We are setting up Oyo as haven for investors and unprecedented Human Development Index —Makinde

As part of activities commemorating his first year in office, Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, granted an interview which was monitored live on the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS). The interview touched on the programmes, policies and challenges of his administration in the last one year. Excerpts:

IT is 365 days since you were inaugurated as the governor of Oyo State. Looking at the last 12 months, what would you say is on the ground now compared to the days before your assumption of office?

We thought we were dealing with a transparent system and we tried to have a feel of what is going on in there but when we came in, we found out that things are not really as transparent as they ought to have been but we kept digging. If you listened to my inaugural address, one thing emphasised to the people was that there must be continuity in governance; that any project that has been started by the previous administration, which is beneficial to the people of Oyo State, will be completed. Quite frankly, administrations will come and go but our state will remain. Those previous administrations did not use their personal funds but put our commonwealth into those projects and we have to derive value from them.

That is what we have been doing for the last one year. I have heard people say we are commissioning other people’s projects but let me tell them now that we have been extracting value for Oyo State’s money from the projects the previous administrations started. It will interest you to know that we met projects that were started as far back as 2003, even up to the time of Alhaji Lam Adesina.

Recently, we went to commission the Police Mobile Squadron 72 in Ago-Are. That location was given to us by the Nigerian Tobacco Company and, on our way back, we stopped at Ijaye in Akinyele Local government. The Quarry and Asphalt plant there had been moribund. It was started by High Chief Rashidi Ladoja’s administration and there was an attempt during Chief Adebayo Alao- Akala’s time to put it back into shape but it was not successful. For like eight years, there was nothing, because the government did not put in a dime. We had to invite private investor and they came in. They put in their money and that place is alive now.

In some way, we met things rotten than we thought but we promised the people that we were not going to look back but always focus on the future. That is exactly what we have been doing. So, when you take such approach, nothing will surprise you, because whatever you see, you take it like that and forge ahead. That is what we have been doing so far.

When you came in, you met some debts on ground. Were you not disturbed about how to fix the situation?

True, we met huge debts when we came in. When we investigated it in Debt Management Office, we discovered that Oyo State was owing N99 Billion and foreign debt was 137 Million Dollars. If you calculate and convert everything together, it is about 150 Billion Naira. We found out further and saw that when Governor Alao- Akala was leaving office, he left N4.8 Billion. So, it means the administrations of 2011 till 2019 borrowed more than N145 Billion. I came from a private sector where borrowing is not really an issue. To borrow money is not a problem because, sometimes, if you are expanding, you need to borrow but in such a way that it will be convenient for you to pay back and not leave the cross for the upcoming governments to bear. You should not borrow for consumption. We can borrow to expand economy and for infrastructure too. But we cannot be crying over spilled milk. So, we saw all these things and we thought we should be transparent with what we met on the ground. We have also moved forward to take charge of the amount that should be debited from federal allocation for the state. When we saw they wanted to borrow for what would not yield anything good for the economy of the state, as the governor-elect, I went to Court and blocked them from accessing the money; about N7.6 Billion, which they had already signed. I wrote the Central Bank of Nigeria and we planned that the loan should be diverted to develop our farm estates in Eruwa and Akufo. And after we are done with that and they have seen what we have been able to put up there, we will develop other farm settlements into farm estates.

When we came in, there was really no money. As a matter of fact, all political appointees were using their personal cars until after the first anniversary in office, we just started giving cars to some commissioners and other political appointees. Let me sound this again clearly, we have not come to feather our nest but to serve the people of Oyo State and that has been our guiding principle. We want to use the Moniya-Iseyin road as a heartbeat to expand our economy. When you talk about expanding agribusiness in the state, we need to open up Oke-Ogun. By the time the Moniya-Iseyin road is completed, it will be a flagship project and that is the standard we want to maintain.

Recently, we sought a N2.5 Billion loan to be injected into our health sector to deal with the spread of COVID- 19 and further expand our health care facilities. Also, we sought for another N20 Billion for some other infrastructure projects that we want to do; junction improvement, light-up project and ultra-modern bus terminals. So, we are actually on the path to doing these.

There are two major ways that you can get revenue. One is either through the federal allocation or your Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). When we came in, we were generating less than N2 Billion in IGR and about N5 Billion of federal allocation was coming to the state. The salaries for the civil and public servants as of then were still around that amount.

