In this piece, Oye Arulogun highlights the achievements of Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi and contends that he deserves a second term.
Oyo State possesses an unrivalled history of intellectual, political, and socio-economic feats which lend credence to its sobriquet of “The Pace Setter”. Matter of factly, as Nigeria celebrates its centenary year as a nation, any documentation of any type and form, from whichever perspective, cannot be credible without ample space for Oyo State, the land of many firsts.
Needless to say, such a pivotal entity in the evolution of the Nigerian nation deserves a visionary, missionary, dynamic and charismatic leadership, not only to retain and maintain its pace-setting status for leadership position in the Nigerian comity of states, but to affect positively the lives and psyche of the people. Sadly, leaders of the recent past fell short of this expectation running the state both into comatose and decadence paralysis.
The major surgical operation required for the resuscitation of the state has been the occupation of Senator Abiola Ajimobi in his a thousand days in office, exceeding the expectations of the people of Oyo State, to the chagrin of die-hard critics. The worst of cynics and best of competitors are jaw-dropingly stunned by the quick and very visible recovery rate of the “patient” albeit refusing to appreciate Ajimobi’s unparalleled achievements.
So, what is unique about him and his government in the last 1000 days? Perhaps the most outstanding is the new lease of peaceful life propelling socio-economic activities and a night life renaissance in the state, clearly, a departure from the reign of chaos and anarchy which hitherto engulfed the state. It could also be argued that Ajimobi government’s uniqueness is in the Oyo State House of Assembly where a delicate balance exists amongst parties yet no fracas, mace hijacking or breaking in the former “ House of Horror” which impeached a dour, colourless and unenchanting governor, despite an overwhelming majority of his party. It must have been leadership and sagacity that exist in Ajimobi.
The uniqueness of his 1000 days could also be the civil servants who are reveling in an unprecedented cordial relationship with the Oyo State government which pays their salaries and allowances as at when due, including the luxury of the 13th month salary in full, for three consecutive years, plus free transportation to and fro work. Or the 12,211 teaching and non teaching staff in secondary schools and the 1,714 civil servants across cadres who have been promoted or the over 13,000 who have undergone training and capacity building both locally and internationally. Could it be the thousands of pensioners who are enjoying the payment of all arrears in addition to a 142 per cent increase in their pensions?
So, what is unique about Ajimobi’s 1000 days? Without doubt, it may well be the Trade and Investment Community where street traders are being relocated to neighbourhood shopping complexes in which shops are allocated free of charge with the added incentive of interest free revolving grants as financial injections to their trade through the various associations. Or the owners of the new investments taking advantage of the new clime to pursue their interests, birthing the largest Telecommunications Support Service Provider in Nigeria, the largest Day Old Chick Producer in West Africa, The Largest Bakery in West Africa, the Largest Soya Milk Producer in Nigeria to mention a few.
It may be the Education Family who are ecstatic over the progressive rise of Oyo State in the WAEC exams from 34th in 2011, to 23rd in 2012 and 13th in 2013, the reduction of school fees by fifty percent in tertiary institutions, payment of WAEC fees, free transportation to and fro school for students, the establishment of the first-of-its-kind-in-Africa The Technical University Ibadan, in collaboration with The Technical University of Houston, Texas, payment of bursaries and scholarship awards to students of Oyo State origin in tertiary institutions and Law School to the tune of One Hundred Million Naira, reintroduction of running grants for schools, rehabilitation of over 1500 blocks of classrooms, provision of science laboratory equipment and furniture to both primary and secondary schools and the soon to arrive model schools.
The uniqueness of Ajimobi may also be in residents nor non-residents of Oyo State who are users of the over 250 roads, one flyover, 12 bridges either rehabilitated or newly constructed, in an unprecedented massive infrastructural development highlighted by the dualization of all the major entry roads to major towns in the state. Could it be transit commuters who arrive to behold the new Oyo State, with its cleaner and beautified environment or those who now drive through Iwo Road Round About in a matter of minutes as opposed to hours unend?
Are you imagining it is the close to a million people across the 33 local government areas of the state who have enjoyed free medical services in the Ajimobi Administration’s Free Medical Mission or the one thousand recently employed medical personnel (three hundred of whom are medical doctors), whose patients can reach the hospitals that are undergoing rehabilitation faster with the Ajumose Ambulances of both the bus and tricycle types? Save yourself the mental labour. Ask the operators in the hospitality industry whose books are recording higher figures or the inhabitants of Ibadan whose dry taps have become wet again with public water supply seventeen years after. Inquire from residents across the state that now commute in the subsidized Ajumose buses with the highest fee of fifty naira for a trip with a two hundred naira commercial value and they will tell you they are as happy as the farmers who derive tremendous benefits from the 320 tractors purchased for them by the Ajimobi administration.
With all these in mind, who then is afraid of Ajimobi’s second term? They are well known and come in different shapes and sizes. They are the haters of the change in the governance landscape and the raising of the bar in service delivery to the people who want to take us down retrogression lane. They are the rumour specialists and marabout-consulting conmen. Some have been tasteless and bland occupiers of the governor’s office but want to return to enjoy Ajimobi’s makeover of the rusty office with a new ambience, truly gubernatorial environment and tasteful outlook. No doubt, Ajimobi’s performance has opened the eyes of the people who now loath them for frittering away the resources of the state and running visionless governments.
Others are silk-gowned geriatrics who thrive on boundary conflicts and possess the notoriety for numeric deceptions. Reputed for their parsimony, they now function as the arrowhead of a fruit of my loin campaign machinery lacking the restraint, wisdom and maturity typically associated with sound minds that have spent just two thirds of their number of years on earth.
The pretenders also abound taking undue advantage of the political times to position as contenders. They acknowledge publicly that like a fish out of water, they cannot survive the terrain but hope to seize the momentum for future negotiations. Surprising elements are those who have benefitted from Ajimobi’s largesse and eaten on his table but now defecating on the dining chair. This group can at best be acknowledged as poster candidates. In their very own minds, they know they do not have a chance, not even their wives or children will vote for them but the emptiness of their diaries forces them to create a job schedule for themselves out of politics.
The political equation in Oyo state has changed from analogue to digital, from monologue to dialogue, from individual to collective, from servitude to service, from no rules to set rules, no standards to high standards. In a thousand days in office, Ajimobi has shifted the governance paradigm. It will never be the same in Oyo State.
•Arulogun, is Special Adviser on Public Affairs, to the governor.
