The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ekiti STATE

Ekiti mounts sanitary campaign

The urban renewal initiative of the Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has continued apace with the introduction of a waste collection scheme to keep towns and cities clean.

Refuse trucks have been deployed to collect waste from houses, a development that has been hailed as unprecedented in history of the 16-year-old state.

Heaps of garbage which once took over sections of the capital, Ado-Ekiti, have vanished, replaced with an alluring clean ambience.

The containers now serve the residents who previously reduced the major streets and roadsides to dumpsites.

While the practice constituted a major health hazard to the residents themselves over the years, heaps of assorted garbage at various stages of decay, emitted offensive odour, posing a great challenge both to aesthetics and environmental sanity.

Thankfully, the trend has changed both in Ado and Ikere which have been receiving prime attention for reasons of their population, spread and being comparatively major centres of governance, commerce and learning.

Branded compactor trucks have been procured and mobilised to join in evacuating the waste. Other trucks have also joined in removing and replacing the ones in containers placed at road junctions and other designated spots.

According to the chairman, Ekiti State Waste Management Authority, Hon. Adebayo Morakinyo, house-to-house collection started in February mainly in Ado and Ikere to halt the trend of indiscriminate dumping of rubbish by residents.

He explained that the state has engaged three private sector participants (PSPs) for the exercise which he said is being limited to Ado and Ikere for now, adding that additional three PSPs have also been contracted.

Disclosing that five PSPs, rather than six, now operate in the five designated zones in Ado and two in Ikere, the waste management boss stated that one of the three earlier contracted had been derelict in discharging its roles and the contract “has been terminated for gross inefficiency.”

Morakinyo said: “The state has also purchased additional two roll-on-roll-off garbage trucks to strengthen the operations and enable us reach the residents as often as we think is necessary.”

But, what happens to tons of heaps evacuated from streets and homes over time and what precautions are there to ensure collected waste doesn’t constitute another hazard to the people?

Waste taken from various homes, according to the chairman, are disposed of around Fagbohun Estate Ikere-Ekiti and Ilokun area of Ado Ekiti, locations in the capital which are clinically far from human habitation and could therefore not reasonably constitute any form of dange to humans or animals.

But, keeping waste at bay and sanitising the streets have essentially not been the only preoccupation of the Waste Management Authority in the state.

The establishment has equally made efforts to make sense and wealth out of the garbage by converting same into forms in which it could meet other needs of man.

According to Hon Morakinyo, this it does by partnering the National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA) which had piloted projects on the conversion of organic (biodegradable) wastes to fertilizer and the inorganic ones to other useful forms in the state.

Applauding the gesture of the federal government at the commissioning of the NESREA demonstration waste control composting plant, State Governor Kayode Fayemi noted the effort would support infrastructure development drives in the state as shown in the administration’s 8 Point Agenda.

Governor proceeded to commend the Honourable Minister on the integrated waste recycling project the Federal Ministry embarked upon at Fagbohun Estate, Ikere-Ekiti, disclosing that Ekiti has supported the project by making landspace available at Erifun and Ilokun sites and diverting enough waste deposits to the sites for sufficient supplementary organic waste for the compost recycling plant.

The Governor then assured that the state would make judicious use of the plants once handed over to it, adding that efforts would equally be geared at replicating the waste conversion efforts across the local governments.

The Commissioner for Housing and Environment, Barrister Paul Omotosho, had at the event lamented that Poor waste management constituted serious environmental challenge to governments in Nigeria.

Noting that this had resulted in all forms of pollution, flooding and erosion, the Commissioner informed that it had equally taxed governments which had committed sizeable sums into managing and/or controlling the situation without much improvement.

Omotosho said: “This explains why the state government through the Environment Ministry has embraced the NESREA initiative on demonstration of waste control projects as an intervention aimed at segregating waste at source through colour coded bins and converting same to wealth.

Chairman EKSWMA further explained that the establishment had distributed over a thousand pieces of colour-coded wheelie bins for the collection of organic waste from homes in the GRA and Federal Housing Estates.

He said government would soon take delivery of additional five gabbage trucks while a new set of 12,000 units of wheelie bins for sale to residents at Ado-Ekiti and Ikere-Ekiti at rock bottom prices, adding “The reason for all these is to ease sorting of compostible (organic) waste from the inorganic wastes at source across homes for the production of manure or organic fertilizer and the plastic pellets.

“The two plants were commissioned by the state governor and the honourable Minister of the Environment, Hajia Hadiza Malaifa on June 11 this year.

“Happily, I can say now that both the composite manure (organic manure) which is useful to farmers, horticulturists and beautification and the plastic pellets from the waste processing plants have been packaged in 10kg and 15kg bags and are currently on sale at friendly prices at designated centres across the state, most especially at our office in the capital here”, Morakinyo said.

He said further: “Two weeks ago we gave to Ojaba Market an open 10 tonne capacity waste bin. We have intensified strict enforcement of the State Sanitation Law to prevent indiscriminate dumping of refuse on road medians, the highways and other public places.”

The commencement of the production of organic manure by the state government was further supported by the Authority’s General Manager (GM) Engr. Muyiwa Fatoba, who explained that two processing plants located at the identified waste-dump sites have begun production of manure from waste generated from Ado and Ikere Ekiti.

According to the GM, experts are being packaged in 10 Kilogram and 15 Kilogram bags.

He charged stakeholders particularly the youth to take advantage of the opportunity provided by government’s gesture towards improving the agriculture sector by patronising the venture.

