As permutations over who becomes the governor of Oyo State in 2019 take fresh shape on a daily basis, we take a look at the politics of the Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian group of newspapers, Mr Debo Adesina, who has been engaged by different groups across the state on his ambition to govern the state.
We cannot continue to leave the destiny of the teeming people of Oyo State, young and old, to professional politicians and perpetual office-seekers who do not know the meaning of service and are not interested in serving the people, ” he told a gathering in Ibadan.
“My humble submission is that our state does not need the usual governor at this moment in its history; it does not even need a typical aspirant in the sense of having money, whether earned or unearned, to throw around, running for the office, winning it and then becoming the emperor.” These were the words of Mr Debo Adesina at that forum organised by the Agbajoowo Group, a sociopolitical organisation comprising some elders, politicians, civil servants and professionals drawn from the five zones of the state.We cannot continue to leave the destiny of the teeming people of Oyo State, young and old, to professional politicians and perpetual office-seekers who do not know the meaning of service and are not interested in serving the people, ” he told a gathering in Ibadan.
According to Adesina, the need for an all-inclusive and people-centric governance in Oyo State has become a pressing one in the face of current realities, hence according to him, the people of the state, need to make a decision for a paradigm shift that will ensure the emergence of a genuine servant as the governor of the state in 2019.
“The people must consciously ask for a shift in the way things are done and take charge of their affairs by insisting on a leader, a servant in deed as well as in truth, not a lord and a master.
“By that, I mean the people should get totally involved in the process and ask questions of those who want to govern, put each one of them in the context of his or her own records and pick for the state a true governor it needs,” he said.
For those who know Adesina, a thoroughbred media professional of about 30 years standing, his sermon on true service and genuine leadership at a time many other aspirants are struggling to outdo one another in campaigning is not strange. The 52-year-old, Okaka-born professional is not only reputed among his peers and the elders for his humility and charismatic personality, his humaneness has become his unique selling point before Oyo State indigenes at the different fora to which he has regularly been invited to address issues of future leadership and plans for the development of his home state.
Adesina informed the gathering that it was high time the people of the state considered a different type of person for the governorship, saying: “The state needs a man who will not only roll up his sleeves, but also remove his shirt, if necessary, to work for the people.”
The road map for better Oyo
But apart from his call to the people of the state to make the right choice on who succeeds Governor Abiola Ajimobi, Adesina has never missed an opportunity to inform anyone who cared to listen that Oyo State would need to take a different path from the one being taken by many states in the federation – a path that has not only jeopardised their chances to be truly developed, but has also, thrown the people into hunger and untold hardship. For Adesina, Oyo State must toe the path of truly setting the pace for others in consciously de-emphasising federal allocation and building a base for its own wealth from its resources.
While speaking in Iseyin, Oyo State, at a meeting organised by the Joint Action Forum, a pro-development organisation in Oke-Ogun area, Adesina spoke about how the people’s active participation can compel quality representation in government.
He bemoaned the situation whereby most states including Oyo are dependent largely on the allocation from the federal purse, saying: “Today, we are all witnesses to the crisis bred by that situation. There is little or no money in the coffers of the state because there is very little income outside what comes from the federal treasury as monthly allocation.”
In order to truly develop the state, he maintained that it must stop just the mere talk but truly implement a well thought-out agricultural revolution, tourism development and solid mineral exploration and development plan in the state.
“With its huge agro-industrial potentials, with great opportunities in tourism and solid minerals, Oyo State is certainly not yet the hub of economic development it should be. And businesses that do not exist cannot be asked to employ people or contribute to the revenue of the state.” While he posited that things could have been better managed, he sympathised with the Abiola Ajimobi administration “which has had to bear the brunt of the people’s anger over money that is just not available.
“I understand the burden of Governor Abiola Ajimobi. I often imagine the pain in the heart of a governor who simply has no resources with which to pay the state’s wage bill and the difficulty of making the people live with that reality. But the money is just not there!
“I agree, things could have been better managed, the revenue base could have been expanded before now and some steps could have been taken with long-term benefits, as opposed to immediate political gains, in mind. The journey to the current sorry state, in fairness, however, did not begin with this government. Foresight took flight a long time ago and successive administrations got caught in the vicious cycle of just paying workers’ wages, digging a few boreholes and patching some roads while the real job of building a future for the state or a state of the future naturally got scant attention.