If you ask anybody who wants to leave Lagos to any state in the South-West, Ibadan will be the first choice for them. For us, we are also the regional capital. Certain things were done in the past. We had Cocoa House, road infrastructure and all that but we allowed them to decay. The impression being created in some circles is that Oyo State has not been doing enough in handling the COVID- 19 challenges?

Six months ago, nobody could have known that the entire world will be brought down by this virus but in Oyo State, coming from an Engineering background, I said our reaction will be driven by science, logic and data and, so far, we have not failed. Many have called us to lock down but we said we would not because we were trying to look after the well-being of our people and their economic well-being. So, we had to strike a balance. Also, we gathered experts in the health sector, professors and doctors, who exist and live in this state.

We all came together to see how logical we could go on the issue of shut down without having what to give to the people. The N5,000 some of our people will make today will determine whether there will be food on their table tomorrow. So, we emphasised on physical distancing, washing of hands, use of face masks and other guidelines but this is very difficult for our people. What do you say to a situation whereby four or five people are living in a room? First, we tried to look at the behaviour of the virus within our environment and quickly looked at what we could do. We brought in the Virology Department of UCH and set up the diagnostic centres. We need to, at least be able to test our people and get the result in there. We have looked at the Olodo Centre, which was not yet completed then, though it was passed on and commissioned a week to the expiration of the last administration. We went in there, brought in experts, and asked if they could turn the place into an isolation and treatment centre and if works of research could be carried out there too. If people come in, how do you predict the behaviour of the virus? And in record time, it was turned into an infectious disease centre and also isolation centre all across.

The facility in Awe is ready now, I believe Igbo-Ora is almost ready. In Saki, we had a problem with the contractor that it was given to and the contractor was not even from Oyo state. They told me that he is a cousin of one godfather somewhere. I said to them ‘to hell with the godfather’ and that this is Ibadan, Oyo State and it is Oyo State’s money. So, I told them that I owe allegiance only to the people of Oyo state. So, that will also be ready very soon and that of Ogbomoso.

Yes, people thought we should have done total lockdown, but I said no. I saw something in the newspaper that somebody said that Oyo State is now number 5 on the list. I wondered if it was a sort of contest. What does number 5 mean? Go and look at the data behind that. We have tested more people than a whole lot of the other states. By the time they get to the number of tests we have carried out, they will probably get to be far ahead of us. Apart from Lagos, Kano, FCT, and one other state, we have tested the most.

Some people complained that there are not enough testing centres, and that you are looking at only Ibadan. What about other areas? We have about ten community testing facilities that are out there right now but the fact is that one can contact the virus through physical contact. People have done studies, we have decontaminated places and we have asked them for the efficiency of what we got and about three or four tests actually stand out. One thing is to keep social distancing. Two, protect yourself from shedding the virus itself, which is the reason why we advised that people should use a face mask and the third thing is, our people should feed on the things that can boost the immune system. We gave an advisory. Some of them are the things that we eat normally. We eat bitter cola. I enjoy taking bitter leaf soup. If I see bitter leaf soup with pounded yam, I am always at home. So, we encouraged people to do those things.

What we saw at I-SON Experience- the company that messed up the Oyo State’s number, was unfortunate. First, they did not do what they ought to have done by ensuring that the company kept to the preventive measures. But when the test from the majority of them came out, with the CT Scan and viral load, they predicted that a whole lot of them would turn negative within the shortest period of time. This is still an ongoing effort, because it is novel. It has never happened to anybody even all over the world. Every time I try to monitor what is going on and then pull in the experts and ask: “Can we weigh in on this? Can we do this or do that? Now, they say the epicentre in the world has moved from North America to Latin America. Why is it that in Africa we have not been badly hit against all the predictions? Are there things we are doing rightly and should continue doing?

Are there things that will even cement our position against the virus further, So, those are things that, every day, we constantly engage ourselves and experts on, looking at data from all over the world to tackle this. And in terms of the finances for the state, I will like to use this opportunity to thank all those who have contributed to the Endowment Fund. People actually reacted positively to our call. We have had more than N1 Billion of the total support; about N450 Million in cash and the others in the donation of hospital beds and with CACOVID’s support too. When we started, some people came to me and said I should look at Ogun State, that their COVID-19 team had former governors of CBN and the like. They asked me to also look at Ekiti State too.