December 5, 2012
Ikogosi: Emerging tourists’ haven

After nine years in the doldrums, the Ikogosi Warm Springs Resorts is back on track and full of life. Ekiti State government is investing about N1.258 billion to turn the site into a world-class tourists’ destination, reports Assistant Editor (Arts) Ozolua Uhakheme

Some metres away from the gate leading to Ikogosi Warm Springs Resorts were hundreds of students. They lined both sides of the road in their school uniform.

Also, on the sides of the road were beautifully dressed old women and men, some drumming as they walked happily towards the resorts, defying the increasing heat of the morning sun. That was the spectacle that preceded the arrival of Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State to the Ikogosi Day celebration, last Saturday.

Nine years after being moribund, the Ikogosi Warm Springs Resorts has received a fresh breath. It hosted the first-ever all-female international bata dancers, Obini Bata from Cuba, as well as performances by a cultural troupe, from Ekiti State. The Obinin Bata performed with their hourglass-shaped drums accompanying various Yoruba songs.

From the Ekiti troupe, it was a drama presentation of Mich Yomi Longe’s Building Our Own House by a 23-man cast, which left no one in doubt of the mission and vision of Governor Kayode Fayemi’s administration. The message of the drama was clear and simple: Rebuilding time is now.

The drama was also symbolic of a nation that is rich in resources yet remains in doldrums due to negative innate tendencies, which have grown into a monster that constantly impedes meaningful development. Building Our Own House is a tool for social change, especially, to promote attitudinal change and approach to issues of common good.

The presentation was in celebration of Ikogosi Resorts Day, which was part of activities marking the second year in office of Governor Fayemi’s administration in Ekiti State. Building Our Own House centres on a group of people within a geographical location called Okiti land. The people of Okiti land unanimously accept Akinlabi to lead them to the promised land because of some exceptional leadership qualities they saw in him. In his acceptance speech, Akinlabi solicits for their support and enjoins all hands to be on deck, which, to him, is a panacea for Building Our Own House.

However, hardly did they start the journey when the dreaded monster rears its head again. The people of Okiti land in their usual manner start condemning Akinlabi. At this point, Akinlabi seeks the face of the Lord and he was told to embark on cleansing rites among his people. The cleansing rites bring out the spirit of collectivity in the people, thus, helping them to cage the monster and its total derobing to the state of purity. The reconstruction of the House goes on uninterrupted because of attitudinal change and approach to issues of the people. They appreciate Akinlabi, while celebrating their victory as the journey continues.

The Ikogosi Warm Springs Resorts, which was allegedly looted and abandoned before the Fayemi-led administration was inaugurated in October 2010, is being repositioned to serve as a money-spinner and employment hub for Ekiti State.

Fayemi said the first phase of rehabilitation and reconstruction has been completed at the resort, which would be fully opened in December while work is ongoing on the second phase.

Fayemi, who noted that the resort once had a zoo, added that 10,000 hectares of land have been set aside in the host community for wild life while the resort will also get a golf course and apartments in the third phase.

He said the vision of his administration for Ikogosi would turn the place to a destination of choice for local and international tourists, stating that the resort has all it takes to divert tourists from Obudu to Ikogosi.

Fayemi said tourists visiting Ikogosi should worry about transportation hardship as the roads leading to the site are now motorable, from all gateways that lead to the state.

He assured that Internet facilities for tourists to have access to their families and offices during their visit to the wonder hot and cold springs would be put in place. He added that the resort, on completion, will not only be a place for “leisure but also a cash-cow”. The governor stated that the resuscitation of the resort is a fulfilment of his promise, expressing optimism that the state was nearer to the new dawn he promised during his campaign.

A walk round the awe-inspiring resort shows that Ekiti State is endowed by nature. Long stretch of green valleys, vast rain forest and colossal mountain range dot the landscape; Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort will take your breath away. The once abandoned tourists’ site is emerging into a choice destination for tourists given the massive construction at the resort.

To give tourists and visitors a long-lasting experience, a well-landscaped 116-hectare resort is now the flagship of Ekiti tourism. It has one executive VIP chalet, three VIP villas, 12 western suites, 70-five standard rooms of various styles, themes and offerings and seven support staff quarters. All accommodation facilities are undergoing redevelopment to turn the place to an international standard resort. Other facilities are nature spa / beauty centre; gym/fitness shop; herbal shop for local medication; arts and crafts shops for souvenir items; 300-seat multi-purpose conference hall, 120-seat and 50-seat meeting and function rooms; variety/shopping mall; amphitheatre; double standard rooms for students on excursion and campers and 300-car parking space.

Also on ground are brook walk lanes, waterways, relaxation spots, open green areas, external area beautification and gated exclusive areas for tourists.

Its General Manager, Mr John Dixon said in December, the first phase of the development would witness the opening of a three-star hotel, among other facilities.

“This is a tremendous investment by Ekiti State government. There are huge potential and it is about developing the market and making sure it is operational, staff deployment and training, marketing locally and worldwide and providing a wide range of services. We have a very strong marketing plan in place for all these. We are also very strong on standard and we do things right.

“Every site, whether in South Africa or Europe, has its own challenges when you carry out development. Our job here is not as a developer but to do a technical review on behalf of the state, give advice on what can work and what cannot work,” Dixon said.

The Special Adviser to the Governor (Bureau of Tourism Development), Mr Segun Ologunleko, said the first phase of development cost the state about N1.258 billion, which was raised from bonds at the capital market. According to him, five per cent of the funds raised at the capital market were dedicated to tourism development which is a catalyst to economic development of the state.

“In fact, we have something different and we are serving it. Very soon, Ekiti will emerge as the melting pot of fun seekers,” he said.

