of the Ekiti ‘omoluabi’ credo, has put his hands on the plough, building coalitions and erecting a maze of relationships, never seen in the state, to achieve unprecedented peace as old animosities among diverse political gladiators, for the very first time ever, gave way to a mutual amity for development”.
In the article:’BAO -Mania: How Biodun Oyebanji Reset Ekiti Politics’, I
examined what factors assisted him in breaking what can be described as ‘the Ekiti Crises Conundrum’, not only in our politics, but in everything; so all -encompassing we had a one- day governor unlike any other state in Nigeria, saw an inchoate impeachment orchestrated by President Obasanjo, just as we witnessed a series of politically motivated assassinations.
I also unearthed how the governor birthed a paradigm shift from Ekiti’s negative, minimally developmental politics of many decades.
Since the essence of this essay is how the governor should, during his second term, fully solidify the socio- political peace he has birthed in the state, let me recap the reasons he had been so successful in achieving what he did.
I start with how the management of Marketing Edge, Nigeria’s leading Marketing and Advertising Magazine which named him winner of its 2024 Most Outstanding Governor of the Year in the Inclusive Leadership and Grassroots Development category captured him.
According to the magazine, “Gov. Oyebanji was unanimously voted winner of the coveted category after painstakingly evaluating his approach to governance, development and leadership, alongside other Nigerian governors.
The award, the magazine noted, was in recognition, and celebration, of his not only impacting the people of the state with laudable projects and policies, but for also using his exalted position to redefine governance by promoting peace, and uniting leaders in the state irrespective of their political and social background”.
Before BAO politics in Ekiti was like a slugfest, ensuring that the state was always in the news for the wrong reasons.
Truth be told, politics in the state had not always been that terrible. While that is not to suggest that there were no fierce inter, and intra – party contestations, especially during the UPN vs NPN days, politics in Ekiti was a lot more friendly as elders, the likes of Chiefs Babatola, Akerele, Akomolafe, Dr N.F Aina, Professor Banji Akintoye, Chief S.K Babalola and other leaders of the UPN, and their counterparts in the NPN, ensured that.
Things, however, changed rapidly for the worse from around 2003 for two main reasons.
One of these can loosely be described as ‘sibling rivalry’, while the other, and much more virulent one, was the intrusion of busybodies from outside the state, spearheaded by none other than then President Olusegun Obasanjo, whose effect on Ekiti was totally deleterios.
As to what I describe loosely as sibling rivalry, it was a question of a good intention turned awry.
E -11, a socio – cultural group from which a slew of Ekiti state governors would subsequently emerge, was an
ensemble of highly regarded, well educated young Ekiti professionals who had started out intending to positively impact the state’s politics and economic development. That was until there was a collision of ambitions. The group then floundered very badly, and its members headed into the two major political parties, and ferociously fought one another.
Had E.11 remained united they would have taken Ekiti to great heights. It was a missed opportunity.
What then are the factors that informed governor Oyebanji’s decision to attempt a paradigm shift to the debilitating political situation?
Oyebanji has been a long-term observer/participant in the affairs of the state, and there can be no doubt, he must have many times belly- ached over the state of permanent crisis, and its negative consequences on the state’s economic development.
Without a doubt, he must have heard or read the Avatar, Chief Obafemi Awolowo say, severally, that the ‘raison detre’ of government, qua government, is the welfare and happiness of the governed and must have long hoped to be part of the solution to the Ekiti crises.
With his election as governor, therefore, he must have thanked God for the opportunity to try bring peace to this very unique state.
As to what factors played a role in his success, I summised as follows in the article.
UPBRINGING
The highly perceptive Yoruba people have this saying that: ile lati nko eso rode’, meaning that good upbringing underpins good manners.
Without, a scintilla of doubt, governor Oyebanji has a solid home training to thank for all he has been able to do. This is an upbringing rooted in strict discipline, respect, not only for elders, but for everybody he may interact with, just as loving your neighbour which the bible teaches. I also feel certain that his parents must have inculcated in him the essence of contentment.
How do I know these?
Governor Oyebanji demonstrates them in his interactions with people, no matter how lowly they are, in spite of his high office.
I have not, for instance, once seen him unduly angry, or raise his voice and I didn’t know him yesterday.
You will not find in him, any hint of unrestrained ambition.
Work Experience, Knowledge of Ekiti State & Tutelage Under Two former Governors.
