Why Oyetola should be re-elected to a second term, By Niyi Akinnaso

This is the time for Osun voters to emphasise continuity, instead of change, in order for Oyetola to complete existing projects and implement new ones.

July 15, 2022

Reading Time: 5 mins read

Governor Gboyega-Oyetola

As affirmed by the APC mega rally in Osogbo on Tuesday, July 12, there is no alternative to re-electing Oyetola, if Osun is to remain peaceful, progressive, and a safe haven for citizens and investors alike. Besides, there are many projects he initiated but which time has not permitted him to carry out fully, especially with regard to expanding the agriculture value chain, enhancing youth employment, and building technology infrastructure for education.

The governorship election in Osun State comes up in less than 24 hours. Although as many as 15 candidates are listed for as many political parties, the election is believed to be a repeat contest between the two frontrunners, the incumbent governor, Gboyega Oyetola, of the All Progressives Congress (APC)and Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

There are several strong reasons why the current governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola, should, and will, be re-elected to a second term on Saturday, July 16. First and foremost is the need to continue the progressive governance begun by Chief Bisi Akande from 1999 to 2003 and elaborated upon by former Governor Rauf Aregbesola between 2010 and 2018.

Governor Oyetola took up the progressive baton in 2018 and has been running successfully and methodically with the tenets of progressive governance, which privileges the advancement of the human condition through social reforms in the economy, infrastructure, healthcare, education, social welfare, and the peaceful coexistence of citizens. The overall goal is to bring the maximum benefits to the largest number of people.

Accordingly, during the first year of his administration, Oyetola sought to boost the State’s economy by establishing a policy on gold mining, which focuses on attracting revenue by eliminating illegal mining. This was followed by a well attended Economic Summit, which attracted various investors to the State. In addition, he restructured the Internally Generated Revenue Department, by hiring an experienced tax manager to head the Department.

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Rather than listen to market noise about industrialisation or adopt a diffuse focus on several industrial projects at the same time, Oyetola focused on gold mining, which led to the State’s partnership with a Canadian listed gold developer. The result has been impressive. In no time, the first and only large-scale commercial gold mine in the country was established and production has begun. Illegal mining has been curtailed and further spoilage of the environment checked. In due course, the mine is expected to become a major employment generator for youths and a wealth creator for gold entrepreneurs.

The stride in infrastructural development has been more than impressive. Oyetola has constructed or renovated over 2,000 kilometres of roads, including theGbongan–Akoda road, Ikirun-Iragbiji road, Osogbo- Kelebe-Iragbiji road, Idi-Odan-Anaye-Araromi road, Ada-Igbajo township road, Ede-Ara-Ejigbo road, Moro-Yakoyo-Ipetumodu-Asipa road, Akindeko-Awosuru-Alekunwodo road, Osogbo-Kelebe-Iragbiji road, Ikirun-Ekoende road; Aagba road, and Modakeke-Famia road. To cap it all, he started and completed the Ola Iya Flyover virtually within one year, to aid the free flow of traffic and curtail accidents in the State’s busiest road junction, where major roads from various states converge.

Oyetola’s achievements in the health sector are even more remarkable. He constructed or renovated and also equipped 332 primary health centres, one in each ward in the State, thereby bringing healthcare closer to the people. At the same time, he improved significantly on the State’s major referral hospital, the State Specialist Hospital in Asubiaro, Osogbo. What he accomplished in this Hospital is beyond ordinary: In addition to a 120-bed ward, he constructed a new Children’s Ward; a Surgical Ward;a Trauma Centre; a Blood Bank Building; and 30 units of Doctors’ Quarters. He also renovated the General Hospitals in Ejigbo and Ifetedo.

In pursuance of his workers’ welfare policy, he paid special attention to the health of public and civil servants, by renovating the Government House and the State Secretariat Staff Clinics. On top of it all, he established the Osun Health Insurance Scheme, to which subscription has been growing steadily.

The regular payment of workers’ salaries and pensions deserves special mention. Ordinarily, the regular payment of workers’ entitlements should not be regarded as an achievement as such. However, in the special circumstances that federal and state governments have found themselves, in which the majority of state governments owe arrears of salaries and pensions,Oyetola’s achievements in this regard are spectacular. Particularly when the three financial deficits he inherited are duly considered, namely, (a) arrears of salaries and pensions; (b) debt servicing on loans for capital projects; and (c) dwindling federal allocations and stunted Internally General Revenue for the first two years of his administration.