Ologunleko noted that the driving force of Ikogosi Warm Springs Resorts is economic emancipation because the state has abundant natural resources. “But how to translate them into wealth, dignity, employment and self-respect for the people is the fulcrum of the vision of Fayemi. This is to ensure that Ekiti tourism corridor, which is about 400 square kilometre, is developed. This comprises communities, such as Aramoko, Erijiyan, Iloro, Okemesi and Efon Alaye,” he said.

According to him, in phase two, the government would allow private investors to have majority shares in the funding.

“Government will sit back and will only own about 10 to 25 per cent of the equity. And there will be a special purpose vehicle, Ikogosi Warm Springs Resorts Limited, to drive the project. This is the path to sustainability which is the plan of government,” he added, noting that the government has brought in Mantis from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, to train workers in hospitality. He disclosed that private investors are approaching the state to build facilities, such as three-star hotel, golf course, and a games reserve.

Already, art and crafts designers and marketers are showing strong presence at the new shopping centre at the resorts. Madam Oyebola Aderinsoye Adeboye, a farmer, arts and crafts designer and one of the occupants at the shopping centre, described the development as a boost to investors, especially, in tourism industry. She said beyond that, it would generate employment for the youth, adding that the resorts is a very serene location tucked in the heart of a rich forest.

“The operators can in the future develop areas such as wild life. But I hope the services would be affordable to clients. More importantly, I hope there would be the basic amenities such as electricity and water,” she said.

The traditional leader of Ikogosi, the Onikogosi of Ikogosi, Oba Deacon Abiodun Olorunisola and his subjects were full of appreciation to the Governor, but noted that the development of the site was long overdue.

“The real development of the resorts as a tourists’ attraction is long overdue. The former military governor, Colonel Opaleye made efforts to develop the site but shortly after he left government the place was abandoned. We lost all the animals in the process. So it has been till the administration of Dr. Kayode Fayemi that turned the site around.

“We thank Fayemi for this laudable initiative because Ikogosi spring meant a lot to us as a people. It is not only known to the nation but also to the world; and its development will rub off on the people in the environs as rent, small-scale business will receive a boost. In fact, it is economically useful to us than the state, and by extension, the country.

“Ikogosi is a gift from God and we will be eternally grateful.

“Apart from Ikogosi residents, communities such as Erijiyan are very enthusiastic about the tourism potential of the site. And we appealed to the government to construct the Ogotun to Ikogosi road to facilitate easy access from neighbouring communities,” he said.

On the therapeutic benefits of the spring, he said the spring was worshipped in the pre-colonial days but was stopped by one of the early traditional rulers in Ikogosi, Oba Alagbogbo Danija following the coming of Christianity. That was around 1914 or earlier.

“However, the water from the spring is medicinal as no one contacts cholera or other water borne diseases here in Ikogosi as a result of drinking the water from the spring.

“Sometimes ago, a woman came here with a big duck as sacrifice to the spring. She said that was what she promised the spring if her prayers were answered,” the traditional ruler recalled.

Ekiti west local government caretaker chairman, Barrister Tajudeen Akingbolu acknowledged the initiative of Governor Fayemi saying that at the completion of the project, the world would know that Ekiti State is the place to be. “After Mr. Governor is done with the project, the tourists site would be better than Obudu Cattle Ranch,” he noted.

October 17, 2012
Fayemi : How the past molded a peoples’ governor

Fayemi is fundamentally changing the face of Ekiti

Time was about 11.45 pm in the sprawling Ekiti state governor’s office, which he derisively calls a football field, which he does not require to function effectively or efficiently, and quipped his friend of many years, the witheringly brilliant political scientist, Dr Abubakar Momoh: “Kayode, little did we know that God was preparing you for these days when we would, during our activist days in London , work until the wee hours of the following morning, quaffing coffee like it was going out of fashion.” I remembered Abubakar’s words sometime later after observing at close range, Dr Fayemi’s methodical and focused approach to governance, electing completely, not to be bothered with what the Yoruba would call the suffocating ‘ariwo oja’ –the market place noise, that the political opposition was spewing.

How miraculously God restored his Ekiti peoples’ mandate back to him, whilst the Obasanjos of this world were breathing down on all institutions of state, elicited indescribable joy, not only in the state, but across the length and breadth of Nigeria. But without a doubt, it equally brewed bitterness among the little colony of poll robbers who never thought the day would ever come when his mandate would be restored. Thus began a massive campaign of calumny, not much initiated by his main opponent at that election, but by a coterie of hangers-on, who, for reasons singularly unconnected with the welfare of our people, but their belly, embarked upon a proxy war to which the governor, characteristically, refused to invest even the minutest notice. The war has become largely muted today even though there was a time it looked like the demagogues were going to have it their way, given their cacophony and dexterity at concocting and weaving all manner of lies, even going as far as master-minding workers’ union revolts as we recently saw in the arrest of a lout who doubles as Press Secretary. Thanks largely to the incomparable, multi-sectoral achievements that have earned Dr Fayemi the prestigious ‘Leadership Governor of the Year’ award, an award for which many a state governor would have declared a state holiday to celebrate.

And they have not seen anything yet.

