STILL ON DEMOCRACY DAY CELEBRATION AND STEWARDSHIP OF GOVERNANCE IN OORELOPE LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF OYO STATE.
The jamborees of 29th May, 2018 democracy day celebration have come and gone just like the ones before it in the past. All across the nation, governments at all level are falling on one another, be it local, state or federal, willingly submitting their scorecards and performance sheets for their people to see, digest, know, analyze, criticize, applaud, accept or reject. That is the norm. That is the practice. Citizens are entitled to know because occupiers of public offices are, by default, servants of the people and they are run, managed and powered and serviced by public fund and in the interest of the public. The case is not so in our dear Oorelope Local Government of Oyo State. It cannot be so because ours is a different kind of government. Dead cold silence is the democracy day gift the people got by those at the helm of affairs.
In some sane climes, a platform or two would be used to communicate goodwill messages and achievements of the government to the people. One will expect that the chairman of the local government and/or the member in the House of Assembly, as well as our representative in the House of Representatives and the Senate, will come down from their horses and give accounts of their stewardship, run an appraisal of their performances and feel the pulse of the people they serve and represent. This we did not see. No town hall meeting nor a rally or gathering of sorts. The people have suddenly become leprosy infected and untouchable.
I am worried as a concerned citizen that up till now, no one knows in clear terms, how much percentage of the local government’s fund is assigned to capital/developmental projects, workers’ salaries, security, agriculture and even savings for tough days ahead. Governance has been so bastardized in Oyo State, so much so that, people see stipends as divine gifts to sustenance and livelihood from those in power. For years, the State did not witness any local government election and when finally it did, it was a political charade. Yes-boys to the governors and their cronies emerged in all the contests because, in the real sense, they contested against themselves.
According to Budgit Nigeria, the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) made a disbursement of N4.87 billion to Oyo State in April 2018, out of which Oorelope Local Government, headquartered in Igboho, got the sum of N129, 010, 728.98. The information is in public domain and this fund is people’s fund, meant for attending to public needs. No one knows how much was truncated and diverted in transit, courtesy of the deadly, unconstitutional and anti-people state/LG joint accounting policy. Ours is a local government of about 150,000 intelligent, diligent and well informed people. We deserve to know.
The Local Government administration is the closest to the people and it is not run by aliens, why is it so difficult or nearly impossible for democracy to thrive here. The potholes are still there on our roads as the rains have returned. The primary health care centers are still there unattended to. Farmers are not getting supports to prosperity in agriculture and youths are not empowered. For how long will this continue? We’ve got to start asking questions. In the long run, supreme power belongs to the people.
Moving forward and in times to come, it is pertinent that we strategically position our land and its resources in the hands of those who have the intellectual capacity, leadership acumen, career and working experience as well as political will, to drive this land to a place of prosperity and economic Eldorado for all and sundry.
Let us identify people all around the four corners of this beautiful ancient town, with confirmed capacity to occupy positions of leadership and representation. We are blessed with very intelligent people, from Oke-Esa, to Oke-Loko, from Oke-Afin to Oke-‘Gboho, up to Oke- Akasa. We can spread our search light and extend to Isale-Ola, Isale-Bonni, Isale Ogede, as well as Isale Ope. We have played enough of promoting mediocrity at the expense of merit and competence.
Come 2019, we shall leave no stone unturned insha-Allah. We will collaborate will all necessary stakeholders, home and abroad, young and old, to ensure dividends of democracy is delivered to our people in the areas of education, agriculture, health, security, commerce, youth empowerment, SME development and many more. A feel of good governance shall envelope our fatherland. Let us do this together…….PeAcE…….TASOOLO !!

Comrade ADESOLA YAQUB, an ICT expert, an entrepreneur, a social commentator and a leadership development coach, is the founder/CEO of SPEAKINFLUENCE AFRICA, a leadership development organization based in Abuja, Nigeria, and can be reached via sholayaq@gmail.com

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