Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa 4-Year Tenure: All Eyes on Good Governance as Mantra
By Sola Olatunji
As the deadline approached, the months seemed to have receded into weeks, then weeks became just days, each one ticking by with increasing urgency. Now the days are shrinking and you can count the remaining on your finger tips.
February 25 is the D-Day when Governor Luck Aiyedatiwa will officially receive the mantle of leadership to lead the Sunshine state for the next four years.
The journey that started on December 26, 2023 when he was sworn in to replace the late Arakunri Rotimi Akeredolu has taken 14 months as all eyes are now on the Ilaje-born politician as he dreams of making the state an Eldorado.
In this new journey, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has four years in his kitty to pilot the affairs of Ondo State. Whether he will be able to contest for the third term or not would be a matter to be determined by the constitution in the future. The governor has the opportunity to leave his footprints on the sand of time and etch his name in gold by being responsive and making good governance his watchword.
In truth, and regardless of which of the divides you may belong to, there is no gainsaying that Ondo State has been crawling. So this time around, we need to redouble our efforts in good governance by providing social services to our people. In the last 49 years, we have been moving at a snail speed.
It is not by accident that God has chosen Aiyedatiwa to pilot the affairs of the state in the next 48 months. There is a purpose for his victory at the election. And now ‘Alegemo ti bi omo re, aimojo di owo re’, meaning that the Chameleon has delivered its child and all is in the hands of the child to dance well, as people expected.
I am so glad that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa is one of the best dancers I have ever seen especially when it comes to our own Biripo or Asiko orchestra. His agility to turn round and round has no comparison. We are ready to watch him prove doubting Thomases wrong or ignite the economic revolution that will catapult Ondo State as one of the best in Nigeria. We have the human and material resources to achieve this feat.
A state that was proudly christened a sunshine state has failed to live up to expectation despite the availability of huge humans and abundance of natural resources. And what most citizens of the state have done after the yeoman achievement of the late Olusegun Agagu is to adopt the sidon dey look philosophy of the late Chief Bola Ige, the Cicero of our time.
Now, we have a mirror to gauge ourselves by taking a toe from neighbouring Ekiti and Kogi states. Ekiti State, which was carved out of Ondo State, is setting a template for good governance and making all-round impacts in the lives of citizenry. Governor, Usman Ododo of Kogi State, our next-door neighbour is embarking on the agricultural revolution to achieve food security.
Dear Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as you get ready for this onerous task, so much is expected of you by the people of Ondo State. You need to improve on our education system from primary to secondary school levels by improving on the existing infrastructure and also recruiting more personnel so that we can train our future leaders today.
We all know that Ondo State is an agrarian economy. We have practically abandoned this vocation for white collar job, and unfortunately, there is no white collar job anymore. Besides, we also need to tackle hunger by making essential food items available at affordable prices. Let’s open up opportunities in agriculture so that our young people can be conscripted into farming like what is happening in Kogi and Ekiti states.
Rural road expansions to boost food security should also be part of your plans for the state to guarantee food security. In the area of rural electrification, the need to upscale can’t be overemphasized. This will help our artisians to also contribute their quota to the economic development of the state.
In his word, the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo identified three things as key drivers of his vision as the Premier of the Western Region. First, education, improved health and social well-being of citizens, and security. In truth, our health centres across the state are in shambles. There are no drugs, no personnel, and no infrastructure. I doubt if there is any functional general hospital in the entire three Senatorial zones. If we need to enhance productivity and improve the well-being of our people, we need to upscale our hospitals across the state. Dear Mr. Governor, you need to put in your all into governance in these four years.
There is no time for excuses. I have also written a couple of articles about some public officers spending more time to sing praises, amplifying miracles, and dancing in the church. Mark you, I don’t have anything against anyone’s faith. But I have held on to this ideology that your Bible or Koran can’t fix any public issues. It’s your capacity and competence that would fix problems in society. China, Japan, India and other countries that don’t attend churches are solving their problems to our delight. Let’s spend a fraction of time in the mosques and churches and deploy the rest into productive ventures.
We are also not oblivious of the fact that you can’t solve all the problems in four years. But we are very convinced that with your dedication and total commitment, four years are more than enough to make positive impacts in the lives of your people. Pleas, endeavour to pick the best team made-up of people of impeccable characters who are creative minded in anticipation of responsive leadership expected of your fresh administration
