Ayodele  Fagbohun

As nature permanently abhors vacuum, the artificial barrier seemingly on the path of the overwhelming electoral victory and renewal of the mandate freely given to the people’s governor, amiable Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu in the just concluded Ondo guber poll shall soon be set aside.
Without distractions from any quarter which may be considered right but at this material time antithetic to the overall development and progress of the state.
All hands must be fully on deck to support, enable the governor and his ever winning team to pursue the greatest good of the people with re-animated vigour.
Knowing full well that resources accrue to the state coffers only come in trickles and perhaps dwindling as a result of the prevailing global socio-economic meltdown.
However, this is not enough reason government should shirk its onerous responsibility and obligation for the welfare and well-being of the people. In spite of this, every avenue of waste in public institutions, duplication of duties should be scrupulously avoided.
Public finance must be judiciously managed and expended with due process to achieve optimal service. Since government is not out to make profit but essentially to serve the best interests of the citizenry.
At this juncture, it is very crucial to suggest that the economic/strategic committee of Aketi led APC administration must be expanded to include some veteran politicians in the APC and some genuine stakeholders in the state.
Some governorship aspirants that voluntarily, in the spirit of party supremacy euphemistically called party discipline stepped down, teamed up esprit de corps and recorded a landslide and resounding victory for the candidate of All Progressives Congress, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu that was unprecedented in the annals of history in new Ondo State, having excised Ekiti State in 1996.
Names like Isaacs Kekemeke, Olusola Oke (SAN), Dr Bukola Adetula amongst others should feature in the list. This formidable economic team will identify new frontier and virgin uncharted areas to generate more revenues to meet the public demands in the face of dwindling revenues.
This second term in office of Mr Governor must be a unique phenomenon under the peculiar circumstance of Ondo State to crystalise the process of good governance as a major agrarian society to realize her full social-economic potential.
The focus on agriculture must be aggressively pursued to ensure food security for the ever increasing population traumatized by hunger and unemployment. Agro-allied and cottage industries should spring up mostly in the rural areas to stem the uncontrollable urban/rural drift.
Regardless of the asses that bray, Governor Akeredolu has set his hands on the furrow, there is no cause to look back to consolidate good governance ably started in the first term experiment which turned out to a huge success.
Ideologically speaking, the governor in his second term and final time as elected governor should position the All Progressives’ Congress as a political party of the left resolutely committed to staunch welfarist programmes and social democratic ideals espoused by Obafemi Awolowo’s UPN, Alliance for Democracy, the Action Congress of Nigeria to mention a few.
This is in the main to guarantee free education at all cost. The Aketi led APC administration will surely immortalize his name in the hearts of the people if he could source the required fund to finance mass education like what his predecessors Awolowo and Ajasin did for the citizenry.
Without the benefit of education the children can access without placing financial burden on the parents and guardians, every conceivable efforts of government towards the progress of any will only be “sound and fury”.
On this note, it is unfortunate and sad commentary that some past governors in Ondo State created universities like secondary schools for personal ego and to assume local champions in their individual cultural and clannish enclaves.
Ondo State which prides itself as head function of free education in Nigeria could not boast of state owned College of Education for the training of its teachers. College of Education in Ikere-Ekiti owned by Ondo State until the creation of Ekiti State in 1996 by military fiat is in the firm grip of Ekiti State government.
It is galling that Ekiti State government relates with the workers and students in the College from Ondo State as aliens and serfs. This is not how it should be.
Lest I forget, the past governors who apparently turned themselves as tin gods in their own cultural domains ironically refused to emulate Obafemi Awolowo and Adekunle Ajasin as national heroes motivated purely by patriotic zeal in respectively founding the university of Ife now OAU, Ile-Ife and Ondo State University now Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti.
What we are saying in clear and unambiguous term is this. Great Awo could have located UNIFE in his ancestral country home, Ikenne while indefatigable Ajasin could have followed suit and sited Ondo State University in his native town, Owo. And heaven would not fall.
In the quest for national service whoever on his own volition to take a plunge in partisan politics arguably a turbulent vocation and thankless service. One must not look before he leaps to avert disaster even from his own kith and kin who may easily turn adversaries while in pursuit of service to the people.
