Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state has declared that for Nigeria to beat the poverty trap and become a prosperous country, its economy must be built to weather all storms.
The governor added that the country must also raise entrepreneurs and improve the standard of education, stating that in spite of Nigeria’s natural resources, its people might remain poor until its leadership puts the right things in place.
Governor Makinde, who was responding to a sermon delivered by Bishop Williams Aladekungbe of Ibadan North Anglican Diocese at the funeral service of his (Makinde’s) older brother, Engr Olufunmilayo Sunday Makinde, held at the Bishop Akinyele Memorial Anglican Church, Ibadan, said mineral resources are not enough to liberate a nation from poverty.
According to the governor, the experience of a country like Venezuela, which despite its huge oil reserves cannot hold a candle to Finland, which has based its growth on developing its human capital, is enough to teach Nigerian leaders to, apart from managing the country’s natural resources well, invest more in educating its younger generation and building more entrepreneurs.
He maintained that this reality made his administration in Oyo State continue to invest heavily in education, beginning with matching the UNESCO recommendation for education funding, as evident in his government earmarking above 20 per cent of the state’s budget to education since he assumed office in 2019.
He said: “While preaching, the Bishop raised some issues. He said Nigeria does not have any reason to be poor because we do have natural resources. But natural resources alone do not lead to prosperity and that is just the reality.
“The country with the highest reserve of oil in this entire world is Venezuela and it is poor. So, to have prosperity, we must raise entrepreneurs and raise the standard of education.
“I was in Finland with my team and I tried to make enquiries on why the country got so developed. I asked if they had oil, and they said no. I asked if they had gold and silver and they said no. I asked what they had and they said it was education.
“So, in Oyo State, since we came in six years ago, we resolved to meet and exceed the UNESCO recommendation on education by allocating over 20 per cent of our budget to the sector, it is because we know that some people will need to be entrepreneurs to turn the natural resources into something that can take us out of poverty.
“Yes, God has blessed us and we should be thankful to Him for that. The first Industrial Revolution was coal. Nigeria was rich then because we had coal but nobody is using it again because the world has moved to oil. Very soon, they will move away from oil to something else. So, we must be prepared.
We must go beyond depending on natural resources to having an economy that can weather all storms.”
The governor, who eulogised his late brother, fondly called Sundo, as a good man, a good brother, a good husband and a good father, recounted how he sacrificed his university education to join the Navy so that his siblings could have a better life.
Makinde said that though he didn’t expect Engr Makinde to die so soon, he and the family had taken solace in the fact that he lived a good life and in the promise of God that there would be resurrection after death.
“I didn’t expect that he would die for the next 20 years. I thought by the time he gets to 85, I would be around 78 and we would all still be alive.
“People grow old and they know they will die. People get very sick and we sometimes find out that anytime soon, they might leave us. But you get prepared if you are in such a situation. But he was not sick.
“Yes, his death was really shocking and I am really grieved, not because he did not do well in life; not because he did not play his part for us. I said yesterday that he decided to forgo his university education so that our parents could look after the rest of us. I am so shocked that his death was so unexpected but what can I do? What can we do as a family? We have to submit completely to the will of God.
“I gained strength personally in God’s promise. So, today, my little message is similar to somebody in this kind of situation about 2,000 years ago. You may have read about three siblings — Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Martha answered ‘I know he would rise again in the resurrection on the last day’.
“My brother, Sundo, was a good man, a good brother, a good husband and a good father. He was not a perfect man and nobody is. But he was indeed and in truth an officer and a gentleman. So, I have faith like Martha that he will rise on the last day and we will see again.
“Sundo is gone but he left behind a legacy for us. His legacy was of truth without compromise, forgiveness without holding back and transparency in his dealings with all. This is how I will remember him,” the governor added.
He announced the donation of a sum of N25 million to the church towards immortalising his brother, saying: “To start the process of immortalization, on behalf of the entire Makinde family, we will donate N25m to the church.
“Sundo has lived and left but his words live on and indeed will go well with him. It is now left for us the living to live our lives to the glory of God so that even if we die, the words of Martha to Jesus will be true in our case.”
Earlier in his sermon, Bishop Aladekungbe pointed out the inevitability of death, stating that Engr. Sunday Makinde had done his bit and it was now left for those alive to do their best to serve God and fulfill their purposes on earth.
He equally tasked the leadership of the country on the need for the effective management of the country’s natural resources, stating that it was the only way the country could get out of the doldrums.
Aladekugbe said: “There is something fundamentally wrong in our management or mismanagement of our natural resources. It is also clear that if we continue to mismanage these resources, we will remain stuck.
“Let us stop securing loans. Loans are not transparent. They are expensive. The basic resolution is that if the current trend of borrowing continues, it will be a disaster for Nigeria.
“If we manage our natural resources well, Nigeria has no reason to be poor. We simply need to pull up our efforts together to stamp out corruption and manage our resources in the interest of our country and that of our people.
“Let me say that the resources of a country do not belong to the pockets of some powerful and rich individuals. They belong to the state – to be used for the benefit of the people.”
Dignitaries in attendance at the funeral service included the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed; Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke; Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang; the Governor of Delta State, who was represented by the deputy governor, Mr Monday Onyeme; former Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; wife of Oyo State Governor, Engr. (Mrs) Tamunominini Makinde; and Alhaja Mutiat Ladoja, wife of a former Governor of Oyo State.
Others included the Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Umar IIiya Damagum; former Deputy Governors of Oyo State, Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja, Engr Hamid Gbadamosi and Barrister Hazeem Gbolarumi; Chairman of Board of Trustees of the PDP, Senator Adolphus Wabara; and the National Secretary of the PDP, Honourable Sunday Udeh-Okoye.
Also in attendance were Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu; Senator Sharafadeen Ali, Senator Yunus Akintunde, Honourable Abass Adigun Agboworin and the Speaker of Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt Honourable Adebo Ogundoyin.
Others were the Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Iyabo Yerima, the Secretary to the Government of Oyo State, Professor Olanike Adeyemo; the Chief of Staff to the Governor of Oyo State, Honourable Segun Ogunwuyi; the Head of Service, Mrs Olubunmi Oni, Oyo State Commissioners, serving and former political officer holders, traditional rulers, religious leaders and captains of industry.