Back then to how his past, his multi-dimensional experiences, have served as the linchpin, the furnace and the crucible through which the peoples’ governor, was prepared for today. And there is no better place to go than OUT OF THE SHADOW’S, Dr Kayode Fayemi’s own book; his testimony and elegant historical capture of the events which shaped him at various stages of life up until he threw his cap into the political ring in his native Ekiti state. The intention here is not to re-write a book in which you have the author ‘writ large’ by our one and only Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka. Rather, it is to showcase how very small, almost insignificant events, a nice word here from a father when merited, a flagellation by mum when necessary and the whole idea of not sparing the rod, if that is what the moment deserved, as happened when his father gave him 12 strokes of the cane for not meeting him doing his home work, all cumulatively molding the total person; one who from the unsparing but loving hands of Pa and Mama Fayemi of Isan –Ekiti, would later be divinely thrown into public service to make life meaningful and better for the greater majority of Ekiti people. Had I, indeed, been minded, to re-write the book, this entire newspaper would hardly provide the space.

OUT OF THE SHADOWS, a book which in the hands of Bishop Felix Ajakaiye, the Catholic Bishop of Ekiti, has since become, besides the bible, a standard reference book for sermons about sacrifice, hard work, the value of education, perseverance, the role of parents and calls to service, among many other lessons, is replete with examples of how the governor’s home training, in a committed Christian family, – his own father had barely missed being a Catholic priest – his education and background in general, taught Dr Fayemi great lessons on how to be prepared to stand up, stand firm and control his own destiny.

I recall for instance an occasion well ahead of the serially rigged Ekiti gubernatorial elections, when three of us, in company of Dr Fayemi visited a distinguished Lagos-based Medical doctor of Ijesha extraction who truly loves the candidate and was willing to be part of his preparations. The host decided to first treat his visitors to dinner at a high end Chinese Restaurant. In the course of dinner, and knowing the PDP as I do, I chipped in by predicting that they would rig the election and ask us to go to court as the ‘one-minute heroine and next-minute villain’ of a onetime Ekiti INEC Commissioner, would later contemptuously advise. The candidate’s short response was: “Then they will come to know that I am a long distance runner.” I soon got confirmation of how the governor’s past must have informed this response when, in his Foreword to OUT OF THE SHADOWS, Professor Wole Soyinka wrote as follows about the monumental struggle in which he had Fayemi as one of his most trusted young intellectual combatants, I quote him: “It is my hope that this –the book –has opened the way to the records of infamy that internal democratic movement had to overcome in its pivotal struggle –the betrayals, repeated and repeated betrayals (note the repetitions by the master), campaigns of discouragement and so on – by some of those who supposedly occupy leadership positions in society, be they crowned heads, prelates, business moguls, professionals, politicians, intellectuals or whatever.” Fayemi’s own list of caterwaulers will include even a head of state and judges who were bought for nothing more than mere pittance. But he was completely unfazed, and from court to court, from one tribunal to another and from there to the Appeal Court, he went serially and when ignoramuses sang songs to the effect that he should be going to court while they govern, he still treated them with benign disdain, paying them no attention, whatever.

For the umpteenth time, many have had running bellies over my writings on Dr Kayode Fayemi but not only has he justified my implicit confidence in his ability to run an efficient government, I can say proudly that in all that I write, I testify only to the evidences of my very eyes. The entire Ekiti road network may not have all been paved yet –he has done two years of only a first four – and you may actually not be picking money on Ekiti streets, but for a fact, Fayemi is fundamentally changing the face of Ekiti. No longer do you have T V pictures of a hungry-looking people at state events, surrounded every inch of the way by gun-totting police and soldiers in defence of a stolen mandate, nor do you any longer have un-cared for elderly citizens who haven’t the slightest idea where help will come from since Fayemi’s monthly social security money will come as certainly as morning follows the night.

Today, work is going on at a frenetic pace on the Rehabilitate All Ekiti Schools Project which saw 100 schools rehabilitated in the first phase as well as on roads – both by state and local governments, water projects, re-industialisation i.e resuscitating dead and moribund industries and enterprises like the Ire Burnt Bricks industry, ROMACO which is about being concessioned and the Farm Settlement at Orin which is now a beehive of activity after decades of total abandonment. The educated youth are aggressively being introduced into commercial agriculture through the Y-CAD programme which combines training with financial mobilization through the provision of seed money, farm implements and agro-chemicals. Even with all the opposition-induced teachers’ intransigence, revitalizing the state education system remains a core area of Dr Fayemi’s programmes. Only this past week, the SUBEB Model Nursery and Primary School, Ado-Ekiti was rated as the best school nationwide in the year’s 2012 President Teachers and Schools’ Excellence Awards just as Mrs Oluwafemi Olusola of St John’s Primary School, Erinmope-Ekiti won the 3rd best teacher in the country.

His love of education and single minded determination to leave it better than he met it in Ekiti derives from his home background where his parents taught him the value of education and sent him to the best schools. That will subsequently influence his own choice of higher institutions to attend.

At his present duty post, this arduous, work-in-progress of taking Ekiti out of the shadows, his past has been a constant companion. He had, in fact, been born during the tumultuous NNDP’s short-lived ascendancy in the Western Region, a period which so presaged the PDP days that the governor has very readily acknowledged a causality between the events leading to and during the year of his birth – 1965 -and the subsequent trajectory of Nigerian politics which has since been dominated by those the Nobel Laureate describes as ‘brigands, parasites and unworthy custodians of power and authority.’

At age 5, the young Olukayode made his first ‘political outing’, joining in welcoming General Yakubu Gowon to Ibadan and the fact of his father being an Information officer in government soon exposed him at a very early stage in life to newspapers, many of which he read daily, thus imperceptibly learning and internalizing lessons in current and public affairs, especially politics that today stand him in good stead as they all combined to shape his career choices.

