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OGD and the eight years revolution that transformed Ogun
state
By Adegbenro Adebanjo Newsdiaryonline Thur May
19,2011
Every epoch has its defining moments and the men and women who
shape the course of history for good or for bad. No doubt, Ogun
State was at such a defining moment in its history on May 29,
2003 when a new governor was sworn in as the State’s helmsman.
Of course given their experience with past leaders not many
people believed Otunba Gbenga Daniel when he promised to do
things differently and give governance a new positive face and
make the people the central focus of his administration. To the
skeptics the new governor was merely grandstanding as his
predecessors had done. . However, eight years after, the
skeptics have become believers while the gospel of Governor
Daniel’s extra ordinary performance continues to spread far and
wide.
Indeed, thelast Eight years in Ogun State under the watch of
Otunba Gbenga Daniel has witnessed an undisguised revolution,
coursing through all facets of lives and bringing in its wake
socio—economic transformation and people centered projects,
policies and programmes never before witnessed in the annals of
the history of the State. Of course as the case with all
revolutionaries who are aware from the outset that one cannot
make an omelet without breaking an egg, this Daniel has fought
many battles most of them contrived by political opponents who
either could not keep pace with his administration’s
developmental initiatives or wanted a return to the status quo
or out of pure mischief. Governor
Daniel who has the singular honour of being the State’s longest
serving helmsman so far has also been pitched against the
establishment which has ranged many of their own against his
business unusual approach to doing things. Those who believe in
the status quo and who accuse Daniel of upsetting the apple cart
have nearly succeeded in drowning out the genuine voice of the
people who are in a better position to give the verdict on his
stewardship.
The reality on the ground contrasts sharply with the
deliberately concocted falsehood being bandied about by the
Governor’s traducers and political opponents. Ogun in the
estimation of the generality of the people and impartial
observers from outside is a good example of good governance with
a responsible and responsive administration under the leadership
of the 55 year old Daniel who was born in Ibadan, trained as an
engineer at the University of Lagos and distinguished himself
as a first class business man and corporate player,
philanthropist and humanist before going into politics and
eventually getting the mandate of the people of Ogun State on
two occasions
That mandate has been used for the benefit of the people and
the greater glory of the Gateway State. And nobody can fault the
giant development strides of the last 8 years. In Egbaland,
there is an emerging new business district accentuated by the
domineering presence of the OPIC Twin Tower which was
commissioned on May 12, 2011. With its commissioning
Abeokuta the Ogun State capital joins the big league
of state capitals with a befitting City Centre. The 12 storey
edifice with a concrete reinforced basement and a penthouse is
the tallest building in Ogun State. And it synchronizes with the
deliberate attempt to create a new city centre in Abeokuta and
jumpstart the Abeokuta Central Business District Development
Project.
The project supervised and executed by indigenes of Ogun State
has given a more befitting aura to the state capital and is
another testimony to the success of the OGD administration in
the last eight years. The Lalubu Road, hitherto a centre of
gridlock, now compares favorably with Lagos Allen Avenue.
However, it has six macadamized lanes with banks and top of the
range boutiques dotting its entire stretch. Indeed when this
Daniel came to town there were just about six banks with
branches in Abeokuta, now all the banks in Nigeria have their
offices in different parts of the State. The same can be said
for eateries and communication outfits. The Abeokuta—Siun
Expressway, houses built for and giving out to villagers whose
mud abodes were demolished to make way for the expressway, the
refurbished Olumo Rock, the new Housing Estates in Asero, the
refurbished MKO Abiola International Stadium, the complete
turnaround at the State Hospital Ijaiye, the best purposely
built State Secretariat in the South West, the Olusegun Obasanjo
Presidential Hilltop Estate, a campus of Olabisi Onabanjo
University of Technology at Ibogun, the homestead of
former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Laderin Workers Estate,
a new Gateway ICT Polytechnic in Itori are some of the legacies
that have become signposts of the Daniel era in Egbaland , the
home town of the legendary Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola
the man who paid the supreme price for our democracy. Indeed for
Prince Bola Ajibola, former attorney General of the Federation
and Dr Onaolapo Soleye Egbaland under the watch of Daniel has
soared and enjoyed unprecedented development. The two prominent
Egba sons returned averdict of excellent performance on the
administration of Otunba Gbenga Daniel.
Two major projects, the 7 megawatts power plant that would power
the State secretariat and the reconstructed Isale Igbehin Bridge
join the imperishable legacies of the Daniel era in Egbaland.
