2023: As Makinde signs fresh pact with Oyo residents

Like the wise builder in Jesus’ parable in Matthew chapter 7, who chose to build on the rock while his colleague embraced folly by building on sand and having to face the damning consequence of a building collapse, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, has chosen the path of wisdom ahead of the 2023 governorship election in the state.

The governor, in a move that appears to prove him as a student of popular former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, who said that the farther backward one can look, the farther forward one can see, had on November 22, 2022, kick-started a process that will see him engage in consultative meetings and town meetings across the seven zones of the state.

These meetings will herald the flag-off of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign for the 2023 general election. But the imperative of such meetings goes beyond being the forerunner of the campaign; it points at a leadership that seeks the views of the people and wants to know how best to move forward in serving them.

As Winston Churchill believed, the past has the capacity to shape the future and it can also give the fillip needed for reinvention. By engaging members of the party and residents of the state in consultative and town meetings, Governor Makinde is creating an avenue to know how far his government has come, appeal to frayed nerves and get first-hand feedback on areas where improvements are necessary.

At the Atiba Hall, Oyo venue of the Oyo Zone Town Hall Meeting, the governor gave his scorecard in Oyo zone, mentioning how in only three years and a few months, his administration has been able to deliver the dividends of democracy to the historic Oyo town and its environs. From quality infrastructure through Asipa-Sabo-Gedu-Oroki Road, the Light-up Oyo project, the renovation and equipment of Primary Health Centres to the construction of the ultra-modern Akesan Market, the governor had given stewardship of his service to the people.

But unlike in other instances where the leader’s words mark the end of discussion, the governor had equally listened to the people as they commended him for what he had done and demanded that efforts be made to correct what was left undone.

A day earlier, the governor had equally listened to all sides and sought amicable resolution of all grievances within the party in Oyo Zone.

Yesterday [Wednesday, 30 November, 2022], Governor Makinde’s consultative train moved to Ogbomoso, where he also worked assiduously to unite all tendencies in Ogbomoso PDP, with the Town Hall Meeting to follow today, Thursday, while the train moves to Oke Ogun, Ibarapa and Ibadan zones in the coming days.

Consultative meetings and citizen engagements are weapons, which Governor Makinde has used effectively to the state’s benefit in the last few years. The administration has exploited this veritable platform to collate the views and aspirations of Oyo State residents ahead of preparing the annual budgets of the state and it has worked effectively in helping the government come up with people-centric budgets. Therefore, the decision of the governor and the PDP to engage all party members and residents in preparation for the state’s upgrade from Omituntun 1.0 [accelerated development] to Omituntun 2.0 [sustainable development], is a proof of how deserving Governor Makinde is of the name ‘Fogbontolu,’ which some loyalists named him.

For non-Yoruba speakers, Fogbontolu simply means someone who administers with wisdom. If there is any accolade which Governor Makinde deserves in his three years and six months administration, it is applause for being a maverick administrator and running a governance of simple ideas that produces great results. It was, therefore, not a surprise that Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State, pointedly gave the deserved plaudits to Makinde for being a good governor despite being an APC leader.

Mallam el-Rufai had, while speaking at the IITA, gone a step forward by declaring, to the chagrin of everyone, that it would be difficult to unseat GSM. Though he only revealed a known secret, there is the need to clarify that Governor Makinde qualifies as a good governor not because of the grand infrastructure projects or the sound policies he has put in place since assuming office, but because he has the rare quality of being a listening leader.

Interestingly, these consultative fora and Town Hall Meetings will give GSM the opportunity to remind the people of the state why they preferred him to Adebayo Adelabu in 2019 and why they should move forward with him in 2023, as he will listen and give insight into why certain decisions were taken while also making commitments to improve where necessary.

The governor has demonstrated the attribute of a listening and empathetic leadership time and again, as he listened and acted on the yearning of Oyo State people, though the opposition elements were often quick to criticise him for what they wrongly described as populism or policy somersault, especially at the early part of the government. It is, however, gratifying that the attribute has, today, shown GSM as a man of wisdom and the kind of leader Oyo State needs; the leader who would not shy away from hearing the hard truth and would not feel too big to make corrections.

All through the last three and a half years, the governor never missed an opportunity to say one or all of these things: That the fact that he and his team are in government does not mean they are the most intelligent; that anyone with ideas on how to make things better should come forward; that anyone who sees something should say something. As the government moves from one zone of the state to another, I am confident that the governor will say these again, urging his people not to go into a conspiracy of silence, which would not augur well for the future of the Pacesetter State.

So, in case you have not heard, Governor Makinde might be passing by your place, seeking to listen to you as he loves to do and soliciting that you march forward with him to Omituntun 2.0, the Eldorado of sustainable development, wouldn’t you rather join the train?

Alao is the Special Assistant (Print Media) to Governor ‘Seyi Makinde