Parental guidance and early public awareness together with sound religious upbringing combined to inculcate in him discipline ,steadfastness ,compassion, vision, and focus. However, while the place of home training may have been totally incomparable in this discuss, the role of education peerless, and his entirely risky RADIO KUDIRAT exertions occupy a pride of place, what seems to me to have best prepared the governor for today was his matchless experiences in the UK, especially as a young, newly married man, studying and working; a period that left him with multiple life experiences not available in white collar jobs or acquired through reading books. This period saw him exposed to the variegated danger workers, especially blacks, got exposed to in what he describes as ‘the London underground job market, as typified by his two robbery attacks at dagger point by purported passengers and to one of which he lost, not only money but his wedding ring.

In terms of developing empathy, love and compassion for the other person, indeed for humanity, the leitmotif for his social security policy to cater for elderly citizens in the state, I do not think that anything, apart from his wife’s towering and ever constant positive influence, would compare in the governor’s past to the experience he garnered in the course of his active engagement, during this period, in local political organisation and, particularly, his involvement in the regeneration of the then completely run down Milton Court Estate and the entire Deptford area in South-East, London.

Of the people living in the area, wrote Dr Fayemi in OUT OF THE SHADOWS, ’ close to 60 percent were on housing benefits from the government and over 50npercent of school age kids were on meal subsidy in schools. Drug abuse was rife and crime among the idle youth was commonplace; deprivation, he wrote, was simply staggering. So touched, and concerned was he that he immediately joined a minority of individuals working towards ameliorating these extant conditions and ended up serving as Chair of the neighbourhood tenants and residents’ association whose duty it was to tackle the social, economic, environmental and physical problems through not just improving physical conditions but also ensuring improving housing management, diversifying tenure, attracting private investment and creating opportunities for training and enterprise.

Without a doubt, all the experiences gained in that project must have coalesced in all we see today in his midterm report card as governor of Ekiti.

Not just in Ekiti, but all those who followed from far and wide on television networks, online and through newspapers, must have marveled all this past week, watching governor Fayemi commission one project after the other. He inaugurated ten major roads spread all over the state as well as five water treatment plants just as he laid the foundations of truly millennial projects such as the Samsung I C T Centre, the new Government House and governor’s office, the State Pavilion amongst many others. He also did not only sign the Memorandum of Understanding with the Grand Towers Group of Companies but presented to its Chairman, the company’s Certificate of Occupancy at the signing ceremony. Among the enterprises the company will bring into Ekiti is the popular Shoprite Shopping Mall. He exuded such unbelievable vigor that all Chief Dele Falegan, a distinguished Ekiti elder and Chair of the state’s SURE-P Committee could do was pray that the good Lord ill continue to renew him. I simply crumbled, the only day I was on his all-week frenetic tour and that was when he visited my 2-part Local Government Area, having to address an appreciative and hugely turned out crowd at both Igede and Igbemo. As should be expected, both sides of the Local Government Area pleaded with the governor to split us into two local government areas.

This profile is, at best, a miniscule part of how Dr Fayemi’s past has shaped his persona; a decent, disciplined, caring, calm, focused and highly organized personality that Ekiti state could not have asked for more.

It is the reason he has aptly been named ‘THE ILUFEMILOYE 1’ -the chosen one -of Ekiti.

October 14, 2012
Ado-Ekiti transforms

Capital city in renewal

Heaps of sand and laterite dot the roads. Caterpillars are excavating sand. Trucks are loading it. Construction workers are busy trying to meet the deadline. Everywhere you turn, one major construction or the other is being undertaken.

The heavy work comes with pain. Traffic is heavy. And more man-hours are wasted on the road than before.

Welcome to Ado-Ekiti, the capital of Ekiti State, where everything seems upside down now so that it can truly live up to the billing as a befitting state capital.

Someone who has not been to the town in a while is bound to be taken aback. From the most popular road in the capital, Ajilosun Road, to Ojumose- Fajuyi-Basiri Road, Ijigbo-Ilawe Road, Old Garage-Okeyinmi- Ojumose Road, Old Garage-Ikere Road and Fajuyi-Teaching Hospital Road, men are literally working themselves out to renew Ado and make the roads form an impeccable network.

Sixteen link roads, such as Mobil-Irona Road, Ben Folarin–Isato- Oke Ori Omi Road, Old Governor’s Office –Okesa Road, Ola Oluwa-Omisanjana Road, Housing Corporation Road, Oke Ila- Stadium Road, Okeyinmi- St. Andrews-Oke Ila Road, Okesa- Staduim- Oremeji Road and Oke Ori Omi- Aremu Road, are experiencing total makeover.

Not left out of the race to make the landscapes of Ado posh are Adebayo-Olora-Hosuing Road, Ile Abiye-GRA Road, Egbewa–NTA Road, Adekaitan–GRA, Oke Ila internal roads, Oke Ila–Idolofin Road and Mugbagba- St. Pauls–Odo Ado Road.

In Ado, it is not all about roads. Lush green vegetation is finding space. Interlocking stones are marking walkways apart. Medians are wearing glowing shades. Drainage channels are being opened. The dredging of River Ofin has commenced to prevent flooding, which may result in the loss of lives and property of citizens.

Really, years of urban planning errors are being corrected. But, like the saying that there is no creation without destruction, many a structure has given way for decades of haphazard development to be rectified. More are to follow. The first-ever petrol station in the town has become history for Ado to be renewed. Structures that made the state capital to be smeared with buildings without lay-out, plans or certificates of occupancy are giving way. But, efforts have been made to ensure sacred places and local monuments in the ancient city are preserved.

Demolition with human face

Unlike the usual practice, the Dr. Kayode Fayemi administration has given new meaning to government’s demolition of structures for developmental purposes. The administration has ensured that no single structure has been pulled down without the owner first receiving compensation.

