OYO 100B BOND: THE PROPAGANDA, PROSPERITY AND POSTERITY. By Rotimi Johnson

OYO 100B BOND: THE PROPAGANDA, PROSPERITY AND POSTERITY

The controversy trailing the announcement of N100b bond by Oyo state has attracted the attentions of the sincere and also the pretentious citizens alike. More importantly, our noisy opposition party have taken up the sudden role of public counselor by claiming to educate the public but can we take them seriously? This is not a rejoinder but I have been challenged to write my opinion by someone who misses my late Leader, Hon Kehinde Olatunji Ayoola.

THE MYTH ABOUT LOANS: In Nigeria and particularly in Yoruba land, we are averse to indebtedness and seeking loans for anything is like applying for poverty. So on the average, when the semi-illiterate or illiterate hear of loans, they get scared, particularly when it's such huge figures they consider inconceivable. Loans are neither good nor bad, it depends on what you apply it to and terms of payment. So when someone accused me of condemning Ajimobi for collecting loans, I boldly told him I never commented about loans in 8years of Ajimobi. I don't condemn anyone for applying for loans, I am only curious about other parameters which are often not obvious to the public.

THE PROPAGANDA: We all know that politics in this clime is synonymous with lies but APC has mastered the craft of public deception more than any other party and it's not reasonable to contend the fact with them. On this 100b bond, the claim and content of Mr Adebayo Adelabu are pure propaganda and best attempt to deceive the people. As former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, one would have expected him to truly educate the people about the advantages of the Bond in general terms, raise concerns about the projects to apply it to and ask questions about the solvency of the state. However, the first class material has fallen my hand again by claiming his letter is not political but vied into partisanship instead of educational writeup; there is no better way to describe his letter than bitterness. In the Bible, the devil deceived mankind by raising a question to cause doubts, he didn't tell outright lies but God described him as father of all liars. Some of the points raised by Adelabu are germane but his motives, like that of the devil are sinister, so we can claim he is the devil's accomplice against the people of Oyo State. He asked many questions and provided terrible answers to justify his ulterior motives. Lagos State, the most economically buoyant state in Southwest and one of the stop 3 in Nigeria despite not being petroleum producing state is indebted to over one Trillion Naira as at today. The question is; how was the state able to open up the economy despite the huge indebtedness? America is one of the most indebted countries of the world but also one of the most developed too. The truth is that loans, bonds are not evil, it's the application and terms that are important. For someone who claims to be so knowledgeable to outrightly condemn loans and bonds, he has betrayed the institution he represented and done great injustice to the people of Oyo State. Moreover, if he never applied for loans to expand his businesses, then I make bold to say he must have stolen our commonwealth to invest in businesses. Dangote is not just the richest man in Africa but one would be shocked to discover his companies too are the most indebted in Africa because great business expansions are done on credit facilities. My little investment understanding has confirmed that is the trend at such business echelons. Adebayo Adelabu should learn statesmanship and tell the truth to the public about bonds, not just the disadvantages inherent in such financial policy. Moreover, he acknowledged in his letter that he doesn't have the details of Oyo State application yet, so why condemn it outrightly without having the fully grasp of the details. No wonder, it was while he was the Deputy Governor of CBN that the country plunged into recession because there were no good counsels.

PROSPERITY: Bonds are slightly different from ordinary loans because the "debtor is bound to pay". The terms of loan and repayment are not re-negotiable and there must be realistic plans of repayment. Having this in mind, applications for bonds cannot be successful unless the applicants has a repayment plan that cannot be faulted. Bond credit facilities are also attached to specific projects with detailed amounts for each. With this information, the creditors are protected,  debtor's performance is enhanced and success become inevitable. So, calling this "Prosperity Bond" can be described as the focus of the facility. The question that should come to sincerely financially enlightened citizens is; how viable are these projects and their connection to the prosperity of the state? The financial institutions would investigate this and also look into other sectors to confirm the interconnectivity of the viability from the perspective of solvency and repayment plans. Adelabu however confirmed in his letter that these projects are important. 

Let us quickly mention the Ibadan Airport and why it's important for the prosperity of Oyo State. Ibadan is the largest city in West Africa and a transit one to the other part of Nigeria from Lagos. I expected Adelabu to know how very important this would be to the economy of Oyo State, though it's supposed to be FG project. Sen Kola Balogun has moved a motion for the upgrade of Ibadan Airport to International Airport and that would not be a relief to people of Oyo State alone, it would be the economic booster and relief to the whole southwest because of the hectic traffic in Lagos. Many people would not have to endure the Lagos traffic hell because of flight schedules. Also, more businesses would spring up along Alakia Airport; malls, hotels and other retail outlets. Adelabu that is in hospitality business is expected know better. Prosperity is inevitable once these funds are channeled to the listed projects, without diversion and unwholesome bargain like in the immediate past administration. 

