Tag: Oyebanji

Leadership is key in any human organisation. It is the ability to guide, influence and inspire others to work together towards a common goal.

In any system, coordination is essesntial. But, it requires skills, which can be developed over time, for the management of human and material resorces for development and progress.

The principles of leadership are almost the same across board; in business, politics and community. These include vision, communication, leading by example, innovation or creativity and showing responsibility. Others are decision making, adaptability, consistency, focus, sound strategy, and risk taking.

Those who teach these values and traits are mere theorists or at best, motivation speakers. But, for those who lead, it is more complex because of the human variables involved in leading and followership, which are largely inconstant.

Biodun Oyebanji, political scientist, former university teacher and governor of Ekiti justified a blend of theory and practice when he delivered a lecture recently on the intricacies and complexity of leadership in Lagos as a guest of the Foursquare Church, Yaba.

Titled: ‘Leadership in Nigeria and its impact on the next generation, the lecture hosted by the General Overseer, Dr. Sam Aboyeji, was chaired by the boardroom guru, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika. It attracted many eminent Nigerians: politicians, businessmen and government officials.

The governor’s views aligned with those expressed by his Lagos State counterpart, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and Awosika on the need to equip future leaders with necessary values.

But, to achieve this, the governor called for leadership training in schools. This is apt since learning will result in a change in behaviour.

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From the vantage point of being a teacher, Oyebanji said: “Leadership must be part of the basic everyday skills that every citizen should possess. Leadership training must be as important as basic education for literacy and numeracy.

“As a nation, we should have embedded curriculum that teaches leadership skills and principles, both as practical skills and indoctrinated values. For me, I believe  if you want to change a people, teach them what you want them to be”.

 Awosika said Nigeria must nurture a generation of kings and empathetic leaders, who will understand that they are not necessarily the best among the citizens, but that they have been saddled with the responsibility to lead.

She also made a case for parents to lead in the leadership training, stressing that children would always grow and imbibe the values around them.

To Sanwo-Olu, it is important to nurture  spiritual and political leadership in the younger ones. The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin, a lawyer, said the future of Nigeria rests on “our ability to nurture the next generation on the path of responsible leadership based on empathy.”

Oyebanji noted the leadership question has dominated public discourse, with many Nigerians describing the major problem of the country as leadership. “Indeed, the legendary literary giant, Chinua Achebe, once famously remarked in his book, The Trouble with Nigeria, that “the trouble with Nigeria is simply a failure of leadership,” he said.

 He said the “problem” of not having “good leaders” has been a generational accusation, recalling that during the colonial era, young, patriotic, highly intelligent and courageous people confronted the colonial leadership as symbol of oppression. However, when power landed on their palms after independence, the new indigenous leaders also became victims of accusation of incompetence and corruption. Later, the soldiers who sacked them from power  also  became a “worse version” of their complaint. Therefore, Oyebanji contenteded that “our search for good leaders and the proclivity for each generation to accuse the ruling class of their time as incompetent, corrupt and visionless is as old as this country.” He added that after a leadership is displaced, “we soon become nostalgic of the “good old days” of their leadership. Thus, we have remained an experimental laboratory in search of the ideal leadership personality, system and model.” The implication is that it is sometimes difficult to really understand the nature of the leadership challenge in Nigeria since the dynamics of power struggle  and oppositional politics can sometimes eclipse genuine leadership success.

Besides, leadership assessmen it could also be subjective, often determined by socio-political or ethno-religious affiliations, which makes the search for the ideal leadership to be harder, if not illusory.

 The question then, is who is a leader. Oyebanji pointed that many have restricted the concept of leadership to the activities of public office holders. In his view, this is not only misleading, but also dangerous. He described leadership as the position of influence and authority to command compliance for the overall progress and development of a particular organisation. To that extent, the governor submittedthat the national leadership of a nation and its character are essentially, the sum total of the leadership behaviours of the leaders at different layers of the society.

However,  a nation’s leadership starts from the household to the larger society. Every father, Oyebanji said, is a leader, every mother is a leader and every child is a leader.

Noting that at every level, the traits of leadership are identical, he added: “From being a class captain to becoming the president of a nation, the core values and skills of leadership are the same: responsibility, problem-solving, vision, fairness, firmness, prudence, transparency, temperance, resourcefulness, patience, responsiveness, creativity, accountability, fear of God, among others.” The governor emphasised that “one doesn’t need to hold political office to have these values and skills, nor should they get to public office before possessing them.”

