Governor Amosun's Rebuilding Mission

"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way"-John C. Maxwell

The aim of this piece is not to unduly sing praises of any government but to highlight positive and proactive developments of visionary leadership thereby encouraging aspiring leaders to be creative in order to carve a niche for themselves after all.

Every appointed or elected leader has their unique records. By inference, one unique thing that leadership of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo was widely known for was free and qualitative education for all as this writer was a beneficiary of that largesse up to the school certificate level. Millions of south-westerners did benefit from that vision. And up till today, the impact of that positive vision is still with us Yorubas.That is why every visionary leader critically looks at a sector and develops it as his unique selling point. By so doing, such a leader will remain indelible on the minds of the electorate-and on the walls of history- even after they have long vacated political power.

This is time to beam a searchlight on performances of our elected leaders especially those seeking the second term in office. With the mission to rebuild Ogun State,the incumbent governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has set another remarkable example with the new face of the state.(All areas Amosun's score card cannot be accommodated in this piece).The four cardinal points of the state roads have no doubt witnessed rapid transformation in terms of total reconstruction. It is gratifying that Ogun State has now left behind it the era of being refered to as 'The Ancient City' in terms of its outlook.( For God's sake, this is 21st century!). It is now indeed an ultra-modern city, given the aesthetic new outlook.This is one important area, I think, Ogun State has a Unique Selling Point. It should blow that trumpet well as people are now blowing it in its favour.

The critics contend if roads transform into meals on the table of an average indigene. They also argue that the roads and flyovers now being massively constructed are too expensive and so on and so forth.This is typical of politics. Though criticisms bring about the best in individual and government performance, what many inhabitants of the state are now really interested in, based on my sampling is the feasibility and high quality of these mega projects.

We should realize that irrespective of one's social status (traders, corporate workers, industrialists, artisans, politicians, farmers, healthcare practitioners, pensioners, parents, students, transporters and others yet to be mentioned), we all need good transportation network to convey us and our goods and services to our various destinations. Good transportation network is germane to all and sundry. In Ogun State,road journeys are now shorter and smoother because of the smoothflow of traffic which is not unconnected with the ambience of the roads.

At fora, Governor Amosun had declared severally that his government would not discriminate in the reconstruction of 'federal roads' and 'state roads', stressing that state governments are closer to people at the grassroots to construct and maintain such facilities as roads. There are now instances federal roads are being reconstructed by Amosun government within the state.One good example is Lafenwa-Ayetoro Road leading to Crescent University.

In these roads, there is reflection of 'The Ogun Standard' propounded by the incumbent government for the quality assurance of its programmes.State roads now have standard medians ( with beautification flowers and street lights), walkways, drainages,and parking lanes and lots. Also, recreation parks are now springing up across the state. All this constitutes a good handwriting that is most likely to stand the test of time in years ahead.It is hoped that the state government will not relent until the best is achieved in this area for prosperity.

One noticeable character of Governor Ibikunle Amosun is that he believes in the dictum "if you want a job done well, do it yourself". Because he holds these projects close to his heart, he personally supervises them without notice to contractors. And oftentimes, he walks hundreds of meters to satisfy his conscience on quality and standard. At sites, he interacts with the common people to get feedback. He listens to their comments and even practically explains government views where necessary. Many a time, he was seen in a peaceful dialogue with market women on relocation and re-allocation of their shops, where the old stalls had given way for the mega road projects.

With the standard of drainage system now put in place across the state, the incidence of flooding has been critically minimized as there is now proper channelling of rain water into the Ogun River and other streams. Inhabitants of areas where there used to be heavy flooding after rains are now heaving a sigh of relief.We encourage the Amosun government to work more assiduously in this area as a good complement of this laudable job.

Obviously, our roads in the state are now neater than ever, courtesy of the state government's partnership with refuse collectors who rid the environment of dirts. With the complement of the walkways, pedestrians' accidents have now been minimised. Users now find the paths worthwhile for exercising their legs without fear of running into any vehicle especially Okada.

However, the Ogun State government should work hard, through monitoring of these drainage, to dissuade people from dumping refuse, particularly sachets of pure water and other items, in the water channels.Also, some of the walkways are occupied by street traders who discourage other users.The government should enlighten the public continuously and highlight appropriate sanctions for the culprits.

KATIB writes from Crescent University,
Abeokuta via [email protected]/08096629914

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Articles by Idris Katib