GODWIN OBASEKI’S FIRST 100 DAYS
Edo State is in good hands, writes Idemudia Oviosun
From every indication, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo State, has made quite an impression on the people of the state – myself inclusive as he clocked 100 days in office on February 20, 2017. I was not an enthusiast of his while he was campaigning for the election, but then, I was neither enthusiastic about Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.
While his clergyman act was and continues to be fascinating, it did not particularly have any effect on me. Mr Obaseki’s quietness also made me doubt, like every other concerned son of Igodomigodo, whether his regime would really be his and whether he even had any plan for what path his government would take. In 100 days, he has corrected that notion and even made me blush like an errant analyst for harbouring such a notion in the first place.
His January 1 speech this year was the first sign I perceived of a man of steel. Without batting an eyelid, he ‘upped and done away’ with manual tax collection in Edo State. Some cynics, quite unsatisfied about the genuineness of his intent with that move, labelled it a political move to curtail the overreaching influence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) youth leader, Comrade Eriyo Osakpanwa.
I beg to differ. In 100 days, Mr. Obaseki has been able to show that he has little time for politics because he has a state to run. To buttress this, he has warned political figures not to come to the Government House in Benin City without prior appointments otherwise, they would not be granted audience.
Valid reports from dailies and workers at government house prove that he has thus far stuck to his guns with that policy. The Government House has now developed some significant level of decorum, and even loitering around the place could earn an individual some questioning. This, I believe is how a government house should be.
Still keen not to let politics interfere with his administration, he has delegated the task of political appointments to the various wards and local government councils.
However, while in 100 days he is keeping a level head with political affairs, he has also done commendably well with his interim appointments thus far – he has appointed mostly young fellows and women who know their onions. Yet, he operates without a cabinet or any permanent appointments.
Based on how well Mr. Obaseki listens to the people’s voice, he seems like he already understands that the people of Edo whisper in the streets that it is about time he appointed his cabinet so that people will know who is who in the state.
However, he is a careful man. He takes his time and plans exceedingly well before implementing any decisions. What will it profit him if he allows himself to be carried along in a haste by people’s whispering and then he appoints the wrong people who may even end up sabotaging his government? It is better to take a shot once and hit the target than
IN 100 DAYS, MR. OBASEKI HAS BEEN ABLE TO SHOW THAT HE HAS LITTLE TIME FOR POLITICS BECAUSE HE HAS A STATE TO RUN. TO BUTTRESS THIS, HE HAS WARNED POLITICAL FIGURES NOT TO COME TO THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE IN BENIN CITY WITHOUT PRIOR APPOINTMENTS OTHERWISE, THEY WOULD NOT BE GRANTED AUDIENCE
to misfire severally.
Having excluded politics from the equation in his administration, Mr. Obaseki has shown genuine concern for the people, for though he may have a heart of steel, this heart beats, and it beats with emotion and care for the people.
He understood pretty well the power women have when given the chance to excel, and he has accordingly appointed what has come to be known as lady mechanics to fix the broken vehicles at The Government House in Benin City.
In addition, he hosted religious leaders to a breakfast in The Government House where he discussed, among things, how to sort out the issue of street children. They talked at length with the religious leaders proffering solutions on how to handle the issue.
To that end, Governor Obaseki is set to get the educational sector functioning at its optimum capacity so that even when the children have been lifted off the streets, they will be grafted into a functional educational system.
Meanwhile, his economic policies also seem to have developed a pattern in tandem with his 2017 budget philosophy. The idea of the budget philosophy was to “develop a modern and progressive Edo State, where every citizen is empowered with opportunity to live life in its fullness”. These were modelled along the following pillars; Economic Revolution, Infrastructural Expansion, Institutional Reform, Social Welfare Enhancement, Culture & Tourism and Environmental Sustainability.
He has since held a strategic dialogue with stakeholders in the production industry, and has started working to make sure that technical colleges around the state are what they are meant to be. He has also held an agribusiness conference, and he has put plans in place to make Tayo Akpata University of Education in Ekiadolor an excellent tertiary institution. The essence of these moves is to groom talents locally in the state.
The truth is that highlighting Governor Obaseki’s achievements in 100 days would take a small book. He has however indicated enough zeal towards executing his mandate that we, the people of Edo, can rest easy in the knowledge that we have not shopped in error for a governor, despite what misgivings we may have initially harboured.
Still, the good governor must neither relent nor rest on his oars. His conduct thus far has revealed a tendency for extra meticulousness in his affairs. That is a commendable trait and people need to come to the realisation that if every leader Nigeria has witnessed had been this careful, perhaps we would not be as bafflingly backward as we are in our affairs as a country. It is only just 100 days, and time’s winged chariot has not yet found reason to hurry Mr. Obaseki along. He is so far on the right track, and in the next 100 days, there is some hope people will start seeing action.
Dr. Oviosun wrote Benin City, Edo State