“Being a leader should not be seen as a leeway to dominate and dictate but as a privilege and opportunity to serve and leave a lasting legacy of positive change and continued growth.” – Seyi Makinde.
In his inaugural speech after his election and swearing-in ceremony as the governor of Oyo state, Seyi Makinde, informed the people that witnessed the occasion that he would offer himself to serve the people and that he would work tirelessly and take responsibility for the workings of every sector.
He forthrightly told the gathering “while I will delegate effectively, the buck will stop with me. I want you to hold me accountable and I will also hold you accountable as we work as partners to bring Oyo State to glory. We will be a progressive administration; building on the programmes of past administrations that were structured properly and have been beneficial to the masses. When the need arises, we will consult our predecessors and draw on their experiences. We will put aside partisan politics for the good of our state.”
Prior to his election as governor of Oyo State, Makinde had never held a public office. So, unlike the typical Nigerian politicians, Makinde was bold to tell the people that he would not disappoint them and that they should prepare themselves for unprecedented development of the state.
Barely 100 days after the governor made the promise, the people are indeed experiencing unprecedented development with him at the helm of affairs in the state. Yes, the governor has been rewarding the people who trusted him with votes with unprecedented development across the state.
Governor Makinde has been a fortress of hope for the people of Oyo State since his assumption of office; he has been striving to walk his talk about giving the state focused and qualitative governance by creating an enduring economic development and individual prosperity for the people of the state.
Makinde, fondly called GSM by his supporters did something unprecedented by releasing a detailed declaration of his assets to the public, an action that was unmatched in the history of Oyo State and Nigeria as a whole. He said from inception that his government would thrive on a four-point agenda of improved healthcare delivery, sound and competitive educational sector, safe and stable polity through the enthronement of a security architecture that ensures safety; and the creation of a robust economic expansion programme that would soon become the desire of others.
Shortly after his inauguration, Makinde cancelled the N3, 000 being paid by students in public secondary schools in the state and made entrance forms to all public primary schools free, while also putting machinery in motion to ensure strict compliance with the directive.
Furthermore, to ensure the reduction of out-of-school children in the state, a six-million-dollar grant has been obtained, courtesy of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and the World Bank, just as many of the dilapidated schools have received a facelift to allow the children learn in a conducive environment. Even teachers in Oyo State could not but applaud Makinde’s achievements in within few months in office describing him as a performer with unequal giant strides.
According to the chairman of the state wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Tojuade Adedoyin, Governor Makinde is already repositioning the state for better service delivery. Because, he values education, Makinde promised to allocate 10 per cent yearly budget to education, and the promotion of graduate teachers to salary grade level 15 and more. Importantly, his promotion of free, compulsory and qualitative education in the state is worthy of commendation.
On health care, he has shown commitment to making Adeoyo State Hospital a tourist destination in Nigeria with the inauguration of the radiology unit and rehabilitation of the hospital’s second gate. In the area of healthcare delivery, the governor visited the state-owned Adeoyo Hospital for assessment of the facilities on the ground and expressed disappointment at the deplorable state of the facility.
He therefore promised to provide a functional radiography unit for the hospital, as part of measures to raise the hospital to international standards and address the issue of medical tourism in the country.
Today, transformation work has commenced in many state health institutions and primary healthcare centres across the state.
He appointed the first-ever female Secretary to the State Government, in the person of Mrs. Olubamiwo Adeosun and other technocrats who have proved their mettle in various fields and in the same vein, his Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Seun Fakorede, at 27, has the versatility and charisma to turn around the fortunes of Shooting Stars.
Also, the Ibadan Central Abattoir and the silo construction project, among others, have been visited by the governor and the visit afforded stakeholders the opportunity to air their grievances.
At the meeting, the governor made it clear that he was not out to destroy any known project of past administrations but would do the needful to ensure that public funds expended on them yield the desired value to the people.
Makinde engineered a new security architecture aimed at complementing the efforts of the police and other security operatives in fighting crime in every nook and cranny of Oyo State. This is apart from the procurement of 100 surveillance vehicles worth over N800million to further strengthen the security agencies across the state.
No doubt, Governor Makinde will continue to set the pace by creating opportunities for all Oyo State citizens, regardless of where they live.
- Fowoyo, chairman of National Association of Judicial Correspondents, wrote from Lagos
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