Oyebanji: Changing political dynamics across party faultlines

There are many lessons political leaders could learn from Ekiti State governor Abiodun Oyebanji’s Omoluabi concept of governance. In the last two years, he has succeeded in bringing together people of different political divides and sworn enemies to achieve peace and good governance. Although he is still far from completely solving the infrastructural deficit in the state, his people are celebrating the eluded conviviality that returned the spirit of Ekiti Kete and hope of a better tomorrow, AYODELE AFOLABI reports.

From a tumultuous political trajectory dating back to the beginning of the current political dispensation in 1999, in which four major political actors bestrode the political firmament and engaged in war of attrition that brought Ekiti State to limelight for wrong reasons, Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, has changed the narrative within two years.

Governor Oyebanji, who marked his second year in office yesterday, is a classic example of how a leader can achieve peaceful co-existence among different political leaders for peace to reign and ensure good governance.

In the last two years, politics has taken a back seat for governance and development in the state. Members and leaders of the ruling party and opposition parties are mingling together and united in demanding for dividends of democracy from the state government.

Recall that the tenures of the former governors Adeniyi Adebayo, Ayodele Fayose, Segun Oni and Kayode Fayemi, were punctuated by one crisis or the other since 1999.

The first tenure of Fayose between 2003 and 2007 was riddled with crisis, impeachment and political instability that many will not forget in a hurry. Also the legal battle that ensued between Oni and Fayemi for three and half years led the state to off-season election.

Throughout that period, it was one week, one trouble in the state with many lives lost and properties worth billions of naira destroyed. Needless to say that with such an acrimonious political situation, governance and development suffered in the state.

However, Oyebanji received an electoral mandate, which signaled a new era of different political narratives in the state. His electoral victory marked a significant development, because his election was the first to break the jinx of a political party winning back to back and for the first time since 1999.

Unlike his predecessors in office, who were unable to galvanise the support of the elites and balance it with political party interest, the Oyebanji seems to have learnt from their pitfalls. Right from the blast of the whistle, he stooped low to conquer the elites and opinion moulders like the legal icon and Founder, Afe Babalola University Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), among other eminent Ekiti people and secured their trusts and confidence regardless of their political inclinations.

What was more, he courted members of his party, irrespective of the cleavages or factions and prominent opposition political leaders such as Fayose, Oni, Senator Biodun Olujimi, Professor Kolapo Olusola, former PDP governorship candidate, Mr Bisi Kolawole among others.

In two years as the governor of the state, it has been a cacophony of cheers because of the unequivocal submission of both these elites and masses in the state, who have attested to his character of ‘Omoluabi’ and determination to succeed.

For instance, Chief Olanipekun commended Oyebanji for being the first Chief Executive of the state to embark on consultation with leaders from the state, regardless of their political affiliation, before assuming office. He added that the singular step would help him make decisions that would be in the best interest of the state because he would not be bereft of ideas needed to develop the state.

The legal icon said: “I want to plead with all Ekiti people, let us sheath our swords, I am not a politician, I am a Lawyer. I work across board, but I want to plead with all of us, let us sheath our swords.

“I don’t deceive people, I love you. I never received a contract from Ekiti, I give to Ekiti and I will continue to do so. Anytime you need my counsel, I will oblige Your Excellency. We want Ekiti to grow, when a man is humble, God adds everything to him, and our governor is humble.”

On his part, Aare Afe Babalola regretted that Oyebanji didn’t govern the state much earlier. The Nonagenarian, who applauded Oyebanji for his giant strides in all sectors of governance, which has brought a new lease of life to the people, said that his administration’s programmes and policies are in tandem with Ekiti founding fathers’ vision.

He said: “It pains me that you didn’t become governor of Ekiti much earlier than now. We know what we did to bring Ekiti State into existence. Our vision was for Ekiti to be the best state in Nigeria, that it will be setting the pace as my university is setting the pace now. Unfortunately those who became governor before you didn’t have the love of Ekiti. Go and tell them that I said so. That is why we are facing so much hardship in the state. When I was a local government councilor in the sixties, I didn’t receive a salary.

“That was when there was development in Ekiti local government. We thought that those who are coming to govern Ekiti will follow our footstep and our blueprints but they refused to follow it. However, this governor is doing a yeoman job”, he said.

For a PDP chieftain, Senator Biodun Olujimi, her relationship with Oyebanji predated his becoming a governor.