The two-year delay in the effective take-off of his administration should be considered in assessing Oyetola’s achievements. It will be recalled that the administration was virtually in limbo for the first six months as it faced election litigation that went all the way to the Supreme Court. To complicate matters, COVID-19 hit just as the administration was taking off, thereby putting everything on hold for another 18 months. Within this period, the #EndSARS protest took place with devastating destruction of various private and public facilities, including the governor’s vehicle. Effectively, then, the above achievements occurred within a short span of less than two years.

How was Oyetola able to accomplish this much in so little time? Three key factors have been working in his favour — his personality and demeanour; his knowledge of finance and the financial world; and the governance model he developed.

Oyetola is a calm, cool-headed, and reflective personality, who listens attentively to suggestions and alternative viewpoints. He remains cool, even in the face of internal and external provocations. He upholds and practices the age-old saying: Á kìí gbọ́ búburú lẹ́nu abo̩rẹ̀ (the leader or pacesetter never speaks evil).

In the bid to advance the human condition, he developed a governance template anchored on inclusive, participatory, and transparent governance. I participated in the development of this template. It rests on the people’s input at every turn and takes their demands as the starting point of participatory democracy. Thus, at the beginning of his administration, Oyetola sought public opinion through Town Hall meetings and a Citizens Needs Assessment, conducted by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), recently replaced by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

While participatory democracy is key to progressive governance, it could lead to conflict between two successive administrations, particularly when the electorate demands a change in policies they didn’t like during the preceding administration. That was the case with the changes that Oyetola made to the education policies established by his immediate predecessor.

Although abundant evidence exists that the changes were in response to the people’s demands, no argument could convince his predecessor that they were not premeditated (for details, see Continuity and change in Osun’s education policies, The Nation, March 11, 2020 and Premium Times of the same date). Oyetola’s relief lies in the general acceptability of the changes throughout the State.

Another factor underlying Oyetola’s achievements is his superb understanding of financial management. This is a critical asset at a time when the State is in dire financial straits. He brought into governance a sound university training in insurance and business administration; years of experience as an Insurance guru; and enviable boardroom expertise. His financial background allowed him to develop an alternative financing model, which attracts only contractors who would do the job within a limited time but take agreed staggered payments over a specified but short period of time. This is a smart alternative to borrowing from financial institutions with prohibitive interest rates and long-term payment burdens.

Realising that not much could be achieved in an insecure environment, Oyetola quickly built on the amity established by the preceding administration between the Fulani community and their herders, on the one hand, and farmers and villagers, on the other hand. He was among the first to embrace and set up Amotekun in the South_West and link the activities of its officers with Police enforcement. He equipped both the Police and Amotekun and got them to nab bank robbers, cultists and Yahoo Boys in the State, while keeping kidnappers away. Today, Osun is adjudged to be the safest State in the country.

As affirmed by the APC mega rally in Osogbo on Tuesday, July 12, there is no alternative to re-electing Oyetola, if Osun is to remain peaceful, progressive, and a safe haven for citizens and investors alike. Besides, there are many projects he initiated but which time has not permitted him to carry out fully, especially with regard to expanding the agriculture value chain, enhancing youth employment, and building technology infrastructure for education.

This is the time for Osun voters to emphasise continuity, instead of change, in order for Oyetola to complete existing projects and implement new ones. This is not the time to experiment with a candidate with neither a verifiable academic background nor governance experience. Osun is the State of known top level professionals in medicine, law, engineering, architecture, and so on. It is the State of origin of reputable university vice chancellors, the home State of notable religious leaders, and the acclaimed origin of the Yoruba people.

The ascendancy of a leading Yoruba politician to the 2023 presidential ticket on the platform of the APC invites Osun citizens to vote Oyetola both to provide a better chance to elect the APC presidential candidate and secure the State a better political capital for accessing necessary resources at the centre.

It is for these reasons that Oyetola attracted the endorsements of majority of the State’s traditional and religious leaders; the elite and the masses; all the workers’ unions; professionals; and a cross-section of voters in the State, as revealed in consecutive opinion polls. Voters have the opportunity to give Oyetola a resounding mandate tomorrow. This is a direct challenge to registered APC members, who should troop out en masse to ensure the election of their candidate.

Niyi Akinnaso, chairman of Professorial Associates Limited, contributed this piece from Akure, Ondo State.

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This is the time for Osun voters to emphasise continuity, instead of change, in order for Oyetola to complete existing projects and implement new ones.

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