Ogun, Nigeria, August 26, 2011 — May 29, 2011 was a day many Nigerians looked forward to with a lot of expectations. And for various reasons too, the main reason being the general acceptance of the conduct of the elections that ushered in a new set of leaders across the country.
Ogun, Nigeria, August 26, 2011 — May 29, 2011 was a day many Nigerians looked forward to with a lot of expectations. And for various reasons too, the main reason being the general acceptance of the conduct of the elections that ushered in a new set of leaders across the country.
The people of Ogun State, in the South-Western part of the country were no less ecstastic about the wind of change blowing across the state. And this is understandably so, for while many of the other states can be said to have savoured the dividends of democracy under a peaceful atmosphere in the last eight years, the people of Ogun State have not been so lucky.
It has been one crisis after the other, so much so that the same Ogun State that produced the likes of Obafemi Awolowo, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Tai Solarin, MKO Abiola and Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka now became synonymous with lawlessness and other anti-social behaviours.
The entrance of Senator Ibikunle Amosun was, therefore, a refreshing breather from the pollution of the last eight years.
Following his landslide victory, Amosun immediately hit the ground running towards actualising his mission of rebuilding Ogun State through a well articulated five-point programme which addresses the basic needs of the people.
A fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Amosun soon embarked on on-the-spot tour of facilities in the state with a view to determining the cost of fixing these facilities which were in a sorry state.
Hospitals no longer dispense drugs due to lack of funding over the years. Children roamed the streets instead of being in the classrooms as schools have now been commercialised.
Even government agencies could no longer generate any revenue as most of them have been given to private concerns at give-away prices, all in the name of concession agreement.
In spite of this mountain of challenges, Governor Amosun set about delivering his electoral promises meticulously.
The roads were first to receive the attention of the government with the rehabilitation of some township roads across the 20 local government areas of the state, as well as some federal roads that fall within the state, including a portion of the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway and the Abeokuta-Lagos Expressway. The hospitals also got a boost with the on-going refurbishing of 47 health care health centres across the state.
Given the premium placed on education by the Amosun administration, the government has begun the construction of modern school blocks in 100 schools spread across the three senatorial districts of the state. Civil servants in the state are still basking in the euphoria of their new minimum wage of N18,250,which is above the amount recommended by the Minimum Wage Act. In addition to that, the government is about completing the process of creating 10,000 new jobs for unemployed youths in the state.
By the time Governor Amosun came into office, residents of the state were groaning under the scarcity and resultant high cost of kerosene.
The Governor promptly moved in by flooding the state with kerosene through collaboration with some independent petroleum marketers. Although, I personally believe that one year is a good time to measure the success or otherwise of any administration, it is noteworthy that Governor Amosun within his first 100 days in office has started well.
As laudable as these achievements are however, they are by no means the greatest achievements of the Amosun administration in the last 100 days. The greatest achievement, in my reckoning, is the return of normalcy to Ogun State.
Normalcy here is taken to mean that citizens can now move freely in any part of the state without any fear of harassment from any quarters. This normalcy is manifested in the cordial relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government.
Now that normalcy has returned to Ogun State, the citizens can now sit back and watch as Governor Amosun unfolds his developmental programmes which in four years time should have changed the entire face of the state, given the Governor’s almost infectious zeal and commitment to rebuild the state.
Contact:
Ogun Cares
Ogun State
Ogun, Nigeria
2347028912593
[email protected]
http://www.ogunstate.gov.ng