As it is in Egbaland, so it is in the other divisions of the
State. The Yewas for the first time are no longer crying of
marginalization simply because of the equitable distribution of
projects under Governor Daniel. They now have a brand new School
of Nursing, a glittering new stadium of international standard
and the most functional Free Trade Zone in the South West. At
the last count, over 5000 employment has been created in the
fledging business enclave called Ogun Guangdong FTZ, Igbesa. The
Yewas also have a campus of OOU, a new ICT Polytechnic, among
the projects they are counting as part of their gains under the
progressive era of Daniel.
The Ijebus and the Remos have been fairly treated too. The
Gateway International Stadium in Ijebu—Ode which has played host
to many international competitions ranks among the best in the
country. There is also the country’s first University of
Education, an ICT based Polytechnic in Ijebu Igbo, completely
turned around water works, several kilometers of road and, of
course, the multi—billion naira LNG Project at the Olokola Free
Trade Zone, which is still in the making. The Remos also have a
stadium of their own and, wait for it, the best NYSC Permanent
Orientation Camp in the country. They also have their own ICT
based Polytechnic at Saapade.
Under the administration of Otunba Gbenga Daniel the tradition
of excellence that the Ogun State Public Service is noted
for has not only been maintained but verifiable improvement has
been achieved to the end that the service has risen to become
the best in the country And the human capital
development initiative of the administration that has seen
thousands of civil servants sharpening their skills through
seminars, workshop and other academic pursuits sponsored by the
Ogun State Government has further enhance the capacity of the
service that has seen more recruitments in the last eight years
than at any other time in the history of the State.
Just some days to its departure, the people of Ogun State rated
the Daniel era through their traditional rulers. Oba Michael
Sonariwo, Akarigbo of Remo and the current Chairman of the Ogun
State Council of Obas set the ball rolling inside the glittering
new Conference hall built for the natural rulers adjacent the
sprawling Obas Complex, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta shortly after the
Ogun State Governor had commissioned the edifice on Thursday
March 31, 2011. Oba Sonariwo said the consensus verdict of
traditional rulers in Ogun State is that the OGD administration
had recorded giant developmental strides in all facets of human
endeavor. Oba Sonariwo said the governor’s laudable achievements
have been written with indelible ink and would remain a source
of inspirations to generation yet unborn. Oba Gbadebo Oni, the
Olu of Imashai and acting Chairman of the YEWA Council of Obas
said Governor Daniel has changed the status of the State from a
sleepy civil service enclave to a commercially vibrant entity
. He said the YEWAS have double reasons to be grateful for the
contributions of the Governor to the development of the Ogun
West Senatorial District and for supporting the aspirations of
the YEWAS to produce a governor for the first time in the
history of the State. He said the many criticisms that have come
the way of the governor were because of his intimidating
achievements. He said in spite of criticisms from some quarters
nobody can deny the fact that the Governor has turned Ogun into
a model State.
Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, the Alake of Egbaland said Governor
Daniel was able to record remarkable achievements and make the
difference because he is not a typical politician but a
professional in politics. For the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba
Sikiru Adetona, the Daniel administration would score first
class were it to be graded. Said the paramount ruler, “You have
done very well,I can assure you that after you leave office even
your detractors will praise you. All the bickering and hecklings
are all about politics, it does not represent the genuine
verdict of the people of the State about your stewardship. The
Genuine verdict of the people of Ogun State is that you have
done excellently well,” Oba Adetona said to thunderous ovation
from the traditional rulers present.
Before the traditional rulers , the Directing staff
and members of the Senior Executive Course 31 of the National
Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies ,NIPPS, Kuru who came
on a study tour of Ogun State returned the following verdict on
the stewardship of Governor Gbenga Daniel, “In coming to
Ogun State we found out that the State through the executive
Governoris doing a number of things worthy of emulation which
has to do with utilization of indigenous human and natural
resources to grow the economy. These transformations coming from
visionary leadership are what we have seen in Ogun State and we
think it should be encouraged in the country.”
Just as the Chief Bisi Onabanjo revolution succeeded in putting
the State on the right footing, the Daniel era has charted a new
vista for the state and opened new windows of opportunities that
has turned the Gateway
state into a pacesetter among its peers. If the true measure of
good governance is the enunciation and implementation of
policies that give birth to projects, which touch the lives of
the people, the Otunba Gbenga Daniel administration has
faithfully lived up to this all-important creed. Ogun State
under the watch of Otunba Daniel has witnessed phenomenal
transformations in all facets of life with visible democratic
dividends spread throughout the length and breadth of the State.
From all indications history, which is the chronicler of the
ultimate verdict, would be kind to Otunba Gbenga Daniel, a man
of vision, apostle of good governance and a statesman par
excellence.This Daniel is leaving behind a new Ogun State which
has now become the country’s leading investment destination of
choice and the first point of call for National and
international sporting events organizers.
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