 Oyebanji called for leadership education, stressing that leadership training must be as important as basic education for literacy and numeracy. Indeed, a major problem with leadership recruitment in Nigeria, as he pointed out, is that, people, sometimes, just find themselves in leadership positions without the right aptitude and attitude. Oyebanji said faulty recruitment has made the country to gamble with leadership selection through trial by error. “We sometimes look for folk heroes or messiahs; at another time, we select leaders on the basis of geo-politics and ethno-religious considerations,” he added.

 In his reckoning, there are those who become leaders by default or by circumstances of privileged pedigree and not because of personal merits. But, as he pointed out, “the best of leaders are those who have been trained, tested and exposed to the nitty-gritty of leadership, in addition to their innate ability.”

Another challenge is the lack of wherewithal by an average person to evaluate leadership competence due to the absenceof widespread knowledge about leadership as a skill.

Emphasising the value of training,  Oyebanji said:”Leadership is such a serious thing that being certified should be one of the requirements to hold certain strategic positions in the society.

“Evidence abounds that technical skills on jobs are not enough for people to lead competently; there is the need for real and special training in the art and science of leadership for people to succeed today.”

He added:”People should go through intentional  leadership training  before they can lead at some certain levels in the society. We all need to be well exposed to the call of leadership and how to manage a mass audience of people with differing characteristics, needs and tendencies”

Oyebani said Ekiti is serious about preparing the next generation of leaders through its ’catch-them-young’ curriculum that prepares  future leaders for leadership positions right from the primary school.

 He stressed: “As a result, we currently run a compulsory subject called Ekiti Values Education (EVE) with a considerable module that focuses on leadership development. The subject aims to teach young Ekiti children comprehensive aspects of leadership, responsibility of a leader and practical leadership exposure.

“It aims to raise their self-awareness about their individual roles as a member of the future leadership and to prepare them to face the challenge of nation building. “Even as we grapple with the challenges of this generation, we owe the future generation, in addition to providing pedagogical framework, the responsibility of personal example. This is because it is in the nature of young people to emulate their leaders. 

“So, where we have found ourselves as leaders, be it as traditional rulers, community leaders, religion leaders, business leaders, union leaders, professional leaders, academic leaders, judicial, legislative or executive leaders, we have a duty to be the paragon of example for the next generation.” He alluded to a quotation from the Maxwell Leadership Bible on our Lord Jesus Christ leadership model, saying: The governor best leadership simply expresses who we are . Jesus led from who He was: God incarnate, the perfect expression of the Father. As He pursued His divine mission, He influenced others. Similarly, as we pursue who God called us to be, our leadership will be most natural and effective”.

Ekiti State Commissioner for Information and former Deputy Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Taiwo Olatunbosun, in this interview with our Rasaq Ibrahim, speaks on governance in the Land of Honour and enumerates Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s government’s giant strides in the last two years.

Ekiti is one of the few states in Nigeria that have been able to attract Foreign Direct Investment in 2024. How has the Oyebanji-led administration been able to achieve this?

Yes, Ekiti is one of the few States in Nigeria that has successfully attracted Foreign Direct Investment in 2024. In fact, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), apart from Ekiti, only Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) attracted capital importation in the first quarter of 2024. How we did it is simple: good governance with proactive measures and policies that has engendered a conducive environment for both local and foreign investments. Key and strategic initiatives implemented by the administration within the two years of existence to attract investment include Investment Incentives under which our administration introduced tax breaks and incentives for foreign investors, making the region more attractive for businesses.

We also focus on Infrastructure Development with significant investments in infrastructure, such as roads and energy supply which has improved the business environment and reduced operational costs for investors.

The Oyebanji administration entrenched Ease of Doing Business with efforts to streamline regulations and reduce bureaucratic hurdles thus successfully creating a more investor-friendly climate with faster business registration processes and improved legal frameworks. We target specific sectors such as agriculture, technology and renewable energy which has helped to attract investment tailored to local strengths and global trends.

We also engage in active diplomacy and partnerships with foreign governments and businesses. We promote the region as a viable investment destination while laying emphasizes on skill development and education to guarantee a capable workforce that can meet the needs of foreign companies thus promoting local talent as well.

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Additionally, we must not diminish the amazing ability of Governor Oyebanji to unite political gladiators in the State and garner unflinching support of all stakeholders across all political divides for collective effort to develop the State as well as the astounding synergy amongst the different arms of Government.