The Chairman, Ekiti State Urban Renewal Agency, Mr. Babatunde Fakoyede, said the decision to pay compensation before demolition is to ensure proper valuation of property. “Or, how do you value a property after demolishing it?” asked Fakoyede.

He added that the administration, even after paying the compensation, still gives enough time for evacuation.

Fayemi has presented cheques of N190, 860, 923 as compensation to people whose structures hinder the dualisation of New Garage-Ojumose-Okeyinmi-Baptist Church Road and Atikankan-Igbehin Road. Another N83,679,627 has also been spent paying compensation to “ameliorate the pains of our people arising from these projects”.

Significantly too, even owners of structures without certificates of occupancy are not being denied compensation.

The governor explains his approach to urban renewal: “If anyone had described this government as do-nothing, I guess they do not understand the processes involved in ensuring that you take the people along with you even if you have a vision and a plan. That is what we have consistently demonstrated; we wanted to ensure that those affected by the changes that are going to occur are not treated shabbily; we wanted them to be paid adequate compensation for the properties that are bound to be removed for the dualisation process and do it in accordance to due process.

”That is what we have done; we have allowed people to complain about issues relating to their compensation. We have allowed others to raise issues concerning the legality or otherwise of what we are doing but I am happy that this has happened. You can see that people are overjoyed by at least clearly that there is a direction and the plan that we put in place clearly stated what we will do in 2012.”

Demolition without discrimination

One striking discovery about the demolition exercise is that the administration has tried not to be partial. As the Bafon of Ado Ekiti, Chief Olu Ogunremi is a man of no mean influence. He has the ears of the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe. For someone with such a clout, not many expect that his property would be one of those to give way for the renewal of the capital of Ekiti State.

In an interesting twist, Ogunremi and many other influential sons and daughters of the ancient city have willingly allowed their property to go down for Ado-Ekiti to rank among the best capital cities in the country. The respected Ekiti chief and others have also commended Fayemi for paying their compensation before their buildings were demolished. They believe this underscores the fact that the governor has the welfare of the people at heart.

Fayemi believes Oba Adejugbe has been instrumental in ensuring that the people understand what the government is doing and complying with the quit notice given them. So thrilled is Oba Adejugbe that he is planning a thank-you visit to the governor.

A matter of cash

But such massive work as being undertaken comes at a huge cost. Aside the N275 million spent on paying compensation, the construction and rehabilitation that have turned Ado into a huge construction site is money-guzzling.

The 16 township roads in the capital city alone are to gulp N1,790,578,794. Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation Funminiyi Afuye said the administration decided to spend this much to make Ado Ekiti a befitting state capital.

The cost of the dualisation of Old Garage-Ojumose Road, dualisation of Atikankan- Post Office- First Baptist Church Road, re-asphalting of Fajuyi-Police Headquarters Road, Fajuyi- Teaching Hospital Road and Old Garage- Ajilosun Road is about N5billion.

The governor believes that at the completion of the road projects , the urban renewal and beautification project, investors would be attracted.

In the beginning

It became a state capital in 1996. At that time, there were only two major roads there, with Ajilosun Road being the more popular. Now, things have really changed and will continue to change, said Afuye.

Vision 2014

Fayemi has promised that his administration would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the vision of making all major roads in Ekiti State motorable by 2014. He said when this vision is actualised, Ekiti would have the best road networks in the Southwest. By then too, Deputy Governor Funmi Olayinka believes the pains that are being experienced as a result of ongoing construction work would soon give way to pleasure and sublime standard of living that are unprecedented in the state.

The Ministry of Physical, Urban and Regional Planning said it has now become a sin not to comply with Urban Planning regulations.

All building plans of newly developed property henceforth must carry the seal and signature of a professionally qualified architect in order to qualify it for government’s approval.

Property developers are to observe the minimum setback as prescribed in the Urban and Regional Planning Law of the State, which is 20ft (6m) from the edge of the road for developed areas, 30m for state roads and 50m for federal roads.

All property developers are to strictly observe all building codes and regulations. Owners of properties whose construction, are not in compliance with the Urban Renewal Law are to regularise them.

October 10, 2012
‘What we’ve done with people’s mandate’

The chairman of Gbonyin Local Government in Ekiti State, Comrade Adeniyi Paul Abegunde, has explained what his administration has done with the people’s mandate, saying leadership is best served if it makes people the focal point.

He spoke passionately about his efforts to re-focus on agriculture at the grassroots when he gave part of his account of stewardship to Newsextra at the council’s secretariat, Ode.

On agricultural development, the council boss said his administration has acquired 1,000 hectares of land to be opened up and allotted to farmers to encourage mechanised farming; raised improved oil palm and cocoa seedlings for increased production; cultivated two hectares of improved maize; upgraded the teak plantation at Ode-Ekiti; raised birds that will lay eggs to increase people’s protein consumption and fattened pigs as a demonstration project for the same purpose.

To boost education in his domain, Abegunde said he paid N7.14 million to students as bursary allowance in the 2010/2011 session, assuring that it would be an enduring gesture throughout his tenure.

He also spoke of his efforts on healthcare: “Two rounds of National Immunisation Plus had been carried out. Besides, we have purchased a power-generating machine for the cold chain store at the Health Centre in Ode; repaired the one at the Comprehensive Health Centre in Agbado-Ekiti in addition to the purchase of five motorcycles for easy transportation of vaccine during immunisation.”

The council boss revealed that he had made several efforts to ensure the security of lives and property in the area and also itemised the capital projects that had been executed there.

