As Fayemi takes over in Ekiti

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the maladministration of the outgoing government in Ekiti State was indeed a heavy cross to bear for the people. It was a four-year misadventure that plunged Ekiti people into the bottomless pit of despair and a major reason why they voted en masse for change, for freedom from the shackles of an infantile anti-people government.

This is why the change of baton day, Tuesday, October 16, 2018, promises to be a momentous and an unforgettable one in the lives of the citizenry.

The  significance of the day  won’t just be all about  Kayode Fayemi’s inauguration as the Sixth democratically elected  Governor of Ekiti State (his second coming, as he was also the Fourth) but also about the fact that an extremely dysfunctional system will officially shut down, effectively terminating the locust years of misrule, deceits, toil and tears, and restart, resulting in an epic system reboot that will once again usher in good governance, kick start the recovery of our long lost values as a people and  subsequently enable the retrieval of our collective heritage of pride, honour and valour.

Looking back at the events that played out during the stormy ride to the Government House, one can safely attribute success first to God and then to Fayemi’s antecedents in terms of his first term high level achievements and reputation as a promise keeper. Furthermore, his tenacity of purpose and a burning desire to pursue greatness for our dear state were forces that spurred him to electoral victory.

Like the way a lady bug goes after its garden prey, JKF held on strongly to the idea of coming back as Ekiti governor to finish the unfinished business which he referred to in his acceptance speech after winning the gubernatorial primaries as “the business of deepening our development footprint and making poverty history in this land.”

During his campaign tours, JKF, in an unprecedented manner, traversed the length and breadth of the state, visiting all the 133 towns and villages and telling each community what he did for them during his first term as governor. Armed with facts and figures, he told them about the number of schools he built, the hospitals or health centers that he constructed or renovated, the number of jobs he created, the number of people that were on social security in a particular town or village, and the list is endless.

For example, when he came calling at my own local government, Ekiti West LGA, he informed his crowded audience that 109 Infrastructure Projects were completed during his first term, a breakdown of which showed that Aramoko had 42, Erinjinyan-21, Erio-4, Ido-Ile-6, Ikogosi-8, Ipole-Iloro-7, and Okemesi my home town had 21. Further to this, Total Jobs Created in the LGA was 776; Social Welfare Beneficiaries were 1266; Total Education Projects/Classrooms Constructed was 59; while Ongoing Projects by 2014 were 35. This was the pattern for reeling out his performance statistics in every local government and it remains unique in the annals of electioneering campaigns in Ekiti state and beyond.

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It is therefore not a surprise that the people’s expectations as regards better and meaningful living are already at fever pitch. They expect the transformation, reformation and regeneration  to begin earnestly so that in  no distant future, Ekiti people would again start to enjoy the dividends of democracy and  other freebees associated with good governance that were denied them in the last four years by the outgoing directionless  government in the state.

Thankfully, the incoming governor, Kayode Fayemi is fully prepared for the uphill task of transforming the flawed system and correcting the ills of the past with the silver bullet, a seemingly magical solution to vexing problems of growth and development that had bedeviled the state for years.

For example, the incoming administration is set to create several opportunities that would further enrich the lives of the citizenry in a humongous manner through life lifting initiatives and programs in various sectors of the state economy such as healthcare, agriculture, education and capacity building, enterprise development, among others.

Once again, the youths, the elderly, women folk, children, the disabled and other vulnerable ones in the society, would begin to feel the positive impact of good governance through veritable social inclusion and empowerment programs that promise to make life more meaningful and livable for them.

Further to this, participatory governance, a typical government of the people, by the people and for the people initiative that was responsible for phenomenal development of the rural communities during Fayemi’s first term will be back in full swing. The idea being that through periodical town hall meetings superintended by the governor himself, the rural majority as stakeholders are to determine their needs in order of priority, meaning that government would not foist on the communities unwanted or unnecessary projects and programs, as was the case under the Fayose administration.

This explains why Ekiti people have started referring to the incoming administration as “our government” (Ijoba wa) and not as “Fayemi’s government” (Ijoba Fayemi), since everybody is expected to be a partaker in taking decisions on the desired developmental projects in their respective communities, which are then included in the next state annual budget for prompt execution, based on available resources.

Seemingly, Ekiti people have made the right choice this time around by giving their mandate to Kayode Fayemi, a tested and trusted pragmatic leader who is determined to take Ekiti to the next level of prosperity and abundance through efficient management and equitable distribution of the state’s meager resources, so much that every community would have a fair share of the common wealth.

Ogunremi, a public analyst writes from Ado Ekiti.