“My relationship with Governor Oyebanji preceded his governorship and it is a long story. I discovered we were born the same month and we started celebrating our birthdays together. If anybody says I should insult him now because he is not a member of our party, such things don’t make sense. He has been too decent to me, he respects me. If he needs my advice he will ask me.

“However, my relationship with him does not mean I am betraying my party. I have told everyone that if I need to move to the APC, I won’t be the first to move and I won’t be the last. But I will be honorable enough not to stay in the PDP and throw stones at the party.”

Speaking on Oyebanji, Fayose said: “I feel satisfied with the works the governor has done so far in the state. BAO is a humble governor. Thirteen times, he visited me in Lagos to greet me. We discussed the progress and development of the state. I have to respect him. That has nothing to do with politics. He is the only governor that has brought all governors in the state together.”

Also, both the minister of Mines and Development, Dele Alake and the Senate Majority Leader, Mr Opeyemi Bamidele have expressed satisfaction with the manner the governor has brought people together.

Alake said: “We’ve had governors in Ekiti that came and introduced dichotomy into the body politics of Ekiti State. We’ve had governors that came and alienated critical stakeholders in the administration of the state, thereby stultifying the progressive emancipation of Ekiti State. We’ve had governors here, in the recent past that demarcated and stifled the participation of those brains that we have in Ekiti scattered all over the world, through extreme, myopic perception, narrow-mindedness and parochialism.

“But today, we are lucky that BAO came and forged a convergence of interests, and it is only through this convergence that you can have peace, and it is from peace that progress develops. So, from every available angle you look at it, Ekiti is lucky to have a man of peace, a man of progress.”

The Senate Majority Leader described Oyebanji as a bridge builder, who has provided a role for everybody. “I am able to concentrate on my job in Abuja because I have a governor who has my back. I have a governor with whom I’m in partnership.”

Though the challenges before BAO are still very daunting, especially the dearth of infrastructure, challenges in the education sector, urgent need for improvement in the health sector, epileptic power supply that has remained a nightmare, and human capital development challenges facing the state. However, to many people in the state, with the atmosphere of peace, tranquility and unanimity of purpose created by Oyebanji, these problems would be solved when all hands are on deck and the state will be better for it.

Nevertheless, the governor and his team have started tackling the challenges using the instrumentality of the six-pillar development agenda of his administration  including, youth development and job creation, human capital development, agriculture and human development, infrastructure and industrialisation, arts, culture and tourism.

Underscoring his determination to excel in office, Oyebanji remarked, “I don’t have any excuse for Ekiti people not to perform, for this reason, at 26, I was part of the people that fought for the creation of the state. I worked with two governors, Otunba Niyi Adebayo and Dr. Kayode Fayemi. That is why, in terms of intense pressure, I am taking my time to see that we do the right thing for Ekiti people.”

Oyebanji added that “Our manifesto is anchored on six pillars, which have been carefully designed to position Ekiti State for peace and prosperity despite the challenges of this season.”

As if working the talk, the governor has been able to do some worthwhile projects that could impact positively on the lives of the people including the establishment of state independent power projects (IPP). Today in Ekiti, all government offices and institutions within the state capital are already linked to the IPP. Also to guarantee effective power supply in the State, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), has ceded its regulatory oversight of the electricity market in the state to the Ekiti State Electricity Regulatory Bureau (EERB).

Similarly, a business oriented group in Southwest Nigeria, the New Initiative for Business Rights (NIBR), has said the report of the favourable rating of Ekiti State in revenue collection by a prestigious tax organization confirmed that Governor Biodun Oyebanji has progressive economic policy to propel prosperity.

The group, which described Ekiti’s meteoric rise in IGR collection ladder, as contained in the report of Joint Tax Board (JTB), clearly attested to how effective Governor Oyebanji’s economic policies were to launch the state to higher pedestal.

However, in his comment on the touted accomplishment of Oyebanji, the zonal publicity secretary of the PDP, Chief Sanya Atofarati said he hasn’t seen anything on ground in Ekiti to warrant such commendation and eulogies.

He said: “I haven’t seen anything significant that he has done. Let us look at sector by sector. In infrastructure what has he done? In education what has he done significantly, in health also how has it fared? You can attest to the number of unemployed graduates either unemployed or riding Okada, these are the real issues.

“He should stop house to house visitation and concentrate on governance. People expect much from him having been in the system since 1999. The issue you raised about his raising the IGR of Ekiti, maybe on paper, there is nothing to suggest that the IGR has been increased.”