Among the projects that were fully completed according to him were: Water system toilet and furniture and office equipment in the Local Government Secretariat; line drainage in front of lock-up store at Ijan-Ekiti; construction of five-kilometre township roads in nine sites covering eight communities in the local government area.

The roads, according to him, included: Ilado in Ode, 540 metres; Ayedun/Ogbonomo Ijan, 540 metres; Asatedo in Iluomoba, 1460 metres; Omodowa Palace Road in Iro Ekiti, 120 metres; Oke Afin in Egbe, 320 metres; Ifinmi in Egbe, 270 metres; Odi Olowo, Imesi, 420 metres; Asura-Idekun in Aisegba, 1020 metres, and Oke Afin in Agbado, 320 metres.

Construction of reinforced concrete line drainage, he added, was in progress in eight out of nine sites including 25-metre pipe culvert which he said, had been completed.

Extension of electricity, he also disclosed, had been achieved on some routes in Ode, Imesi, Egbe, Agbado and Ijan.

Also fully completed for use, according to Abegunde, were: Meter processing and servicing of electricity at New Basic Health Centre, Ode; extension and servicing of Phase Three office complexion at the secretariat; extension of electricity to Rt Hon. Wale Omirin’s Aven at Aisegba; installation of 300KVA, 33/41KV transformers at Ode, Imesi and Ijan; extension of electricity to St. Saviour African Pry School, Deeper Life Bible Church Road, and Oke Iro Ayeteju; Oke Odu Street, Imesi, Egbe Ekiti; New Era College road, Ode and Ajebamidele Road, Phase II, Iluomoba.

His administration, he also said, had executed the following: Provision of office equipment for the political functionaries; renovation of open registry office; provision of temporary store for Fadama project; renovation of the council’s gate, security post receptionist post and conference hall; renovation of 10 open market stalls at Ijan, Eleyowo Market at Iro Ayeteju- Ekiti and the empowerment of Mr. Sunday Aluko, a victim of 2009 governorship re-run election.

Maintaining that the people had remained the focus of his government, Abegunde further reeled off his achievements: “Part-payment of 2012 National Programme for Food Security (NPFS) and 2012 Fadama III Development Project counterpart contributions; repair of tractor; provision of borehole at Ologoji farm at Ijan; borehole at Iluomoba and another at the Oba’s palace and two motorized boreholes at Agric Department poultry farm site along Ijesa-Isu road, Ode.

Listed among ongoing projects, according to him, were: Construction of one hand pump borehole on Ifon Street, Ijan; Aba Bolorunduro, Omuaran; Aisegba, Iro Ayeteju; repair of one motorised borehole on Ikesan Street along Igbemo Road, Ijan and another one at Ilupeju-Ijan.

On sports and social development, he announced the following: Participation of the local government athletes in a competition at Sagamu, Ogun State; International Women Day Celebration; Ekiti State Community and Social Development programme Children’s Day celebration at Ado/Local Government level; distribution of emergency materials and monthly monitoring payment of allowances to the aged.

Abegunde spoke further: “We have also been observing the following: Monthly release of fueling imprest of N50,000 for Effective Routine Immunization starting for March 2012; re-roofing leaked building of CHC Aisegba and CHC Ode; roofing of Model Health Centre at Aisegba and the electrification and connection of BAC Ode to national grid.

Traditional and chieftaincy matters, the council boss said, have not escaped the attention of his administration. Apart from holding statutory monthly meetings, he explained that efforts are being made to fill the vacant stool of Ajagun of Iluomoba, noting that a request has been made to the Bureau of Chieftaincy Affairs for permission to approve warrant chiefs.