This administration came on board on a mantra of a shared prosperity agenda strategically weaved around the six development pillars. Would you say this administration has fulfilled his electoral promises to the people of Ekiti state in two years considering the volume of funds received by the state in the years under review?

Yes, it has been two good years for the administration and I want to stress that the Governor Oyebanji has not embarked on any major borrowing other than the monthly overdraft we usually take from banks to pay salaries before the federal allocation comes into our account since the advent of this administration. It is also on record that there has been an increment in the revenue allocation from the Federal Government but there has also been a major increase in our IGR. From about N600 million per month at the advent of this administration to about N1.5 billion per month and it keeps increasing every month. I don’t know what you mean by “volume of funds received by the State in the years under review” but I can tell you that while the administration may have received significant funding, its effectiveness ultimately depended on how well it translates these resources into tangible benefits for the people of Ekiti State.

With all sense of accomplishment, I want to say that evaluating whether the Oyebanji-led administration has fulfilled its electoral promises in Ekiti State requires a nuanced look at the shared prosperity agenda and the six development pillars. If we consider key indicators like Infrastructure Improvements, Economic Growth, Social Services, Governance and Transparency as well as Public Feedback; it is obviously an unprecedented performance.

On infrastructural development, the BAO administration is concentrating on developing foundational products and services to increase the quality of life and stimulate long-term economic growth. Is it the road network that is successfully easing movement of goods and services without bias to the state of Federal roads in the State? All the 203 public secondary schools have been touched, renovated, and equipped to a global standard while not leaving out the over 900 primary schools in the State. It is actually on record that Ekiti State recorded a major improvement in Health indices recently released by Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) report. The report indicated that neonatal, infant, and Under- 5 Mortality in the State had reduced by over 50 percent in the past five years which surpassed its expected targets set four years ago.

These achievements can only be attributed to the strong political leadership and support provided by Governor Biodun Oyebanji, leading to huge investment in the health sector; regular meetings and reviews, accountability, teamwork as well as proper maintenance of fiscal fidelity, and ensuring accountability through which more development partners felt comfortable working with the state.

Cutting across all strata of society and political divide, all major stakeholders including all the past political leaders and heads of government in the State agree that the BAO administration is performing fantastically well. What more feedback is there to provide a grounded view of how the administration’s initiatives have impacted the state and the lives of the people?

How is the administration planning to sustain the tempo of development going forward looking at the fact that the political space in the state is expected to witness more activities leading to the 2026 governorship poll?

Are we talking about the 2026 governorship poll here or good governance? For now, the State Governor is concentrating on how to rapidly develop the State and see to the welfare of the people in line with his vision of shared prosperity for the State. I told you that this administration is strategic and methodical so everything is already mapped out. We shall, however, continue engaging all stakeholders in the state for inclusive governance in the overall interest of Ekiti State. It is a very transparent government that has successfully built the trust of the citizens, businesses, investors, and tourists in government to do what is perceived as right and fair which in reality, is one of the most important foundations upon which the legitimacy and sustainability of political systems are built.

Will you say the style of governance of Governor Biodun Oyebanji in the last two years in bringing leaders and stakeholders across political divides together working in the interest of the state? How?

Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s governance style over the last two years has emphasized collaboration and inclusivity among leaders and stakeholders from various political backgrounds.

He has indeed successfully created a more cohesive government and political environment that is collaborating to prioritize the state’s overall well-being.

His approach has been characterized by key strategies including dialogue and engagement, which has helped foster open communication and mutual understanding across party lines.

His Excellency’s inclusive governance encourages collaborative policy-making aimed at creating policies that reflect a broader consensus, addressing the needs of various groups within the state.

His focus on development is without bias to political affiliations which is boosting cooperation amongst different political bodies while his community engagement initiatives have also built a sense of ownership and participation among the populace, reinforcing the idea that governance is a collective effort.

The opposition PDP has described the 1.2km flyover bridge between Ijigbo Roundabout and Okeiyinmi in Ado-Ekiti as a misplaced priority, arguing that the money channel for the construction of the bridge should have been used for other developmental projects. What’s your take on this?

