Opinions

GSM: Starting well, finishing strong

If any current political office holder in Nigeria understands the dynamics of breasting tapes and finishing strong in Athletics, that person is Governor ‘Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.

Perhaps, it won’t be out of order to state that no current governor would have a better grasp of the concept more than GSM, who has participated in many international marathon events, including the Boston Marathon and the Berkeley Half Marathon, both in the United States of America, at different periods.

But while some people would argue that governance and race-running are different kettles of fish, wondering what could prompt the attempt to link them, I should say that Governor Makinde has, in the last 47 months, proved that there are, indeed, many similarities between track events and public administration.

For instance, it is common knowledge that an athlete who will succeed at either a sprint or distance race event must start on a very strong note and that such athlete must maintain a tenacious pace, which would culminate in a strong showing at the end of the race and contribute to whether or not he would breast the tape or fall by the wayside.

In Oyo State, Governor Makinde has been able to bring these time-tested principles of race-running to bear on governance and the resultant effects have been massive and visible across all sectors of the state. These effects, appropriately named the GSM Effect, have elicited beautiful testimonies from residents of Oyo State.

Young and old residents of the state have continued to give accolades to the governor for being able to turn around the fortunes of the state in four years, bring joy to the faces of his people and placing the state on a greater pedestal.

What these residents didn’t recognise was the fact that their governor is a determined and tenacious runner, who had once given an insight into the link between athletics and governance, when he stated that “I do not see myself as a sprinter but a long distance runner…,” explaining his strong preference for investment in processes, systems and time to get long time results, rather than hurried and momentary gains that do not last.

But though the governor reckoned himself to be a marathoner, he demonstrated the major trait of a sprinter in 2019, by starting on a strong note, hitting the ground running with far-reaching policy decisions on education, infrastructure development, security, health, economic expansion and many other sectors.

However, like a marathoner that he is, the governor sustained the superb tempo he started with across all these sectors and more, executing insightful policies and implementing major decisions, which have not only brought positive results to the state but also meaningfully impacted on its people.

From the education sector, where Governor Makinde declared an emergency in 2019 and cleared all hurdles that prevented qualitative education for children of the state, to the security sector, where he immediately launched an extensive initiative to secure the lives and properties of Oyo State residents, the governor showed the strong mentality of an athlete running towards a trophy and determined to reach the mark.

The same strong mentality and passion could be seen in the administration’s bullish drive on infrastructure development and economic growth, two sectors where residents of Oyo State residents continue to give accolades to Governor Makinde for changing the game for good.

In 47 months, Makinde the marathoner had pressed on towards the mark, weathering all sorts of storms, enduring distractions. That mark, the governor reckons, is the happiness of his people through a shared prosperity in line with his vision to move the state from poverty to prosperity.

And in those 47 long months, the state has harvested and enjoyed the fruits of the athletic governor’s passion and leadership, with a consistently improving Internally Generated Revenue and a fast-developing economy, many solid road projects, attraction of local and international investments running into billions and many other gains following.

The governor’s passion to make a difference in the education, health and security sectors have also yielded results including the restoration of more than 60,000 out-of-school children back to the classrooms, the renovation, equipment and staffing of over 260 Primary Health Care Centres across the 33 local governments of the state and the improved security across the length and breadth of the state.

By May 29, 2023, it would be four years since GSM has been running the race of making Oyo State better and in those four years, the crowd of Oyo State residents have cheered their runner on, giving strength and courage to the governor.

Indeed, in what would be the greatest cheer and the most important recognition for the governor, who has successfully married the experience of athletics to the art of governance, the crowd elected Makinde to continue running their race for another 48 months.

And, in doing so, the Oyo State voters had done it in the grandest of all styles, re-electing the governor with a margin of victory that was not only unprecedented but also a clear memo to other contestants that ‘they did not understand the Oyo State race and so dem no fit run am.’

In one month, the curtains will fall on Omituntun 1.0, the first lap of the race tagged roadmap for accelerated development, through which Governor Makinde delivered world-class, people-centred and visionary projects and initiatives to Oyo State. In one month, the Oyo State runner will be finishing strong, breasting the tape of a first administration that has brought greatness to the state.

But then, that will only be the beginning of another eventful race, as Governor Makinde has made it abundantly clear that Omituntun 1.0 is only a tip of the iceberg, a foretaste of more glorious developments to come or to say it in his words ‘the beginning of a long season film of development.’ He has declared that under Omituntun 2.0, the roadmap for sustainable development, the race will bring greater results and the cheering crowd of Oyo State residents believe him.

So, the race goes on.