The Olowo of Owo Kingdom, Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye II, has joined the growing list of prominent Yoruba traditional rulers and leaders who have applauded President Bola Tinubu over the appointment of Dr Charles Akinola as the Managing Director of the South West Development Commission (SWDC).
Akinola, a seasoned public policy advisor and development strategist with over 30 years of experience in public service, was appointed on 8 May 2025 by President Tinubu as the pioneer MD of the SWDC.
Oba Ogunoye, while speaking with newsmen, described Dr Akinola’s appointment as putting a square peg in a square hole, saying he would facilitate social and economic development in the South West based on his training, political experience, and exposure.
The monarch further described the appointment as a call to service, assuring that Akinola would deliver selfless service for the benefit of the people of Yoruba land.
“The appointment of Dr Akinola, I believe, is in the right direction. Dr Akinola is a square peg in a square hole. He is eminently qualified, and going by his experiences over the years, his training, and his political experiences, I believe it is gratifying that such a wonderful personality has been found worthy by President Tinubu for appointment as the MD of SWDC.
“Dr Akinola is a man of good character, of good learning, and a man who is out to work for the interest of the Yoruba people. Being given this appointment, I believe that he will be all out to serve the good people of Yoruba land. This is a call to service, and I know that he will give selfless service for the benefit of the people of Yoruba land. I know for sure that he will use his political connections for our benefit,” the monarch assured.
Oba Ogunoye, while appreciating President Tinubu for selecting the appointee, whom he described as a wonderful personality, to lead such a highly demanding office, spoke about Dr Akinola’s early days in the Kingdom of Owo, saying that the principle of Omoluabi, imbibed by him during his formative years, would help put him on a trajectory of growth and development for the region.
“He is a man who has a great connection with this great Kingdom of Owo. His early years in life were in Owo, so I believe he has imbibed our character and must have it within him for the task ahead. The good people of Yoruba will expect much more deliverables from the SWDC, as recently passed into law by Mr President.
“We appreciate Mr President for finding this wonderful personality to be entrusted with these moral roles and such a highly demanding office,” he said.
The traditional ruler, however, charged Dr Akinola to prioritise the security of lives, properties, agriculture, employment, and skill acquisition for youths, saying that he should ensure the training of young people in skilled labour, such as carpentry, and the revitalisation of technical colleges for their education, rather than producing university graduates without skills, thereby increasing the unemployment rate.
“State police is coming up now, as the idea has been generally accepted throughout Nigeria. So, the commission should be at the forefront of the training of personnel and equipment for the policing system that will cover Yoruba land, either collectively as a civil unit of policing authority in the South West or on the individual basis of the states.
“The commission should network across the length and breadth of Yoruba land and ensure that our policing system is top-notch and well-equipped with modern facilities, especially using Information Communication Technology (ICT), to secure the South West.
“On agriculture, value should be added to agricultural produce. Value addition to agricultural products, small-scale, large-scale, and medium-scale industries in all agricultural sectors must be considered. The commission must think about the establishment of clusters of industries that will process our agricultural produce.
“We have to drive our agriculture through value addition and primarily towards exports to earn foreign exchange. I think this will go a long way in enabling the Yoruba nation to be much richer and foremost among other regions,” Oba Ogunoye stated.
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