“Marble, gold, titanium and so on, were not mined and agriculture got spoken about more than worked upon. This was okay when oil money flowed and bills were easily paid. Now, here we are. But the story of Oyo State can change,” he said.
Speaking at Osoogun, the birthplace of Bishop Samuel Ajayi-Crowther, penultimate week, where leaders of all political parties gathered, Adesina explained how culture and tourism should become an avenue for the creation of wealth for Oyo State.
He noted that with all areas in Oyo State having some features or heritage and many resources peculiar to them, the state only needs a leader who would make rural renaissance as well as urban renewal the nucleus of his development agenda in such a way that communities would leverage on their peculiarities to contribute to the wealth and greatness of Oyo State.
He said: “There is no limit to what can be done by a people who have freed their minds and are ready to put their hands on the plough for their own good, to change their fortune. When their desire and determination come under the direction of a compassionate leadership, the people are sure to work their way to wealth.
“Hard work is indigenous to Oyo. Character, in its entire meaning of impeccable breeding, diligence and integrity, is an Oyo signature. When you apply these to even a fraction of the abundant mineral, agricultural and tourism resources available to Oyo State, under a visionary, prudent leadership, you are bound to see a land brimming with wealth, a people living their credo of setting the pace in all things edifying.
“That Oyo State is blessed with agricultural resources, minerals and a potentially buoyant tourism industry is an indisputable fact. The policies need finetuning and the physical infrastructure only needs to be put in place. We have on our own done some work and found even more ways of not only ensuring prosperity but also making it an all-encompassing one in a state like Oyo. A lot can be done in the short term to deal with immediate challenges. A lot is possible in the medium term to lay the foundation necessary for the long-term prosperity and wellbeing of the people. It will take a lot of work but, certainly, the future is beautiful,” he added.
On Oke-Ogun for governor agitation
Asked by the gathering why aspirants from Oke-Ogun had been playing the regional card, Adesina, in a tone laden with a shade of anger, rejected this suggestion and said that merit, industry and capacity for excellence remain at the core of the Oke Ogun bid. “But justice and equity are the parents of excellence,” he said.
“It could also have been Ibarapa or Oyo, two other zones that have never produced the state’s chief executive. But a governor of Oke Ogun extraction is the right, just and equitable thing to happen. We may be the same people in Oyo State but our zonal plurality is a fact of life,” he said.
“Plurality and inclusion are inseparable. Wherever, either by design or by accident, there are different groups of people who must live together in peace, harmony and prosperity, the best results for the whole can only be achieved when every part feels equal and no one is left out. Prosperity and progress will always elude a state where there is no equity and justice.”
Here I am, send me
Though the question Adesina faced at every forum or meeting he addressed has continued to be why he has been making the least noise about his bid, he was resolute in his determination to speak only about possible positive change and what service in governance means.
His desire, he said, is first to know what the people want, open their eyes to what they deserve, how to meet their expectations and what to do with the power that belongs to them. According to him, he had chosen to accept all citizen engagement opportunities and consultation with elders, youths and the people across Ibadan, Ibarapa, Oke-Ogun, Oyo and Ogbomoso zones, on the development of Oyo State “for the purposes of opening our people’s eyes to possibilities of a beautiful future and not necessarily for hype or making noise for noise’s sake.”
A man capable of stirring emotions with his words and body language, he poignantly justified his position that the next governor of the state must not be the usual politician, saying: “Today, more than ever, anyone who gets the opportunity to occupy the Government House in Ibadan needs no prodding to recognise and execute the office as a sacred trust like no other. If one was preceded on a seat by such an illustrious cast as Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Ladoke Akintola, Chief Bola Ige and other patriots, including the late Adekunle Fajuyi, the late General Bob Adeyinka Adebayo, Generals Christopher Oluwole Rotimi, Oladayo Popoola and Saasaeeyan Oresanya, even from the military, and the sacredness of that mandate still made no sense to you, then you earned enthronement in your own Basilica of Sacrilege as a Pope in disservice to the people. The symbolisms of that office, not to mention its substance, are too humbling not to bring out the best in anyone honoured with it.”
No one knows yet who would be the one in 2019 but everyone who follows the trend in Oyo State knows that Adesina is very serious about being the one.
By Moses Alao
Nigerian Tribune
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