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By Wole Elegbede
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
It is apparent from all indications that the policies and programmes of the present government in Ogun State are based on a new model of development. It is the institutionalisation of a multi-dimensional approach to development, with a focus on the people as its driving force. You may wish to tag it a “living development model”. It seems to be saying: Develop the people first, and the people would develop the society. The flurry of development activities in Ogun State might have kindled the interest of some writers there.
Recently, one writer entitled his piece: Is Ogun ready for paradigm shift? This question may have been answered elsewhere by Ogun State Government officials. But my own poser is this: Has the media any role to play in the paradigm shift?
Undoubtedly, any paradigm shift requires an enabling democratic space to be successful. A constructive media, as witnessed in this country since the inception of the current democratic experiment, could provide an avenue for the expansion of the democratic space. Consequently, the media could give fillip to the process of development and the transformation of society from one level to another. Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, is reckoning with the role which the media could play in the development of the state. Aside his empowerment of individual journalists in the state, and in some cases, outside the state, the government acknowledges the power of the media as an institution that could provide the momentum in agenda setting, it is therefore not surprising that the government brought the media to the fore as part of activities marking its recent one year anniversary in office. For the first time in the history of the state, an executive governor would embark on an extensive tour of media organisations in the country.
More importantly, this tour is unique because the governor did not discriminate by visiting selected media organisations: he visited virtually all. With the media tour, the government has shown readiness to be accountable, and to run an open and transparent administration. Openness and transparency are essential attributes of all true democracies. The implication of any government that has imbibed the spirit of openness and transparency is that it has nothing to hide.
I have watched keenly Ogun State Government’s programmes in the past one year and it appears to me that the government has been trying to do things geared towards improving the development indices of the state. If the administration maintains the current tempo and consolidates on the achievement of the past one year, Ogun State could take the lead in Nigeria’s development graph. This would not come as a surprise to other keen watchers of this phenomenon because Otunba Daniel has committed himself to championing a welfarist agenda just as the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo did in the old Western Region.
During his recent tour of media organizations, Otunba Daniel spoke of his agricultural input modelled along Chief Awolowo’s programme. Before May 29, 2003, all the nine farm settlements built by the late sage in Ogun State had already collapsed. Today, all the nine farm settlements have been resuscitated by Otunba Daniel’s administration. Moreover, his government is working on the development of 12 new farm institutes so that the benefit of good governance could spread across the gateway state.
The important thing is that this agricultural programme has created employment opportunities for thousands of unemployed young men and women in the state. To the beneficiaries of this agenda, there is the immediate feeling of fulfilment of promise by the governor. Fortunately, the agricultural sector is not the only area where employment is being generated. Under the Ogun State Employment Generation Proramme (OGEGEP), close to 10,000 people have been employed in diverse areas such soap, paint, poultry, animal husbandry, animal feeding and fish industries. There is no doubt that the impact of OGEGEP on the economy of the state would be considerable. It translates to an increase in the purchasing power of the beneficiaries. Invariably, an opportunity is created for farmers and market women to sell their products. I economic parlance, it would create a “multiplier effect' on the economy of the state.
The governor has changed the way and manner of policy formulation and project execution in the state. Here, the age-long management adage, “whoever fails to plan is planning to fail” has become part of the new thinking in government. Before this time, there was nothing like policy formulation. The actions of government were the products of the whims and caprices of a single individual or the privileged few. Now, every business of government is open to debate, whether at the village square meetings, constituency gatherings, consultative forum or the weekly cabinet meetings. It is in the area of infra- structural development, especially road construction, that the government has aptly demonstrated it could break from the usual manner of conducting government business. Since assuming office last year, Otunba Daniel has constructed and rehabilitated hundreds of roads without awarding contracts.
What appears like magic in the eyes of many people in the construction of new roads and the upgrading of old ones is the application of a simple economic sense that focuses on the use of our own engineers and artisans in Ogun State to achieve the desired results. It is important to observe at this stage that the on-going development phenomenon in the state is traceable to the first Ogun State Economic Summit, which was held shortly after the assumption of office by Otunba Daniel. With the economic summit, Ogun State has taken a cue from the Federal Government in the area of proper economic planning and project execution. implementation. These developments have a tendency to improve the living condition of Ogun people. Then, it may not surprise anyone if, in the next few years, the development indices of Ogun State like the Per Capital Income, the literacy rate and the life expectancy are found to be slightly higher than those of the national average.
Elegbede is a Former Chief Press Secretary and Chairman of a Local Government in Ogun State.
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