Governor Dapo Abiodun’s remarkable giants strides in virtually all sectors of the state’s economy and polity is the stuff of genius as it has brought to the fore his legend as a consummate technocrat, a seasoned administrator, a political titan, a fiscal colossus, a constitutional paragon and a super achieving public servant per excellence in our present democratic dispensation Governor Abiodun’s developmental, infrastructural and socio-economic focus, vigour, rigour and fortitude is felt throughout the nooks and crannies of the state be it rural or urban, rustic or metropolitan, from the southern to the northern, to the eastern and western parts of the State and his formidable paradigm thrust objectives has lifted millions of the people from abject poverty to middle class status as his massive public works program and state empowerment intervention schemes has provided employment for the teeming youths, women and adults while back to school initiative has mopped up over a million out of school children from the streets and into the classrooms.
Governor Abiodun’s revolution has been felt in all strata of the state’s society be it farmers, herders, artisan, market women, traders, professionals, or students, indeed the vast hollo-polloi have been positively impacted by the statesman’s philosophy that No Ogun indigene be Left Behind in the policy desiderata of his trailblazing government. In the educational, health, agriculture, rural development pipe borne water, power, manpower development, justice, housing, chieftaincy, and local government administration, civil and public service reforms, transportation, security, and women and youth development arenas.
Governor Abiodun has shown his mettle as an innovator, an emancipator, a motivator, and a developer-in-chief per excellence who has transformed the whole of Ogun State into one vast construction site with caterpillars, cranes, earthmovers etc traversing one part to the other, building housing estates, constructing of roads, laying of pipes for water provision, building hospitals, healthcare centres, primary and secondary schools and even polytechnics to the extent that any first time visitor or someone who has not been to Ogun State for quite some time will be marveled and pleasantly surprised at the same time with the fastrack infrastructural and socio-economic transformation going on there.
All through these landmarks and milestones, a pacifist Governor Abiodun has consistently preached and practiced the ethos of unity, peace, love, tolerance, communal cooperation, and mutual dialogue among the different ethno-religious and linguistic groups in the state under his inclusive banner of One People, One Destiny.
The amiable chief executive has traversed all parts of the state tirelessly holding town hall meetings, village square conferences, and useful interactions with traditional rulers, community leaders, and significant leaders of thought on how to engender lasting peace, unity, and stability in the state, and it has paid off handsomely as Ogun State remains one of the most tranquil and peaceful states in the federation, a remarkable feat as it is located in the volatile Niger-Delta region.
Extensive civil service reform embarked upon by the Ogun reformer-in-chief has enhanced morale and productivity throughout the state’s bureaucracy while delivering much-needed modern equipment and state-of-the-art tools to a grateful workforce.
His fiscal prudence and stated determination to rid Ogun State of all forms of corruption, financial mismanagement, embezzlement of public funds, and the recovery of looted assets and monies belonging to the Ogun people and the prosecution of those found wanting. His large-heartedness and innate goodwill to all men have led him to put the past aside while enjoining all citizens and other Nigerians residing within the state to join hands with his focused and purposeful administration to move their beloved state forward in all positive ramifications.
Indeed, Dapo Abiodun is many things to many people, depending on which angle you are analyzing (refer to the parable of the blind man feeling the body of an elephant).
However, there are some unmistakable and inescapable facts and attributes of the amiable chief executive that all are agreed upon. Firstly, is the unshakable honesty and integrity of Governor Dapo Abiodun which one admirer described thus: ‘Governor Abiodun can be taken literally for his words, his words as the proverbial saying goes, can be taken to the bank’. Indeed, Governor Abiodun stands by his words and statements, come what may, and has never been in a situation where he denied making a statement or was ‘quoted out of context’ No way. Once the ebullient governor makes a policy statement, that is it, come what may.
Secondly, his courage, firmness, and decisiveness have never been in doubt and many in the opposition camp have come face to face with this undeniable and enviable character trait, Governor Dapo Abiodun cannot be intimidated or harassed by anyone no matter how influential or highly placed. He has a great deal of respect for his elders, party leaders, elder statesmen, and traditional institutions and goes to great lengths to defer to them but once it revolves around the welfare and well-being of his people there can be no compromise, Governor Abiodun is prepared to step on toes no matter how powerful as far as he believes that he is doing the right thing.
Thirdly, Governor Abiodun places great store on consultation, deliberation, dialogue, and constructive criticism, he is not in the habit of witch-hunting opponents or adversaries. He actively welcomes admonitions and even warnings, as far as they are geared toward moving the state forward in the crucial scheme of things. The purposeful chief executive does not believe that he knows it all or in a winner-take-all-all mentality that is prevalent among many in the political class. Rather, he runs an inclusive, open-door, accommodating system of administration that treats the whole of the state as his constituency, rather than pandering to only those who voted for him. His victory as he so famously affirmed is a victory for all Ogun people and not just for his party or supporters but for all.
When he came on board in 2019, he discovered that all the major roads within communities had become dilapidated. He initiated the direct labour agency – Ogun State Public Works Agency (OGPWA) which moved into all the 20 local government areas of the state simultaneously and started rehabilitating roads. That done, the governor then did something entirely different: he embraced the projects abandoned or half-executed. Today, he has rebuilt over 400 km of roads, including the Ijebu-Ode-Epe express road, Sagamu-Interchange-Abeokuta express road, and Ilaro-Owode -Yewa road. The Lusada-Atan – Agbara road, in particular, is crucially important to the South-West, Nigeria, and indeed the West African sub-region because it hosts the biggest industrial complex in Nigeria. Even federal roads are receiving attention. As he usually says, people in the area care less about the federal government: it is the state government that they know. Everywhere you turn in Abiodun’s Ogun, you find projects. Numberless rural roads are being rehabilitated and reconstructed in villages that haven’t witnessed caterpillars in the last 30 years!
The icing on the cake is the Ogun State Gateway Agro-Cargo International Airport meant to serve as cargo and passenger facility for the heavy industries built between the Lagos-Ogun corridor and the Agbara Industrial Layout. It is expected that the airport, which is well located, will provide seamless service for the evacuation of finished products from these companies and delivery of raw materials, as well as create jobs for 25,000 persons. Already, test flights have commenced and a Special Agro-Processing Zone (SAPZ) has been inaugurated. The location of the airport at the off-limits of the notorious traffic gridlock that characterizes Lagos State puts the facility in a vantage position to move goods to other parts of the country from the airport. Essentially, it will be a rendezvous for the assemblage of farm produce before export, as the government of Ogun State is putting things in place to build an aerotropolis at the airport. This means that agro-based factories and others can sprout at the airport. That will give rise to an economic community that will create jobs, create revenue for the government, and expand businesses between the two major states in the South-west.
These are some enviable records set by the Prince Dapo Abiodun-led administration that reassure citizens that their votes have not been wasted. The people of the state have, as a result of his leadership, been living peacefully. Ogun State can only wait and anticipate even improved outcomes in the upcoming years, including the second term of the effective and development-oriented governor.
Indeed, his resourceful, purposeful, result-oriented, broad-minded, and energetic action-packed administration is the reason the people came out en-massed to vote for him to continue in the unprecedented human and infrastructural development in the State.
Ogun people as well as other well-meaning Nigerians have a lot to celebrate and felicitate with the dynamic Governor Dapo Abiodun given the gigantic, monumental, and momentous strides his administration has recorded in such a relatively short period. More grease to his elbows as he continues to resolutely and valiantly forge ahead daring any obstacles or challenges that may lie ahead.
To God Be the Glory.
