With power changing hands from Abiola Ajimobi to Seyi Makinde as the new governor of Oyo state, it is the beginning of a new era as AGBOOLA BAYO writes.
It is now history that Senator Abiola Ajimobi came, saw and contributed his part to the development of Oyo state, but
with the coming of Seyi Makinde as the new helmsman, all eyes are now on him to do what his predecessor could not do.
Apparently aware of the enormous expectations of the people, Governor Makinde, in his inaugural address, minced no words in reeling out his plans for the state. He said, “We want all of you to be part of the implementation as we work together to move our state forward. We may make decisions that are sometimes uncomfortable but we will try our best to always be just, fair and act with the fear of God.”
Speaking further, he said, “I am here as your governor to serve you. I will work tirelessly and take responsibility for the workings of every sector. 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 into glory.
We will build a progressive administration by lashing 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. We will bring in new ideas and explore new initiatives. We will partner with local and foreign investors, some of whom are here with us today.”
Governor Makinde further emphasised that,
“With good governance, we will more than ever confront poverty; we will usher in an era of progress and prosperity. To do this, I speak to your consciences; we have to shun the way things are currently being done. Every one of us in every walk of life must embrace accountability and hard work. I promised the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) during all of our meetings that our relationship will deal with issues openly and sincerely because we are all in this together.
“We have already started working on our campaign promises. In the area of investments, we promised that our administration will be pro-private investments that we will make Oyo the preferred investment destination in Nigeria.
We recognise that one of our areas of comparative advantage is agriculture. I am excited to tell you today that we have already taken steps to market our potentials. Our farmers will be happy to know that we are in talks with Botswana to export our maize to them. Our African neighbours have in the recent past, imported from Central America, but they are ready to give us a chance. We welcome the delegation from Botswana led by Botswana President, Gobusamang Keebine.”
According to him, “During our campaigns, as we moved from one local government to the other, we listened to people discuss their concerns. I know that the people of Oyo state are not asking for too much. We spoke to the businessmen who are hurting under multiple taxations, who are pained because the ease of doing business is so bad that state ranks 35 out of the 36 states in Nigeria. More businesses are shutting down than are being opened”.
“We spoke to farmers in settlements at Ipapo, Ilora, Eruwa, Ogbomosho, Iresaadu, Ijaiye, Akufo and Lalupon who complained about inability to access credit facilities, poor rural infrastructure especially feeder roads, difficulty in processing harvests and lack of storage facilities. We listened to leaders and members of the Joint Farmers Association and agropreneurs talk about the challenges in the agriculture sector and proffer solutions which we will implement. “Our administration will make the provision of infrastructure a priority. We spoke with parents of children in public secondary schools who, out of their meager resources, still have to part with N3,000 per child so that their children can get education and increase their opportunities. Our region, that housed the first university in Nigeria, now has a state with the seventh highest number of out-of-school children as over 400,000 children are out of school.”
True to his words, Makinde announced the immediate scrapping of fees in public secondary schools, “We want enrolments to go up; we want our children off the streets and in classrooms. We are throwing the school doors wide open. Whoever opens a school door opens opportunities for a brighter future.”
He said the standard of education in the state is poor as it was ranked 26 in the last WAEC performance. “While we invite the students to come in, we will focus on raising the standard of education in Oyo state. We will work on providing needed infrastructure and man power by increasing education budget to 10% of our total annual budget, increasing yearly until we match UNESCO’s recommendation of 15-20%.
“We know that quality education is not possible without quality teachers and benefits. We are not ignorant of the plight of our dear teachers. During my campaigns, I promised to donate my entire salary to the Teacher’s Pension Fund. I stand by that promise.
“We spoke with people living with disabilities; successive governments have not paid adequate attention to our people who live with disabilities. We talked about the challenges and neglect they face; the lack of access to healthcare, education, work opportunities and stigmatisation. To people living with disabilities in our state, I say, your relief has come. We will establish a commission for you. The mandate of this parastatal will be to improve the lives of people living with disabilities. In addition, we will develop an institutional framework for enforcing compliance with our equal opportunity principle. We will also encourage the private sector to hire persons with disabilities by offering them tax incentives.
Healthcare, a priority
We spoke with people facing health challenges. We are planning interventions in the sector under two main headings: providing primary health care and making health insurance more accessible to the people of Oyo. Access to good healthcare is non-negotiable. It is the responsibility of government to ensure there are adequate medical and healthcare facilities for all persons. Therefore, in the first two years of our administration, no new healthcare centre will be built. The focus will be to upgrade the existing ones by renovating and equipping them.”
He said the strategy for the on implementing the health insurance scheme will involve updating existing interventions and making them more accessible.
Makinde said the state government would also embark on extensive reformation of the Hospital Management Board for effective service delivery in hospitals.
On poverty
The biggest issue facing the people of Oyo is poverty. To that extent, he said, “Right now, Oyo state’s income stands at 33% from internally generated revenue and over 60% FAAC allocations. This is why we are constantly in a cycle of debt and liability. This model is unsustainable. It has to change. We will reduce government overheads, increase the efficiency in tax collection, simplify the tax payment system and cut down on debt accumulation without concrete repayment plans. We cannot do this without your support.”
