Mounting Tasks for Oyebanji in Ekiti

Victor Ogunje writes about the herculean task before new Governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji, as he settles down in office

After four months of dilly-dally occasioned by  constitutional provisions, the new Governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji, was  on October 16,2022 inaugurated into office for a four -year tenure. It was one ceremony that was laced with fanfare and emotion-laden. It was a day  his admirers had been waiting for which they eventually got.

The inauguration was one colourful  ceremony with panache and class. The 10,000 capacity Ekitiparapo Pavillion, where the event held,  was filled to the brim, as traditional rulers, politicians and admirers, adorned in different colourful Aso Ebi were on hand to witness the inauguration.

First to take the oaths of office and allegiance, was the Deputy Governor, Mrs Monisade Afuye followed by Oyebanji, who was accompanied by  his wife, Dr. Yemisi Oyebanji

Underscoring how pivotal winning Ekiti was to the All Progressives Congress and its survival beyond 2023, the  inauguration was attended by the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and many governors, among other top rated and illustrious Nigerians.

In a momentous fashion, the outgone Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi and his deputy, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, as well as ex-Governor Ayodele Fayose, also  graced the inauguration ceremony, as the oaths were administered on the new henchmen by the Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Justice John Adeyeye.

The four-month interregnum between the day the poll was conducted and the swearing- in brought about a lot of issues. Oyebanji used the period to interact with various strata of Ekiti society and made litany of promises that really raised the hope of the people. Many were practicable, while some look utopian. He is now confounded with how to translate those promises to reality and transformational effects.

As enumerated in his policy thrust, Oyebanji

pledged that his government will be anchored on six thematic areas, which include; Human Capital Development, Agriculture and Rural Development, Infrastructure and  Industrialization, Arts, Culture and Tourism, and good Governance, to transform Ekiti and make it a microcosm of  development.

As amplified in his speech on the day of his inauguration, Oyebanji  promised to run an  all-inclusive governance that would make Ekiti a land where prosperity, abundance, unity and equity will  thrive and blossom.

A vivid dissection of these promises connotes that Oyebanji will be fair to all Ekiti indigenes regardless of political and religious beliefs. How pragmatic this would be is still keeping people in abeyance with the deep-seated politics of winner takes all that had become a fad in the country.

But the new Governor had  within six hours of his ascension made some deft moves that signaled that he was prepared for the task ahead. He quickly re-appointed Mr. Yinka Oyebode as his Chief Press Secretary and a one time Special Adviser on Education, Alhaja Habibat Adubiaro, as the Secretary to the State Government. This signposted that he knew he had to start playing the ball right from day one to be able to meet his set target and the highly daunting expectations of the people.

Governing Ekiti state is one thing that is burdensome. It is like a metal passing through a furnace. The state has limited advantage to its credit, with the exception of enormous and abundant human materials. It is not economically and financially buoyant. The business orientation and prowess is low and just springing up. It has little attraction for investors and efforts needed to be made to change this long-standing trend for Oyebanji to really deliver.

Since its creation in 1996, Ekiti has predominantly been a monolithic civil service state. It relies solely on allocations from the federation accounts for survival. Oyebanji must make urgent moves to diversify the economy and make it business- oriented.

Also, virtually all strata of Ekiti have axes to grind with the state government. The civil servants, pensioners, farmers, market men and women, and others are aggrieved. The civil servants are protesting loudly over months of unpaid promotion, deduction and salary arrears. The pensioners are taking up umbrage against the government over months of hanging and unpaid  pension and gratuity.

In the last few months, there had been pervasive cases of herders-farmers clashes in Ekiti. Some farmers in Oke Ako, Irele, Erinmope, Irare and other towns too numerous to mention had protested overtly against herders, who were daily destroying their means of livelihoods with the security agencies being forlorn to halt the sordid trends.

Within the last couple of months, towns like Erio, Efon, Ilawe, Aramoko, Ayebode, Ahun, and others have been under the toll of poor road infrastructures. Some of them, had also protested the deplorable states of their roads and how they had been cut off from the rest of the state.

The political class is also another group Oyebanji would have to work hard to pacify. Some of the APC members are seriously aggrieved about how they were allegedly sidelined under the last government. The new Governor must be shrewd in thinking and action in order not to inherit the enemies of his benefactor, Dr. Fayemi. He must also act in a manner that won’t portary him as muzzling the opposition. All these are tasks that needed serious thinking and tact to subdue.

With the way he spoke in his inaugural address, Oyebanji seemed well informed about the happenings at home and how burdensome and tortuous the journey he started would be. He started by eulogising those who had led the state before him in various capacities, saying they must have done that under different political parties, but stated that the mission was one and which was solely to develop the state.

Oyebanji particularly commended Fayemi for ushering in strong and enviable development to the state, promising to consolidate further and  use the legacy as a springboard to catapult Ekiti to a higher economic and social pedestals.

He said he shared the views that Ekiti people shared different political views and political inclinations, saying he wont allow his political leaning to influence his relationships with all Ekiti or jettison the principle of fairness, equity and fair-play. The new Governor added that he will promote the spirit of oneness Ekiti was renowned for, and which had been the binding force since the pre-colonial era to promote peace, unity  and stability in the state.

His words: “Ekiti Kete! Today is a great day for us, and we should all be proud. Today, we are observing history being made, and a new chapter of our story being written. It was in this spirit of oneness that they bound together as a united Ekiti confederacy and emerged victorious against external forces that sought to subjugate us in our own land. In unity of purpose, they fought and contained attempts to dominate us at different epochs in our history.