 My issue with this kind of criticism is that they never provide alternatives but run-down good projects. Let the purported critiques mention one sector that is lacking attention. Is it in the area of infrastructure, agriculture, technology, micro, small and medium scale enterprises, health care delivery, ICT, education, etcetera ad nauseam? I want to tell you that Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s administration is strategic in its approach to governance. With a huge foresight, the administration not only considers the short term benefits but also the long-term gains before embarking on projects. The flyover, to be specific, will ease traffic flow and ensure safety, improve socio-economic activities of the areas, and make lives and property of people more secure on the roads as well as add aesthetic value to the state capital.  The area was already becoming congested and it would have been a total disservice to the people to wait until it becomes almost impassable before finding a solution. It is a wonder that anybody, who is not self-serving, will condemn a project that will alleviate traffic congestion, boost economic activity, and assist the metropolis to sustain the status of a vibrant commercial center.

What are the legacies this administration intends to leave behind after the completion of its tenure?

Legacies? Several, starting from Good Governance and Transparency which is a very wide scope, Infrastructure Development, Economic Growth, Poverty Alleviation and Community Development, Education reform, Environmental sustainability as well as Public Safety and Security significantly improve public health, education, and living standards. What we are aiming at is to make Ekiti united, cohesive, peaceful and prosperous. That is the vision of Governor Oyebanji.

A few weeks ago, the Ekiti government signed a memorandum of understanding with four different Chinese firms on agriculture, infrastructure, energy, and aviation development. How will this help the administration to achieve programmes for the people?

These partnerships are aimed at assisting the Ekiti State Government to achieve its goals of sustainable development, economic growth, and improved living standards for its citizens. Governor Biodun Oyebanji had repeatedly explained that the strategy of his administration was to, in the first two year, develop infrastructure to a sustainable level that can drive other sectors and subsequently concentrate on building on the foundation. The signing of a Memorandum Of Understanding (MoU) between the Ekiti government and four Chinese firms in key sectors like agriculture, infrastructure, energy and aviation can significantly benefit the administration’s programs for the people in several ways including the introduction of advanced agricultural technologies, improved crop yields, and enhanced food security which is expected to lead to increased employment opportunities and better livelihoods for farmers and allied workers in the value food chain in the State.

The partnership will also lead to better roads and transportation of goods and services which will facilitate trade, improve access to markets, and enhance overall economic activities benefiting the local population. The partnership in Energy Projects is targeted at energy development to address power supply issues. Reliable energy sources can boost local businesses and industries, leading to job creation and improved quality of life for residents.

With the establishment of the Cargo International Airport, partnership for aviation development is to boost tourism and business travel, facilitate the movement of goods and services, generate revenue, create jobs, and generally boost the economy.

And of course, it is also a transfer of technology and capacity building to train and develop skills of local workers to empower the workforce and promote sustainable development.

We must not forget that foreign investment can stimulate economic growth, leading to a more robust local economy that can support public services and infrastructure development.

Governor Oyebanji has said on several occasions that the next year’s budget will primarily focus on agriculture and welfare of the citizens. Is this not a way of buying the people ahead of the 2026 election?

As I said earlier, we cannot rule out criticisms, both genuine and pretentious. Are we saying that Governor Oyebanji should jettison his laudable programmes so that it will not look like he does not want the continued support of the people?  What Mr. Governor said was that the State’s budget for 2025 would focus more on agriculture as part of efforts to ensure food sufficiency and make Ekiti the food basket of the Country and there is really nothing outrageous in that since the administration had always prioritized investment in agriculture, boost capacity of farmers and create a market for farm produce as part of efforts to boost food production and tackle food insecurity. In fact, the government’s deliberate investment in agriculture is already yielding the desired positive results and that is the primary goal. It is actually a plus that the people are supporting him in the process of rapidly developing the State and making life more meaningful for residents.

With the recently approved  N70,000 minimum wage, are workers in Ekiti not being left in the lurch? 

I can tell for free that Ekiti has the best salary structure for its workforce which only Lagos can rival. In fact, the all-inclusive salary structure is a further demonstration of our commitment and dedication to the general well-being of people in the state, particularly the workers. We are not only talking about the minimum wage but also the consequential adjustments of emoluments of all categories of workers in the State as well as pensioners.

The approval of the new salary structure followed extensive deliberations between the State Government and representatives of workers with an increase in salary of officers on GL.02-06 by 133%, GL. 07-GL.10 by 110%, GL.12 – GL.14 by 90%, GL. 15 – GL 16 by 77% and GL. 17 by 70% while pensioners would enjoy ₦20,000 increase across the board.

We must also not forget that the State Government is not neglecting any sector in the State. Artisans, farmers, entrepreneurs, market women, commercial drivers, cyclists and all. Not only will the new salary structure have a positive effect on the entire society but there are also government interventions cutting across all sectors aimed at making life easier for people in the State.  That is the focus.