Later, I asked them that what have those states raised compared to Oyo State? Somebody said these people are going to test 100,000 people. I was like “really?” How are they even going to do it? And we had a session at the Task Force meeting, where I asked if we were doing anything wrong. Recently, I was reading from NCDC and that was how I even got to know that Oyo State is number 5 in terms of the number of people we have tested.

So, if anyone says what we are doing in handling the COVID-19 pandemic has not been effective, I just think that talk is cheap. For them, talk is cheap because they are the ones saying it. For us, we have to go out there and showcase what we have done. So, I will give a pass mark to the COVID-19 Task Force in Oyo State and I will also tell our people to continue to follow the advisory that we have given them. This is coming out of extensive discussion and research. There is no magic wand or magic touch that will make this thing go away and disappear. We have to learn to live with it and, as we make progress in research, maybe in the development of vaccine or medication against it, then we can get a hand on it. But we cannot do any other thing than to keep washing, keep looking at its behaviour, keep testing, keep advising our people and I believe that if they follow the directives of the Task Force, together we would be able to defeat the virus. That’s what we are doing.

When the battle against COVID-19 must have ended, how will these isolation centres, facilities and other things you have put in place still be useful to the people?

I have made it clear that health facilities that are all over the state must be renovated. When the COVID-19 pandemic is over, we would disinfect those places as we did in Saki. It is almost 150-bed isolation centre and once the pandemic is over, it would be part of the general hospitals that would be used to treat other diseases. For primary healthcare, you would see that a major revolution is going on in there right now. Before we came in, you may see PHCs 2 or 3 in some places, but if you combine all together, it still does not have the capacity of one. In Igbo-Ora, when we were looking for a place to turn into isolation and treatment centres we went to the health centre in Idere and I could not believe what I saw. In Oyo state, we have over 600 PHCs but they are not functional. So, I called the Permanent Secretary of Local Government Service Commission, the Head of Service, the Commissioner for Local Government and the Executive Secretary PHC Board, Dr Muideen Olatunji. I asked how they would solve the problem over there and we came up with two strategies. One is to ensure that each of the 351 wards in Oyo State must have a standard PHC. Also, out of the over 600, if we have 351 that is standard, the other ones can be concessional. We can inform those who are interested to invest in them to do so and we will regulate them.

We have commissioned the PHC in Oranyan and the one at Ehin Grammar in Ibadan. Those are standard PHC facilities and we would maintain them. So, I said to them that for Local Governments, a certain amount must be set aside for fixing PHCs. I checked the funds available, because during this period of ALGON crisis, we are not allowing them to spend the money for the Local Governments. We have been able to accumulate close to N12 to N13 Billion. I would use this opportunity to tell them, because they are also my people and my friends, to steer clear of shady activities and should let us come together and not miss the train in moving our local governments forward. They have missed the train already but we can still wait for them to enter.

One billion Naira is being set aside for the purpose of fixing the PHCs. It would be given to the Primary Health Care Board. We agreed that 7.5 per cent of the Local Governments’ allocations will be taken as the first line charge for the purpose of continuity. If we calculate that 7.5 per cent, it would turn out to be about N350 million on a monthly basis. Before we came into office and when we eventually got into office, we have been making adhoc arrangements. If we need a law to change the primary health care, we would make it available, and all the equipment needed. Now, they have all been moved to be under the PHC Board. They are still being paid by the LG but, operationally, they are under the PHC Board so that they can be monitored. So, that is something that is actually very major. If we give them the N1billion to kick-start the projects and then every month, they have 7.5 per cent. Yes, there may be challenges, because the federal allocation is already reducing but at the Local government level, I think they still have a little bit of headway to accommodate what we want to do. So, in the months ahead, we will see the major impact in that shift. Three days ago, I even asked for the law that set up the PHC Board and we found out that at the LG level, there is a need to set up the health authority and also at the ward level. So, all of these things are on the path to start with the implementation.

 The COVID-19 pandemic has raised the fears of an impending food insecurity. What are you doing to address this situation?

We are still collating data. Recently when we were preparing to dole out palliatives, I said to my team that we would be pulling about N500 Million to buy food items for people, and we said we must patronise the locals for palliatives to be distributed. For the palliatives to be distributed in Ibadan, we patronized the people in Ibadan, for the ones that would be distributed in Oyo, we asked those in charge to call the market women in Oyo town, the same for Oke-Ogun, Ibarapa and others. That’s what we did and we saw that the money went into the local economy. We tested the data we met on ground when we were looking for the poorest of the poor, and we found out that the data was only 20 percent accurate.

