l Why He Is The Best Man For The Job
Governor Dapo Abiodun has loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night. He fears no odds in his quest to entrench good governance in Ogun State.
Thus he may be ennobled as the most competent hand to handle his recent brief: the rehabilitation of the Lagos-Abeokuta highway. Although the road is a Trunk A Corridor and belongs to the Federal Government, the Federal Executive Council gave the Ogun government the nod to fix and toll the road.
Pundits identify the Ogun State governor as the best man for the job and the reason is not far-fetched: Governor Abiodun has over time established his capacity to shoulder monumental tasks pivotal to Ogun’s infrastructural growth.
As a leader in everything from corporate enterprise to public service and grassroots organizing, Governor Abiodun has dedicated his impressive career to a moral imperative: the pursuit of infrastructure growth and the inclusion of equity and justice in public governance.
By repairing Ogun State’s damaged roads and building completely new roads in hitherto impassable areas, Abiodun has helped raise up the voices of communities that have been disproportionately harmed by government neglect and has advocated fiercely for policies to sustain them.
Governor Abiodun’s indispensable work on behalf of communities that have long suffered from the burden of infrastructure lack has demonstrated that his fight for good governance is ultimately a movement for human dignity and the collective good of the Ogun people.
Taking the helm of an iconic state and positioning it for long-term success in a way that reflects his values is no easy task. Abiodun is one of the most impactful administrators of modern Nigeria.
At the advent of his leadership, Abiodun identified the needs of his people; he understood that without good roads, the very quality of life is at stake, as well as safety, jobs and economic competitiveness.
When he came on board, Governor Abiodun discovered that all the major roads within Ogun communities had become dilapidated. Thus he initiated the direct labour agency which moved into all the 20 local government areas of the state simultaneously and started rehabilitating roads. He also embraced the projects abandoned or half-executed by his predecessors.
Few people would forget in a hurry, his monumental work in road infrastructure across Ogun State. Governor Abiodun has reconstructed over 400 kilometres of highways in three years and seven months.
Among them were the 18-kilometre Ejirin -Idowa-Ibefun-Itokin road in the Odogbolu Local Government Area of the state, the Itori township road in Ewekoro Local Government Area (LGA) and Esure road in Ijebu East LGA.
Since he assumed leadership of Ogun State, his administration had been able to inaugurate road construction in all the local governments of the state. His administration has completed the Igan road, Ekinrin-Idowa-Ibefun-Itokin road, Awujale road, Ijebu Ode-Epe/Sagamu Benin interchange flyover bridge, Molusi College road, Ilishan market road, Iperu-Roundabout Ode phase 2, Obafemi Awolowo Way-Mada Takete and the Molipa-Ibadan road. Residents of Oyingbo, Olisa, Saka Ashiru, Togburin, Agodo, Tigara, among others, also heaved a sigh of relief as Abiodun built roads that led to their communities. They can attest to the work done in other areas, including the Sagamu Ode Lemo road and the Ikenne-Ilishan Ago Iwoye road. In Ogun West, it has been projects galore from Ikola to Osi Ikola, from Raypower road to Igbesa-Ejinla road; from Imshai-Igan to Ayetoro; and from the Ilaro-Owode road, the Oke Ola road in Imeko, the Ilashe Koko-Alari road and the Ado Odo-Ikoga road. The project works in these communities are ennobling, as are the works in Atan-Lusada-Agbara-Morogbo, and Singer to Toll Gate, among others. The Lusada-Atan Agbara road, in particular, is crucially important to the South-West, Nigeria and indeed the West African sub-region: it hosts the biggest industrial complex in Nigeria.
Governor Abiodun has also paid careful attention to the roads that connect Ogun to neighbouring states, especially Lagos. Just recently, the Federal Government proposed to jointly rehabilitate the Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta highway with the Ogun State government. The proposal was made by the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, during a courtesy call on Governor Dapo Abiodun in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
Promptly, Abiodun declared his readiness to take over the construction of the Trunk A road from the Federal Government and transform it into a world-class carriageway.
To actualise this, Abiodun must battle the odds, particularly the challenges dogging his footsteps and his role as the chief administrator of Ogun State—issues of innovation, motivation, regulation and utility. But his visionary, analytical, humble and inclusive leadership is well positioned to meet the moment. These are traits Nigeria could use a lot more of in recent times.
As a public administrator who once held sway, running an impressive corporate enterprise, Governor Abiodun shows an incomparable capacity to experiment with capital and human resources, materials, mediums, and processes. The breathtaking combination of experimental rigour and inspired vision turns his oft-visionary dreams into remarkable projects.
Even fate acknowledges his capacity and genius. Ultimately because he is intrepid and eager, the fruits of his achievements manifest beyond abstraction. Ask the blessed citizenry of Ogun State, they will tell you time and over again, that Governor Abiodun is the best man for the job.
Thanks to Abiodun, the melody of efficient governance resonates across the nooks and crannies of Ogun State. Prior to his emergence as Ogun governor, the Gateway State loomed eerily as the misgoverned contraption where every heart sings a song, incomplete until another heart whispers back.
With the emergence of Governor Abiodun, public governance became more purposive and seamless in Ogun State. And every citizen became a poet. The achievements of Abiodun manifest beyond their minor and major wish-fulfilment. There’s no denying he came with melody in his soul. Perhaps because he was born with grit.
If there is a spark of genius in Abiodun’s leadership function at all, it must lie in this transcending ability to assemble a clearly articulated vision of the future that is at once simple, easily understood, clearly desirable, and energizing.
