OGD’s eight-year revolution in Ogun State

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 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.

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.

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 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 given 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 a verdict 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.

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 others.

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, 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.  Ogun State Government has  further enhanced 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 generations 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 governor is 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.”

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 organisers.

Adebanjo is Chief Press Secretary to Governor Daniel