Written by Tope Adaramola
Wednesday, 04 May 2011
By all standards Ogun State is a front liner in the Nigerian nation. The state could be described as a watershed of some sort when it comes to numerous feats the country could be reckoned with in all areas of human endeavours. The state is reputed to have produced great men and women who lead the pack in the realm of politics, literature, accounting, law, journalism, and even soldiering. In specific terms, it still remains incontrovertible that the likes of Obafemi Awolowo, Professor Wole Soyinka, Akintola Williams, Ransome Kutis, MKO Abiola etal, hail from this state, which in recent times had described with the sobriquet, “Gateway State”.

Politically, the state has been synonymous with progressive politics partly because of the radical orientation of early nationalists, some of whom hail from the region. From the populist Action Group (AG), to the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), to the Social Democratic Party(SDP), and to the Alliance for Democracy(AD), and lately, the Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN), Ogun people have always been at home with progressive politics, even at the expense of being at variance with what is usually described as mainstream politics. However, there was a significant shift in this political mooring during the 2003 elections when, for the first time in history, the entire South-West region was railroaded into the conservative political jacket of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in what many concluded was midwifed by then President Olusegun Obasanjo. Willy-nilly, the past president saw to it that there was a complete paradigm shift in the region.

But while still under the stranglehold of the PDP, Ogun State people, like their ilks in the other South-West states overtly and sometimes covertly, continue to harbour the thirst for their first political love or affiliation. Fortunately for the progressives, their desire was ostensibly given the needed fillip through the lack lustre performance of government under the PDP. This situation was further accentuated by irreconcilable intra party intrigues and acrimony. The PDP in Ogun State was shredded into two polemical sides with each of them producing powerful commanders, notably President Olusegun Obasanjo on the one hand and the incumbent governor, Chief Gbenga Daniel on the other. As the crisis continued, peace, progress and tranquillity which used to be the hall mark of the state took a flight, and borrowing from the words of Chinua Achebe, “the centre could no longer hold”! The political crisis dragged on with fiery intensity to the recently concluded general election giving the people the golden opportunity to finally ventilate their long desire for change through the democratic process.

The PDP and its adversarial kin-the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN)- a party that was described as a baby of political necessity- suffered devastating defeat in the hands of the Action Congress of Nigeria at the poll which produced Senator Ibikunle Amosun as the governor. It is noteworthy that Ibikunle Amosun, an Accountant by profession, had earlier taken a shot at the Oke Mosan office under the All Nigerian People Party (ANPP) in 2007 but was believed to have been denied of victory. Like the Trojan horse, Ibikunle picked up the coveted ticket of the ACN under which he contested and won the election. ACN’s imminent hold on power in Ogun State and other South-West states definitely lends credence to the belief that the party has become unstoppable, like the German Blitzkrieg, in its bid to sweep away the last vestiges of conservatism, personified by the PDP from the entire region and by extension, Nigeria.

But be that as it may, the task of rebuilding Ogun State has become that which must be taken with all sense of urgency, purpose and responsibility.

The euphoria of the reclaimed mandate should galvanise the ACN to give the people good governance capable of justifying their freely given electoral mandate. The government under Ibikunle Amosun must get cracking in earnest, bearing in mind the saying of Benjamin Distraeli that “the secret of success in life is for a man to be ready before his time”. Without prejudice, it is an acclaimed fact that the Governor- elect is a marathoner, a long distance runner, who has remained undeterred by the political bulwarks put on his way at various times by his adversaries to becloud his vision for the Gateway State. Whilst it is agreeable that the task of governance is enormous, the in- coming government would do well to prioritise its programmes for the people of the state by strategically going into research on what could constitute their source of joy. Among other things, Ogun people are yearning for a return to their pivotal place in human resource development. Education, from primary to the tertiary levels should be given priority as no nation or state could be greater than the level or quality of its human resource. The morale of the average worker in the state should be buoyed up again with emphasis placed on reward for quality service delivery in the public service, devoid of sycophancy. Being the engine room of governance, the state’s civil service should be given the latitude to deliver. It is sad to note generally that the vegetated state of the civil service accounts greatly for the incessantly poor performance of the political class.

Genuine youth empowerment projects should be also be urgently considered to maximise the potentialities of the growing population and re-channel their energies to productive ventures. Since idle hands they say is the devil’s workshop, incidence of criminality and insecurity perpetuated mostly by youths in the state would become a thing of the past when ingenious programmes are designed for them . Holistic vocational schools should be encouraged to arrest the dwindling quality of human capital from the non-formal sectors. The surging army of okada ridders in Nigeria, today, sadly points to the downward spiral in the interest of the youth in the trades and artisanship. This trend must be minimised in Ogun State
Also, there is the dire need to give the state a structural facelift, particularly in terms of provision of good road networks. The pitiable state of roads in the state had continued to stultify genuine economic growth , and is leading to avoidable waste in man power. It is regrettable that Abeokuta, the state capital has regressed to an unenviable position of one of the worst state capitals in terms of road networks with unsightly filths and cavernous potholes dotting virtually portious of the roads. The state should as a matter of necessity, take good advantage of its present political harmony with neighbouring states of Lagos and Oyo states to develop infrastructure, especially along the fringe communities and log on to the mega city project vision.

In conclusion, the Amosun administration would also do well to mend the psyche of all Ogun indigenes, particularly those ethic groups who may still habour ill-feelings of loss in what they may have been made to see as the political compensatory logic, freely peddled prior to the election. The task of rebuilding the Gateway State is enormous, requiring diligent, foresighted and people-oriented leadership and, of course, with the cooperation of all and sundry. I have a strong feeling that it would only take a little time, but there is great hope that we shall be there.

Adaramola is a Public Affairs analyst based in Abeokuta.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/opinion/21376-ibikunle-amosu-the-task-of-re-building-ogun-state

All the ingredients are there for this state to flourish over the next four years. There really aren't an excuses for under-performance. I hope that Amosun meets the high expectations we have for him.

I really hope Amosun performs exceptionally well. He cannot even afford to be average.