September 26, 2012
Ekiti residents savour health scheme

Rural communities access quality care

A massive revolution is afoot in Ekiti State health sector. And the people are soaking it all up.
It started as Dr. Kayode Fayemi was inaugurated as governor on October 16, 2010.
The revolution is positively touching the lives of those living in urban areas and rural communities in the state.
The state government is making good health accessible to the people through its policies which have received accolades from far and near.
The policies are Free Health Mission, Free Health Programme and Medical Assistance Fund.
Under the Free Health Mission carried out quarterly by the state government in conjunction with the Development Support Initiative (DSI), a non-governmental organisation, health personnel, equipment and drugs are deployed to towns and villages in the state to attend to people suffering from various ailments.
The Free Health Mission incorporates all segments of the population and is aimed at bringing healthcare delivery to the doorsteps of local communities, local government areas and senatorial districts.
The Free Health Programme which runs in all government hospitals is meant for selected segments of the population which include children aged five and below, expectant mothers, aged people who are 65 years and above and the physically-challenged.
The beneficiaries of this Free Health Programme on arrival in any government hospital in the state receive free consultancy, free treatment, and free drugs.
The programmes are being pursued in all the 293 state-owned primary healthcare facilities, 20 secondary and one tertiary health facility to fast-track the administration’s health agenda and keep morbidity at bay.
The Medical Assistance Fund initiative of the administration provides financial succour to Ekiti citizens in need of money, to save them from critical health challenges.
Funds held in trust for beneficiaries are disbursed to needy patients to assist them in carrying out surgeries, procurement of artificial limbs, among other critical needs.
Under this scheme, people with critical medical problems apply for government’s assistance after scaling the verification tests to scrutinise the genuineness of their applications.
The most popular of the three health initiatives of the Fayemi-led administration is the Free Health Mission.
The Free Health Mission is all-inclusive and has a wide grassroots appeal as patients in far-flung communities in the state are reached by qualified medical personnel mobilised on the bill of the government.
The scheme is meant for all Ekiti people who are in need of medical intervention irrespective of which party they belong to or which party they voted for in the past elections in the state.
Governor Fayemi had promised in his inaugural address shortly after taking oath of office before a mammoth crowd in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital in 2010, that “the health of Ekiti people will be his wealth.”
Quality healthcare delivery is the fifth pillar on the eight-point agenda of the administration otherwise known as the Roadmap to Ekiti Recovery and one of the important indices of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The governor recognises the importance of a healthy population which he believes has a positive effect on the economy of the state, as only healthy individuals can contribute meaningfully to the local per capita income.
His party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), has free health services on its manifesto and this formed a major campaign issue when the governor was campaigning for votes.
Not a few people sneered at the possibility of free health in the state given the low revenue base of the state and meagre monthly allocation from the Federation Account.
It is on record that the state government has expended about N270 million on the Free Health Mission through a population based outreach model from which about 300,000 people benefited.
Patients treated under the scheme are categorised into general outpatient, ophthalmology (eye care) unit, dental unit, reproductive health unit, health education unit and HIV counselling and testing unit.
A report by the medical team revealed that about 90 per cent of the eye patients have never had an eye check-up while about 80 per cent of the patients require eyeglasses.
The report also revealed that the incidence of hypertension and diabetes is very high in all the local government areas visited with the majority of the patients unaware of their conditions before being tested.
While malaria and skin infections are very common in the children treated under the scheme, the report further disclosed that almost all patients treated for dental problems had never visited a dentist.
To Pa Dayo Oregbemi, an 80-year-old man from Irele who was treated when the scheme was taken to nearby Ipao in Ikole Local Government Area, the gesture has brought relief to many indigent locals.
He explained: “This is my first time of seeing something like this; the people are happy and are waiting to be treated. The drugs given to me are free of charge.
“Governor Fayemi is doing a great job especially in the health sector, we have seen this great thing happening during his time and we believe it will enhance the standard of living of our people”.
The traditional ruler of the community, the Obanla of Ipao, Oba Joseph Bolaji Aina who is also a beneficiary described the Free Health Mission as “unprecedented”.
The monarch said: “This programme is very good and unprecedented. In fact, we are enjoying it because taking healthcare delivery to the people in their natural habitat has never happened in this state before.
“The government that is doing this good thing is a good government and we should continue to pray for its success to continue to do more for the people of the state”.
Mrs. Alice Omojola, 79, urged the Fayemi-led administration to do everything possible to sustain the scheme.
She said: “As you are looking at me, I am a widow and I don’t have any money. In fact, I borrowed money to take a bike to come and benefit from this free treatment.
“We don’t want our government to stop this type of programme because of people like us who can’t afford money being charged by private clinics and chemists.”
Pa Tunde Ayeni, 76, said: “It is one of the best policies of this government under the leadership of our able governor, Dr. Fayemi.
“When you have good health, there is nothing you cannot do. You can see people here being treated and given drugs free of charge.
“The same treatment I have been given here was what a doctor in a private hospital charged me N30,000 for. This is just for the treatment of my eyes.
“We want our people to support this government, you don’t need to see the bad side of government and I want to say that this is the best this government has done so far.
“This is a government that gives N5,000 to each of the aged people in the state and no government has done it in Nigeria and we want the government to continue the gesture.
“We are solidly behind this government because it is a government of the masses.”
Mrs. Abigail Ojo, 65, who benefited from the scheme at Efon Alaaye, said the scheme has been helping the indigent people to have access to quality treatment describing the scheme as a “great thing in our lives”.
To further prove that the Free Health Mission is open to all Ekiti citizens irrespective of their political leanings, the Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Efon Alaaye, Mr. J.O. Adelowo commended the ACN-led government for not discriminating against the faithful of other parties.
The PDP chief who is popularly known in the community as “Father Jay-Jay” said apart from the Free Health Mission, the ACN-led government has also touched the lives of the aged people with the N5,000 monthly stipends from which his mother benefits.
Adelowo said: It is really commendable and we are in full support of it. The man (Dr. Fayemi) does not discriminate against us and he has treated everybody equally

“The treatment is non-political because I am the Secretary of the PDP here and I am here to treat myself, I have collected my drugs.

“My mother collects N5,000 the other time, this is an ACN government that is treating the PDP well”.
Mr. Owonifaari Abeleyeke advised the people of the state to use their votes in the 2014 governorship election to keep Dr. Fayemi in power for the good work to continue.
“This government is helping us in road construction and it also helping us in bettering our health.
“This government has performed well and we will vote for it in the next election. We are all impressed by this gesture and help us tell the governor that we are happy with him.
“Elders, men, women and children are all happy with him and his government. Lease help us convey our message to him”, Abeleyeke said.
Mrs Bunmi Adeyemi (51) who was treated at Ikogosi described the Free Health Mission as a “poverty alleviation gesture”, by the Fayemi-led administration.
“Those of us who received free eyeglasses, free drugs and free treatment will never forget his government because they have helped in alleviating our poverty”.
The traditional ruler of the community, the Onikogosi, Oba Elijah Olorunnisola noted that the scheme will go a long way in boosting life expectancy of Ekiti people.
The royal father expressed joy that Ikogosi happened to be one of the communities privileged to benefit from the Free Health Mission which has warmed the government into the hearts of his subjects.
Indeed, the Free Health Mission of the Fayemi-led administration has become a huge success within the first two years of its implementation with many poor families spending less on drugs and paying fewer visits to hospitals.
The Free Health Mission in Ekiti has shown incontestably that the government in power has a human face and has become a reference point to other states in the Nigerian federation.

September 19, 2012