So, we said, look, go out to the field and collect a new set of data. They collected new sets of data, and I called the people myself. At least in two federal constituencies, some of them were farmers and they told me they don’t need food but seedlings and assistance as palliatives, so that they could go back to the farm and plant, because this is the planting season. We are collecting data right now and I have an Executive Adviser on Agribusiness, who is also doubling as the DG of OYSADA, Dr. Debo Akande. I don’t think we can find anyone with the depth of knowledge as far as Agribusiness is required on the continent of Africa that is better than that gentleman. If they find anyone, let them send him to me. I went to Akufo and I met a gentleman. He was into tomatoes. We discussed and also talked about how to transfer him into the farming estate at Akufo.

So, I believe in the next few weeks, we would flag off the farm estate project, and the medium to long-term of that effort is to have food security. It is going to be mechanised, integrated and also go into agro-processing. For the tomato plantation, the gentleman told me that with everything that is being produced, there is still a very huge gap even withing the local environment. So, with the farm estate in place, the RAAMP, which we paid the counterpart funding when we came in, we paid N350 Million. That project has been on since 2016. I will not like to cast aspersion on the past administration, but they just did not do pay the counterpart fund. What has assisted us is the fact that I have a team that is super-focused. If they are here because of what they will put in their pockets, then that is what their focus would be on. But we are all here to see what we can do for our state.

The good news is that while one is doing things for the state, opportunities would also come along. If you are expanding the economy, you would be the first to know. Once you set the standard, if you meet up with the standard, then we are in business together, and that is the approach we are taking Agriculture and Agribusiness.

Your government introduced what it called Park Management System to arrest the incessant clashes over the operations of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state and to also shore up the IGR of the state. How successful do you think that system has been, especially going by some complaints about it? 

On the issue of Park Managers, we cannot keep doing things the same way and expect the same result. Some say it is still the same NURTW that has been existing in the state and all manner of things. I know that when you have to make changes, people must talk because some may not be favoured. So, for the Park Management System, no matter how it may seem far from perfection, there is room for improvement and we are working seriously for that improvement. When we came in, between those in the Secretariat and the NURTW, we realised that people would just make fake receipts and nothing, absolutely nothing was coming into the coffers of the government. But now, something is coming in.

Actually, there are complaints that extortions are going on in some places, but we are working on them.

Just before coming to this studio, we were at Iwo road to flag off the construction of Ultra-Modern terminal, and those projects in Iwo-Road, Ojoo and Challenge would further sanitise the transportation sector, and it is a work in progress. While preparing for the celebration of 100 days in office, some people issued some threats that they would disrupt it and cause chaos. Some came to me and even showed me the video but, eventually, nothing of such happened. Apart from that, things have been relatively peaceful, even with the transport workers. I believe there is always room for improvement and we will take the opportunity to completely sanitise the system. In any case, I am hopeful that we are on the right track. I know that the mandate given to me, which is for four years, remains three years. God owns life and knows where we are all are going to. So, let us be prayerful and put all things in His hands.

Your government is resting on four pillars, how well would you say you have done in transforming the state across these pillars?

Yes, we came in with the focus on four major pillars. We believe that if we fix the education sector, then our people will be freed from the shackles of poverty and be filled with knowledge. And we can link that to our second pillar which is Health. It is said that health is wealth. If we are able to fix our hospitals and the knowledgeable individual is living with a sound body, then it will be productive and that will lead us to the third pillar, which is the expansion of our economy. We have people with knowledge; we have healthy people who are productive and they are the ones who can expand our economy. Then there is a fourth pillar, which is security. If all of these are done in a safe and secure environment, then Oyo state would be an oasis of prosperity within the Federal Republic of Nigeria. So, that is our mission and that is what we have been trying to achieve with the mandate that Oyo State people have given to us. And I have always said it that people should not be afraid; if we are not well in any area, they should come up and tell us, we would listen and make adjustments where necessary. And to the opposition, it is our state. Very soon, I will also leave this seat, whether I am the legally constituted authority right now or not. When the tenure ends, we would have to leave but our state remains. So, you all need to go out there and play an opposition that will bring development to our state.

Where we are not doing well, bring up your ideas. If they are better than ours, we are not proud, we will apologise and take the idea, implement it and also give you the credit.

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