“This same spirit of unity has been passed down generations, and guided the founding fathers and mothers who built on efforts made since the Second Republic, and led the successful struggle for the creation of our own Ekiti State. This was a struggle led by our revered traditional rulers and prominent citizens which resulted in Ekiti becoming the only entirely homogeneous state in Nigeria”.

Oyebanji added that his vision is to make Ekiti a land of prosperity, where equity, justice, fair-play and stability will thrive.

“My vision is for Ekiti State to be a land of prosperity, opportunity, peace and progress. A land in which transformed people and communities can reap the fruits of their labour in dignity, good health and safety. A land of honour where integrity matters. For this vision to be actualised we need to focus on a roadmap to get there”.

The new Governor said he will zealously prosecute the recently unveiled vision 2050 economic roadmap initiated by Fayemi to make Ekiti a model, saying : “I assure you that by God’s grace and the support of our people, together with you, we will keep Ekiti working.”

In his short message at the event, former Lagos State Governor and presidential flagbearer of the ruling APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urged Ekiti electorate to continually support the All Progressives Congress. He, however, pleaded with the new Governor to look at issues dispassionately from all fronts and do things that will bring comfort to all Ekiti populace.

Tinubu said the APC had always been known to believe in welfarism and wellbeing of the people and that the new government must embrace and promote  this etho for his reign to be beneficial and memorable. 

According to him: “I commend  you for voting Biodun Oyebanji in the governorship election. He must meet your expectations. You voted for him to make remarkable difference in your life and this must be his guiding principle.

“The outgoing governor, Kayode Fayemi, has made the job easier for you. He has built a solid foundation upon which you can start. Work hard and make Ekiti people happy. That is what the progressives believe in and we must act to promote this culture”.

Speaking in the same vein, Federal Senators of Southern extraction under the auspices of the Southern Senators Forum (SSF) have appealed to Oyebanji to make justice, fairness and equity the cornerstone of his goverment. The Senators advised that  promoting these ideals will help the new government  in ushering in  accelerated  development and in entrenching the ideals of  peace, stabilility and inclusion in Ekiti governance.

The forum’s Chairman and Senator representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District, Opeyemi Bamidele, who spoke on behalf of SSF said Oyebanji had garnered enough experience as a politician and administrator which must reflect by running a government that will be fair to all citizens.

The lawmakers expressed confidence that Oyebanji will rev the pedal of development and speed up the implementation of his six-point cardinal agenda to build and consolidate on the accomplishments of the past governments.

Bamidele said: “We congratulate Governor Biodun Oyebanji on his inauguration and urge him to use his divine position to further unite the people. The nation currently desires unity at all levels to restore peace and tame the ravaging insecurity staring all of us in the face and God had bestowed this leadership opportunity on Governor Oyebanji for him to contribute to nation-building.

“Ensuring that Nigeria progresses towards the right direction and at the expected pace requires all hands to be on the deck, particularly taking proactive actions at the subnational levels that are the closest to the people that bear the burdens of governance in our nation. We appeal to Governor Oyebanji to deploy his God-given talents and experiences he had garnered over two decades he had got deeply involved in Ekiti politics and governance to promote justice, fairness and equity among Ekiti residents in all your dealings.

“In every step you take, allow the people to take absolute ownership of your government, so that mutual trust and respect can be deeply entrenched in the system to help you navigate the road speedily in the overall interest of those you were elected to govern. We appeal that you focus on the implementation of your well encapsulated agenda to benefit Ekiti people and etch your name in gold as one governor, who makes remarkable positive impacts in the lives of the people after your tenure lapses”.

The main opposition party, the Social Democratic Party, had however told Ekiti people not to expect anything good under the present government. The State Publicity Secretary of the Party, Mr Gani  Salau, described Oyebanji as a continuation of what he called ignoble reign of the immediate past government of Dr. Kayode Fayemi that allegedly swindled the commonwealth of the state to settle political cronies.

Salau rated the immediate past government low in terms of performance  and contended that the present governor, was part of the failure, having served as the Secretary to the State Government before he resigned to vie for governorship.

The SDP spokesman said Fayemi received over N200 billion from the federation account and Internally Generated Revenue for four years, charging him to come and explain how the huge sum of money was expended to convince Ekiti that Oyebanji, who had openly confessed that he will start where Fayemi ended will deliver optimally.

He said: “Ekiti should expect all-round failure from this government. In the first instance, you can’t expect a governor, who is superintending over Ekiti with a stolen mandate to deliver. He has moral encumbrances already. Ekiti people knew how they stole the mandate freely given to former Governor Segun Oni in the June 18 governorship election.

“Again, let them point to one legacy project they did for the benefit of Ekiti people. The few that they did like Civic Centre and Airport, were for their own comfort.

“Look at the deplorable states of Ekiti roads. As of now, Ekiti has one of the poorest road networks. As I speak with you, over 40 towns are now unreachable by good roads. All the 12 federal roads are bad and are now booby traps. All they know how to do is deceiving the people with utopian views. So, expecting Biodun Oyebanji to perform is like deceiving oneself, he has nothing to offer”.

With this doubtful verdict coming from the opposition and the seemingly forlorn hope being expressed by the citizens, Oyebanji must walk the talk to convince skeptics that he has what it takes to take Ekiti out of the doldrums.