Examining Abiodun’s Determination to Build a Better Ogun
Lanre Alfred writes that Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has a clear-cut blueprint and crystalclear vision of how he plans to actualise his ‘Building our Future Together’ agenda for the people
For several years, water was a scarce commodity in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, and environs. Millions of households had to improvise to get that basic necessity of life. Worse for the people was that the Ogun State Water Corporation in Arakanga, Abeokuta North Local Government Area of the state, had been comatose. The corporation has a pumping capacity of 103.68 million litres per day, yet, nothing was done to make it work; until recently. Akinsanya Ahmed, a resident, said even they in Arakanga suffer from water scarcity.
Governor Dapo Abiodun, who believes that water is not only an essential commodity but a right to which people should not be denied, didn’t see why the situation should persist regardless of the challenges. Recently, he embarked on an assessment tour of the corporation where he was confronted with its derelict and degenerate state. He announced on the spot that water would not only be restored, but there would also be prompt repair and restoration of faulty transformers in the corporation. That was early January.
Two months later, the story has changed. When our correspondent visited the community earlier in the week, water had become available in many households now while the governor has promised that the corporation would be optimised in the months ahead for the benefits of the people. But that is just one out of the many silent but impactful transformations going on in the state.
Rural and township roads in Ogun State were an eyesore. The reality of the situation made the governor vow in his early days in office that his administration was determined to make it easy for people to move with relative ease between Lagos and Ogun State. He promised then that the roads linking Ogun to neighbouring states would receive priority attention as well as the construction of rural roads to foster development. Thus, to serve as a quick fix mechanism to address the deplorable condition of the roads, Governor Abiodun established the Ogun State Public Works Agency because, “Infrastructure, for us, is key to development. We have been able to demonstrate a commitment to the continued socio-economic development of our dear state, particularly in education, health, infrastructure and other key sectors that have a direct and positive impact on our people.
“You will recall that we requested that our people should select roads that should attract immediate attention in each of the 236 wards across our dear state. These roads are receiving an immediate intervention. This is in addition to government’s identified projects that will be spread across the three senatorial districts of our dear state.”
The Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engineer Ade Akinsanya pointed out that besides the road construction and rehabilitation, the state government had also begun the re-designing and proper channelization of drainage in different parts of the state and explained that works were being done with a view to checking flooding being experienced by residents and road users in the state.
As the media team went around the state during the tour, it was evident that the OGPWA is proving to be efficient and responsive in rehabilitating roads. Commendably, the Ijebu-Ode-Epe road, which had been in a state of disrepair leading to abandonment by commuters because successive administrations in the state only mouthed reconstructing it but never made good their words, has got a new lease of life.
Weeks back, Governor Abiodun turned the sod on the very important road, saying, “One of our promises was to provide infrastructure in all parts of our state. In the course of our campaign, I made a promise that our administration will rehabilitate and reconstruct the Ogun end of the Ijebu-Ode-Epe road to bring succour to our people and engender the economic development of our state.”
The dual carriage road is planned to have 10 lanes – four on each side with one pull-out section – and a toll plaza comprising 14 payment points. Aside from easing traffic on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the road would bring relief to commuters and indigenes, save Nigerians valuable time in traffic and engender the socio-economic growth of the state. Governor Abiodun said that the project was necessary as it would be an easy link to Lagos, thus improving the economic and social well-being of those in the axis.
Speaking with one of the engineers of the contractor, Craneburg Construction Ltd, a leading civil engineering company, he said the state government had given them a completion date and they were working round the clock to ensure that they did not disappoint. “We work day and night and are committed to meeting the completion date as agreed with the state government,” the engineer said.
Beyond physical projects, some of Governor Abiodun’s initiatives are centred on empowering the people and making life better for them. This was why he launched in September 2019, about four months into his administration, the Oko-owo Dapo, an empowerment initiative to provide funds to women who are involved in legitimate SMEs across the state. The initiative also aims to enhance trade as well as micro, small and medium scale enterprises. 2000 women benefitted in the first phase of the initiative as it is envisaged to reach at least 100,000 women in the first year of the Abiodun administration. Beneficiaries could be market women, politicians, members of women’s societies, religious associations or trade associations. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com