Shortly after leaving the Methodist High School Bridge on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway (Old Toll Gate) on a rainy evening, I heard a sound. My colleague, Samson Aborisade who was in the car with me interpreted the sound. “Ẹgbọn, that’s a flat tyre”, he said.
We defied the rain and changed the tyre though with much stress to Samson’s suede shoes, we appreciated one thing, where we stopped was well illuminated. The street lights made it look like daytime.
And we asked ourselves if we would have dared to stop the car there at that time if there had been no functional lights. That night, we had a reason to appreciate the Light Up Oyo initiative of Governor Oluwaseyi Makinde.
My mind then went back in time; before an unprecedented crowd of supporters on Thursday, 25th September, 2014, Engineer Oluseyi Makinde formally declared his intention for the gubernatorial seat of Oyo State.
Apart from the robust blueprint that he came with, a few other things showed his supporters and critics alike that he came prepared. One of such was that a part of the fence of the Polo Ground, Eleyele venue of the event had to be pulled down shortly before the event to assuage difficulties that could be associated with accessing the venue. By the end of the programme, masons were already on ground to fix the broken wall.
And since he became Governor in May 2019, Engineer Ṣeyi Makinde has superintended over the provision of effective and qualitative education, affordable healthcare and poverty reduction.
In the area of education, the Makinde Administration did what was hitherto seen as an impossibility. True to his promise however, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso is today wholly owned by Oyo State. By the time he assumed office, Oyo State had one and a half universities; First Technical University (Tech-U), Ibadan and LAUTECH which was jointly owned by Oyo and Osun States. Four years on, the list has grown with Emmanuel Alayande University of Education joining the league of state-owned universities.
The renaming of Tech-U as Senator Ajimobi Technical University has put paid to the misplaced cynicism that Governor Makinde did not want to have anything to do with the institution established by his predecessor. Not only did the narrative change, even critics lauded the honour done to the memory of the man who conceived the vision for Nigeria’s premier technical university.
When the global pandemic, COVID-19 came calling, different measures were put in place by the Federal Government and different states in the country. The most excruciating was the lockdown. Oyo State did not shut down. Makinde ensured this and he did with preciseness in his calculation. The state thus became a Mecca of sort for those who needed to be free. Some of those who left neighbouring states to enjoy relative freedom have permanently settled in Ibadan and other major cities in the state. The economy, of course benefitted from this.
It would be stating the obvious to say the Makinde administration had to cope with opprobrium on the remodeled Lekan Salami Stadium. The Government in its thoughtfulness held the commissioning during the rainy season with a match played in the evening; thereby testing all facilities. Before then, it had been years before the home stadium of the Shooting Stars Sports Club received such attention. And today, the stadium still hosts Nigerian Premier League games as the Nigerian Football Federation certified it fit to host matches.
And being inaugurated at a time firearms and other offensive weapons were being brought into the state with clever new ideas obviously posed a challenge. But while more can, and is being done on security, lighting up some parts of the state has helped security operatives in some ways.
Another thing that irked some was the Circular Road project. It became a litigation matter but right now, the work is exponential.
Whoever compared governing Oyo State to passing through a hot crucible was damn right! It is essential to remember that no governor has ever been spared the scourge of tongues. One thing that has, however, differentiated the incumbent is his trademark willingness to take responsibility.
Just like mending the Polo Club fence during his first declaration, Governor Makinde is highly calculative; he counts the cost before setting out and when things don’t work as envisaged, he knows it is time to double down and change strategy if necessary.
With the first term done and dusted, winning a second term as Governor is an indication of supreme confidence reposed by the electorate. And with four years’ experience already, the terrain would have become much more familiar hence the anticipation of better service delivery.
Retaining teamwork, determination, discipline and goal setting that were core values in the first term, the sky would only be the starting point. And like they say it in Swahili, “Hakuna Mipaka” (No Limits).
- Wole Adejumo sent this piece from Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo State
