By Tope Ibitola.
Usi Ekiti
The New Ekiti Advancement Team (NEAT), a development concerned group in the state is warning Ekiti people against retrogression and saying that the sustainability of development is paramount than political differences.
In this Article, Mr Tope Ibitola, the NEAT Convener gave insights, calls for concerted efforts and expresses confidence in Mr Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, the APC candidate as the best to continue the governance of the state.
You may wish to ask, How has the eras of Ekiti Development been? Because for every people, their yesterday defines their today and today defines tommorow. Many people expresses the reproach towards our dear State as one of the states with huge human resources but with low or nothing to show forth in Infrastructural, economic and human capital development. The rat race and the Resource curse or paradox of plenty as anyone may prefer to define the syndrome.
As expected of life with its ups and downs, Ekiti state in her 25 years of existence has witnessed the sweet and the bitter side. Enthusiasm and hope filled the air in 1999 at the election of its first democratic government led by Otunba Niyi Adebayo who made the architectural designs and foundation for the development of Ekiti state based on its history and core values.
In 2003, hopes were dashed and the polity was taken over by cankerworms. Just like the Israelites, it took Ekiti people several years to free themselves from the political chains of jobbers. After 7 years in the wilderness, God answered our prayers and sent in a rescuer in person of Dr. John Kayode Fayemi, a strategic activist and renown scholar who transformed the State and made the people forget their bitter experience. It was one a tenure adjudged the best in the history of the country through social security scheme, uplift in different sectors including Health, Education, Technology, Housing, Transport, Agriculture etc. He restored sanity in the governance of the state.
Evil would always fight back, Ekiti was not prepared for the abrupt switched off in the light they were enjoying. Good governance was displaced and a sudden darkness outweighed and beclouded the developmental moves. Gov. Fayemi stepped out and the untold hardship and backwardness again reared it’s ugly head.
It was a lesson Ekiti people learnt from the Roman writer Vegetius Publius Renatus who wrote that “IF YOU WANT PEACE, PREPARE FOR WAR”. Smiles were off from faces, light off from street, hooligans pride themselves and sacredness defiled and condemned.
The ear of God is not far from the supplications of his people, Ekiti Kete again regained its freedom and Fayemi returned in 2018 after 4 years of erratic governance.
Where are we now?
The Ekiti of today is back again on her tracks. Last year, in 2021, the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF), a body of the APC governor’s in Nigeria adjudged as topping the list in the record of development initiatives among the 36 states of the Federation.
They have kudos to Governor Fayemi for setting the pace with 18 initiatives ahead of Nasarawa and Lagos, which recorded 14 and 10 respectively spreading across different sectors including empowerment programs across genders, job creation, healthcare, agriculture, education and technology, partnering with relevant local, national and global organizations to fast-track development among others.
The World Bank recently listed Ekiti State as the best performer under the National Urban Water Sector Reform Project and the third best performing state under the Community and Social Development Project.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently rated Ekiti State high on creating an enabling environment for business to thrive and making Ease of Business Chart.
The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development had also recognized Ekiti as the Best Performing State on domestication of Women Rights Instruments.
In a report titled “Sub-national Audit Efficacy (SAE) Index 2020 and recently revealed by Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI), 12 states were given positive ratings as states with the most potent audit process in Nigeria. Ekiti ranked very high among the 12 leading lights, having scored 70 percent.
Where do we go from here?
The good news is this, Mr Biodun Oyebanji had been involved at every stage of the development of the state. It is no news that he was the Secretary to the Committee on the creation of the state at the age of 26.
The political science lecturer was at a time the Special Adviser on Parliamentary matters during the first democratic government and later served as the Chief of staff to the Governor.
He served as a Commissioner during the first term of Fayemi’s administration and came with him again to restore in lights 2018 serving as the secretary to the state government. All through these periods, he lived amidst his people in his Ikogosi Ekiti country home. Perhaps because of his political weight, delivering victory for his party in all the elections conducted in his town since 1999, a mischeivous government in the state decided to abandon the state’ investment and the economy in the tourist center Ikogosi Warms spring as well as orchestrating total power outage for the community for good four years.
Oyebanji, a calm listener, kind, concerned and humane lived with the people and experienced the suffering with them.
We have had our different tastes and could now discern and decide. We wouldn’t imagine, want or pray for backwardness. We have researched and can vouch for the personality and candidature of Biodun Oyebanji, among all the candidates in Ekiti and we are confident that he would take the state higher than he meets it. He is well prepared to roll the wheel of continuity and sustainability of development of Ekiti people.
The author, Tope Ibitola writes from Usi Ekiti. He is the Convener of New Ekiti Advancement Team (NEAT).