Pomp, ceremony as Aiyedatiwa rounds off one year in office celebration
The spate of project commissioning and the joy exuded in Ondo State during the Golden Jubilee of the creation of the state has added another feather to the cap of
- By Olu Ayela
The spate of project commissioning and the joy exuded in Ondo State during the Golden Jubilee of the creation of the state has added another feather to the cap of the governor, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, who is nicknamed, 'Mr. Project.' The nomenclature is the people's response to the laudable futuristic developmental gusto of 'Our Ease' leaning of the governor and his team, which has yielded laudable results in healthcare, road construction, educational development and state wide renewal.
Political observers in the state have commended the governor for his commitment to pursuing the completion of the projects started by his predecessor, before introducing new ones.
His commitment to the people was total, and his openness and simplicity convinced his followers to join in the dream to shine the light that Ondo State may join the frontline states, where development is the order of the day.
Little wonder, his political leaning was strong enough to radically change the outlook of Ondo State for good within the spate of one year.
Recalling the little beginnings at the commissioning of the Akungba – Ikare road recently, Aiyedatiwa said the road was flagged off last year as part of a broader infrastructural expansion in the axis. That extended to Owo, where the Opomulero, Iselu and Isuada roads had been recently commissioned.
He said the rehabilitation and construction of roads symbolized the rekindling and steady progress across the state, insisting: “The years of dilapidation are over.”
He regretted that the years of degradation had imposed hardship on the people and constrained productivity.
He expressed happiness that the road network linked Falodun, Kajola and Iselu-Isuada road, thereby enhancing connectivity, convenience and reduced travel time.
He promised the people: “No community would be side-lined again. This administration is guided by fairness, equity, and shared prosperity, in line with 'Our Ease' policy thrust.”
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Little wonder the state is now glowing with new road networks, improved education, healthcare delivery and commerce.
Youthful and progressive, yes. Aiyedatiwa's decision to serve the people is not just a bold idea. It symbolises something that is as true today as it was in the days of the Action Group when the development of the people was the concern of the government. The idea that we separate the trifling from the essential is the value proposition that has humanised his administration from day one, and still does today.
Aiyedatiwa, within one year in the saddle, has created Ondo Free Zone, which no governor ever thought about since the creation of the state in 1976. This Free Zone would house one of the largest refinery and petrol chemical companies in Africa, deep sea port and an international airport.
One mystery that dazzles observers about Aiyedatiwa's one-year governance is the seamless administration gusto. His social contract with the people is so solid that impostors are now biting their fingers for the balmy misadventure into Ondo politics. It is important to state that what they anticipated would result in a blaze and sharp cracks ebbed into ashes of inconsequential effect.
Many had wondered why Aiyedatiwa took the seemingly face-off with the Interior Minister, Bunmi Ojo, with a conciliating smile and conducted himself with appropriate caution.
He is a man who, like the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo or Asiwaju Bola Tinubu himself, would have reacted to a supposed fatal attack with an indestructible smile, cracked across from the front of his face like the brim of the hat.
The governor wants everyone to be happy and would not really bother himself with the antics of a political Lilliputian.
Ojo, instead of minding his business in Abuja, is trying to disrupt the peace of Ondo State in his quest to become a governor. While there is no doubt that in a political matrix, forces – both fratricidal and forward-looking- play themselves out for either self-ggrandizement or for selfless and patriotic reasons, open hatred, deep contempt, or even intense disdain for political leaders by political jobbers should be firmly predicated on unimpeachable facts and figures, and not fixated on parochial sentiments or fanning of
political vendetta.
The bitter truth is that Ojo ought to have understudied Ondo State politics, and noted that it is highly regimented and well organized that it would be difficult for any intruder to disorganise.
In 1999, Ondo North Senatorial District produced Governor Adefarati. In 2003, Ondo South produced Olusegun Agagu, thereafter Olusegun Mimiko, and Ondo Central. It then went back to Ondo North, Akeredolu. By the time Aiyedatiwa completes Akeredolu's tenure, the pendulum naturally swings South.
It may be necessary for the impostor to seek better education before stowing a fire. When Aiyedatiwa's tenure runs out in 2033, it is the Ondo Central that comes in, and not the Ondo North.
•Ayela, veteran journalist, writes from Lagos.