As a young man, Chief Deji Fasuan had tapped Oyebanji as Secretary to the Committee For The Creation of Ekiti state. That was, however, only the beginning of his always being in vantage positions to know the state probably far more than his peers.
In the course of his service in the state, he was privileged to have worked directly with two former Ekiti state governors.
He also served in various positions including as Secretary to the State Government before being elected governor.
Apart from the leadership and managerial qualities these positions require, he must have many times seen his bosses seriously agonise over the terrible state of Ekiti politics, and how it hampered development.
He must have decided, therefore, to try to use his lofty office to change the direction of politics in the state.
He has equally had, in all these, the support of his wife, with whom he must have bounced off everything to get the most honest, non political advice.
Thanks to her efforts, governor Oyebanji’s government enjoys the pride of place as about Nigeria’s most gender friendly administration. This is because the government has been relentless in “investing in the well-being of women, advocating for better policies and programes that target widows, youths and women, with the goal of fostering economic independence and reducing poverty level across the state”, as the wife once perspicaciously put it.
The governor’s modus operandi was simple but very effective.
He started off by jettisoning partisan politics and, instead, extended a genuine hand of friendship to all his predecessors, inclusive of those from other political parties. He showed them a level of respect that was absent even between some governors who were of the same party.
Opposition party members also came to accept, and respect him when they saw how he was treating their leaders.
By acknowledging, and respecting past governors from other parties, governor Oyebanji killed more than two birds with one stone as the decibel of state – wide political antagonism became significantly reduced; meaning that the simple act of respecting his predecessors, acted like a magnet in enhancing his acceptance by members of the other political parties and the citizenry in general.
The governor also turned attention to the welfare of the people, ensuring that nobody was left behind.
He made sure that workers, as well as the long – suffering pensioners, women and the youth are all appropriately factored into governance, as much as state finances permit.
How then will his second term enhance and solidify his achievement to date?
Any perceptive reader would note that I have already assumed BAO’s victory in the forthcoming election. Yes indeed. And this cannot be considered farfetched, or presumptuous because even in the trully competitive election of 2022, he defeated his formidable co- contestants hands down at a time he hadn’t demonstrated any of his exemplary capabilities.
The coming election should, therefore, be a walkover.
Ordinarily, governor Oyebanji should need no lessons in how to further enhance the unity amongst the state’s leading politicians as well as the state of socio – political peace currently in place in the state.
He will, however, need to do much more and not rest on his oars.
He must continue to be inclusive in his governance as that will increase understanding.
God forbid that the governor will ever be too important in his own eyes, a possibility which i very much doubt, he will finish in flying colours.
Apart from interpersonal relations, especially with his predecessors, he must extend hands of friendship to members of the other political parties, especially, those who would have contested with him at the election.
To further solidify peace, camaraderie and overall well -being, he must make every effort to further improve on the economy as well as the overall development of the state.
Indeed, this is the most important part.
As Olujobi put it in his aforementioned article:”His development agenda includes: youth development, agriculture and job creation through micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSME) financing and support, providing facilities for the acquisition of digital and vocational skills, the Ekiti Knowledge Zone, sports development; education; healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and social investment sectors including heavy investments in the power sector and reconnection to the national grid of several communities that have been in the dark for over 10 years”.
“These are areas where the governor has performed so creditably he had received laurels from even outside the state where he grabbed newspaper headlines”.
Of particular interest to me, personally, is the Youths in Agriculture programme, started in 2012 during the Fayemi administration, when a young medical doctor simply dropped his stethoscope.
Under BAO this has grown in leaps and bounds with the objectives being the following: to create jobs, reduce poverty, and boost food security.
Through these, the government engages young graduates and the youth in commercial farming through training,funding, land clearing, provision of inputs, and market linkages for high-value crops, livestock as well as processing.
These initiatives are also focussed on making agriculture a viable and dignified career path for young Ekiti entrepreneurs rather than have young and educated Ekiti Youths daily paving the streets of Lagos and Abuja, doing nothing worthwhile.
Concluding, there can be no better reset of politics, whether in Ekiti or anywhere, at all, than these, because once the youth which are always the canon fodder for over – ambitious politicians are yanked away from them by being kept gainfully, and profitably engaged, politicians who are keen on fouling the air, would have nobody to recruit into their asinine projects.
I wish the governor well as he prepares, by God’s grace, to ride into his second term.