This is a timely warning to His Excellence not to be weary. Indeed, this is not time to ponder on trivial issues that Arakunrin Aketi did not win in Akure speaking areas viz: Akure North, Ifedore and Akure South Local Government Areas.
This is far from the truth. Having constitutionally garnered the required minimum, one quarter of the total votes cast, our party, All Progressives’ Congress and by extension the flagbearer Aketi, have jointly won convincingly.
Besides, without fear of contradiction, I make bold to say, the reservation of Mr Governor not withstanding that Akure is reservoir of very vibrant, highly articulate, dedicated and loyal party men and women who are working assiduously to elevate APC to high pedestal of development.
In his connection, His Excellency must redouble efforts to cultivate and perpetuate the friendship of the people not Akure sub ethnic group alone but throughout Ondo State. For the recent Ondo governorship election is a manifestation of referendum that Mr Governor and APC as ideologically oriented party of transformation and wealth creation for the people should continue in earnest to lead the state to the El Dorado.
Also, Mr Governor must increase the momentum on work on the infrastructural road networks across the state. With particular focus on the feeder/access roads in Akure township, Iju/Itaogbolu, Igoba/Osin roads in Akure North and others in Ifedore local government areas in deplorable disrepair.
As a matter of urgency, Mr Governor should graciously expedite action on the interior of the state suffering criminal neglect from previous administrations.
It must be emphasized that the product of farmers rot away for lack of good road network to transport the produce, other goods and services to reach the final consumers in the urban centres.
I honestly plead with His Excellency to do what his predecessors in office (Ajasin and Adefarati not inclusive) undid by promptly reviving the ailing and dead industries viz: Oluwa Glass Company at Igbokoda, Prime Mental Factory in Ondo town, Okitipupa Oil Plam Farm to generate massive employment; improve cash flow to stimulate depressed civil service economy since inception in 1976.
While commending and appreciating Mr Governor’s giant strides in the employment drive in opening the state as industrial hub, capacity building especially in Ondo South for its astounding rich and natural bitumen deposits, et al. The sky is the limit.
However, we shall be failing in our duty if we relent to urge Mr Governor that the other national assets, patrimonies and rich legacies which our frontline political forbears bequeathed on us as adumbrated above must not be moribund as it were.
By all means, we must strive to preserve, maintain these assets and new ones galvanized to take the poverty stricken citizens, the protesting and angry youths from the scrap heap of employment market.
On the same token, the governor must set in motion necessary machinery to create the long awaited Local Government Development Council Areas (LCDAs) without any further delay.
It will remedy the gross imbalance and top heaviness of the existing council areas. Democratic practices should take firm root in the grass roots’ level which is the ward in the council area. Let us once again start this experiment by the dictates of the constitution to ensure that local government council areas are the nursery of democratic practices as hitherto.
Agriculture must be given top priority. While insecurity and banditry should be a thing of the past with the active role of the newly created Amotekun Security Network to nip external aggression in the bud.
To cap it all, our governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of noble birth, imbued with integrity who always keeps promises dear and sacrosanct come rain or high waters.
Apart from talk and do, the slogan of victorious Aketi at campaign rallies. He is also promise made is already fulfilled. Shekina! While Akeredolu, the governor is talk and do, he is promise fulfilled, personified.
The Bible says: “At this day thou shall give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it,” Deuteronomy 25:15. The Bible also affirms labourer deserves his wage and sweat must not dry from his brow before receiving his hard earned wages.
Mr Governor Sir is hereby and passionately urged to ponder on the above weighty divine injunction from the above as recorded in Holy Bible. And to quickly and graciously rededicate himself and his populist administration to the regular payment of monthly entitlements to public servants and pensioners.
This APC led administration should listen and attend to the genuine cries and agonies of public servants and public senior citizens mostly in the evening of their lives for a well deserved personal emoluments.
Having realised the herculean assignments before him, God in His providence mercies and favour shall perfect the way of the governor, Arakunrin Akeredolu to do the needful and record astounding success in the second term better than the first shot and write his name in the hall of fame in Ondo State and in Nigeria.
Congrats! Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (a.k.a. Aketi, the people’s governor).