Ajimobi and his developmental strides. By Maroof Ibikunle Those conversant with Oyo State – its history, politics and terrain – will no doubt shower some accolades on the incumbent administration in the state. On a number of fronts, the administration has performed creditably well to the delight of observers and residents. Today, Ibadan the capital of the Pacesetter State, is rediscovering its old, glorious self. Today, the capital city wears a new look and takes on the same outlook that was envisioned by the founding fathers of the capital city when it was the capital of the defunct Western Region Government under the late Sage, Obafemi Awolowo. It is, indeed, heartwarming that the city is rediscovering itself. Before the inception of the Abiola Ajimobi administration, Oyo State, especially the capital city of Ibadan, had become the antithesis of what the founding fathers of the city planned for it. Of all the ills that befell the city, infrastructural decay, insecurity and preventable disasters stood out like a sore thumb. Infrastructural decay peaked during the immediate past administration in the state. All over the state, from Oke Ogun area to Ibarapa, it was the same sorry sight of run down roads, filthy environment, ill-equipped healthcare centres. Worse still, insecurity accompanied residents everywhere they went like their shadows. The capital city evidenced it all. Back then, political thuggery became a common feature of daily living. Men of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) became law onto themselves. They held the city and its denizens to ransom at will, wreaking havoc where their shadows passed through; it was that bad. For all of that, they never got as little as a slap on the wrist. Instead, as compensation for errands well run, their czars wined and dined with the powers that be in the state. Those were the days when lovers of Oyo State shed tears for the state, as they wondered how such an admirable capital city degenerated to such sorry state. The dirty environment became the playing fields of avoidable deaths. It is easy to argue that the government should not carry the blame for the mountains of rubbish that littered the town from Olomi area to Iwo, Ojoo and many parts of the capital city. On the other hand, the government at the time failed to offer a leadership that should have guided the people in the direction of commitment to the maintenance of a clean environment and hygienic surroundings. This is one thing that the exemplary leadership of the incumbent administration of Senator Abiola Ajimobi is delivering to the people of the state. Unlike what obtained before now, infrastructure is being upgraded. The capital city, as well as other major cities across the three senatorial districts of the state, is beginning to wear the look of a town moving towards modernism and away from retrogression. Erstwhile narrow and dirt-filled roads are now being expanded and dualised to allow for easy and free flow of traffic. The Ajimobi administration is mindful of the fact that the state of infrastructure or public works is a key index of a state’s development in the modern world. In line with its focus on the fundamentals, provision of infrastructure has been at the core of the administration. In all, over 250 roads have been rehabilitated across the state. Seven bridges have also been rehabilitated, further ensuring free flow of traffic. There is also the 110-kilometre Ibadan Circular Road that is nearing completion. Also noteworthy is the construction of a flyover at Mokola roundabout, which has helped the free flow of traffic in the area since its completion. According to Richard Owoseni and Habeeb Abimbola, both indigenes of Oyo town and residents of Ibadan, the state is currently enjoying a new lease of life. The duo stated that the town is not only wearing a new look, mountains of rubbish no longer litter major roads in Ibadan and Oyo town. “The state has so much to thank the Ajimobi administration for. Two things are most obvious here: cleaner environment and security of lives and property. In the days of the immediate past government, members of the road transport union unleashed mayhem on the city at will. They killed and maimed innocent people anytime they struck. You cannot imagine the reign of terror that was the order of the day in those days; but it is a different ball game now. We now live like human beings in our country, unlike what it used to be,” Owoseni said. On his part, Abimbola stated: “The whole state lacked government presence; roads were in bad shape, the whole place was filled with filth, disorderliness was the order of the day. It was as if there was no government in place. All of that have changed for the better with the coming of the Ajimobi administration. “Go to Awolowo Junction; before now, any time there was a heavy downpour, the flood was always washing people away. I can’t count the number of lives that have been lost to the flood in that area. All of that has become a thing of the past with the construction of a bridge over the area. This is evidence that the incumbent administration is a responsive and progressive one. The people of Oyo State are happy for the transformation and the repositioning that the state is currently going through.” The general opinion in the state is that the governor is working determinedly to fulfill his promise to the people of the state when he vowed that ‘‘our government shall insist on the construction of durable roads. Never again will our people live with the irony of roads constructed over (several decades ago) being more motorable than the ones constructed few months back.’’ Ibadan and other major cities have benefitted from the visionary leadership of Ajimobi. The perennial flood that usually wreaked havoc in the capital city is receiving attention from the incumbent administration and this has led to the changing face of Ibadan. Over 129 blocked drains in Ibadan metropolis have been cleared in readiness for the rains and preparatory to the construction of a channelisation canal. Another 43 rivers and streams have been dredged across the state. Weekly sanitation exercise has also been institutionalised in the all over the state to promote cleanliness. Taking a cue from Lagos State, where Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency (LASAA) has sanitised the outdoor advertising in the state and become a source of internally generated revenue, the Ajimobi administration has replicated the novel idea in the state. The agency has sanitised the environment and rid it of defaced billboards that had been an eyesore. Today, the city is a beauty to behold, the way any modern city should look. Above all, the agency has added to the internally generated revenue of the state. Considering that states have had to depend on financial handouts from the centre, such initiative is a welcome development in many ways. Besides generating income for the state government, it also serves as a source of employment. In two years, the Ajimobi administration has delivered on the promises of democracy – what the two previous administrations in the state failed to deliver to the electorate in their about eight years in office. And this is basically because the administration of Ajimobi is a responsive, progressive-minded government which sees its pact with the electorate as sacred. Ibikunle wrote in from Apata, Ibadan.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:07:11 +0000
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