POSTERITY: As a people, irrespective of party affiliations, we should be posterity focused and leave good legacies for the coming  generations. Nigerian politicians are more concerned about the next election, not next generation and that was why the immediate past national Chairman of APC can shamelessly admit his words against the present APC candidate for governorship in 2016 were political statements. The  inconsistency in our so called political leaders is palpable and annoying. What is good should be good irrespective of who is involved or party he belongs. What is bad should be bad irrespective of party or religious colorations. Adelabu never condemned borrowing by the federal government, Lagos and Ogun states but believes it's an aberration for Oyo State just because it's a PDP state. 

In conclusion, in the face of pandemic and global economy recession, many institutions and governments have resolved to external funding for survival and stability; this is expedient because of the major disruption in global economy by Covid 19. Oyo APC stalwarts are hellbent to make Engr Seyi Makinde fail, even if the people have to suffer for it. They condemn regular payment of salaries, they refused to contribute to the Covid 19 relief funds which are to help secure and rescue the masses, they condemned the free and qualitative education policy too. They are also condemning the Bond that can help to expand the economy of the state and better the lives to the citizens. Who knows what would be their next line of actions, in attempts to block the application for the bond but posterity shall judge us all. 

LEADERSHIP QUOTE: The road to success is paved with doubters and haters.  - Matshona Dhliwayo

Rotimi Johnson Ojasope. 

SA Media to Sen. Kola Balogun

FAMILY COURT: EX-ATTORNEY GENERAL AND WHEN THE ACCUSER IS THE CULPRIT. By Rotimi Johnson Ojasope

I was in consternation when I read the report credited to the ex-AG, Barr Muthalubi Ojo that Governor Seyi Makinde social media handlers are lairs but after pondering on the allegations and the motives behind it, I knew our big Uncle has chosen to mislead the unsuspecting public due to partisanship. This is another reason why politics has greatly demeaned the integrity of the Nigerian Judicial system because some of our revered learned fellows have also succumbed to the weakness of the system; biases, stomach infrastructure and lack of integrity. I would have expected Barr Muthalubi Ojo to do a more thorough research into this issue before pronouncing judgment against the innocent Social Media guys.

 

THE FAMILY COURT INAUGURATION:

Muthalubi Ojo has allowed partisanship compromise his assessment of this issue. It would have been innocent mistake if Barr Ojo tried to find out the true situation of the family court from the Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Munta Abimbola before claiming the media guys lied. Justice Abimbola in his speech confirmed that nothing was done before now, since the bill was passed into law in 2006. Yes, Justice Abimbola made efforts for the inauguration last year but was not successful. The question now is: was the family court ever inaugurated before? That Governor Ajimobi paid for a building doesn't make the building a court. Even without being a learned lawyer, I know it's the judiciary personnel and their duties that make a building or shelter court, hence we have mobile courts in vehicles too. 

GOVERNOR MAKINDE AND OLD PROJECTS: Governor Seyi Makinde has affirmed several times that his administration is committed to completing good projects initiated by past administrations in the interest of the people and this shouldn't be cause of controversy. With over two hundred projects completed by first anniversary of this administration and many more still ongoing, then there is no need to suspect prevarication in this matter. This project was neither initiated by present nor the immediate past administration of late Governor Ajimobi and the fact that the administration attempted to do something about it didn't translate to ownership of the project. Rather than call innocent people liars, I think Barr Ojo should have blamed Ajimobi administration for leaving so much uncompleted projects despite spending eight years in office. 

THE TRUTH BE TOLD: Rather than complete many laudable projects initiated or embarked upon by the (Ajimobi) adminstration, I think the former helmsman  was distracted with personal projects and aggrandizements. Governor Seyi Makinde rightly described the late Governor as the architect of great projects that this administration is building on and I believe that's enough 

for sincere members of the public to know Engr Seyi Makinde is not contending to be architect with Ajimobi, he has simply gone ahead to be the builder of structures initiated by the architect. 

Finally, Barr Bayo Ojo has not proven beyond reasonable doubt that Gov Seyi Makinde's social media handlers are embarrassing him and one can't help but wonder if Governor Makinde complained to him or anyone about any of these two subjects of contention. I would advice Barr Ojo to join the social media too, so that he can get more informed on things as they happen in Oyo state. 

Rotimi Johnson Ojasope lives in Ibadan.

AJIMOBI, MAKINDE AND THE BEAUTY OF 'INTELLECTUAL PRUDENCE' | Remi Ladigbolu

Since the first time I saw a Twitter user apply the term, ‘intellectual prudence’, to describe one of the actions of the Oyo State governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, the phrase stuck with me and I immediately resolved to further explore the import of this phrase in relation to other actions of the governor.

However, I continued to put off this self-imposed task until the night of June 25, when I read the condolence message of Makinde to the family of his predecessor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, over the sad incident of the latter’s death from COVID-19 related complications.

Before I proceed, I will also like to extend my sincere condolences to the Ajimobi family, friends and supporters, and indeed the government and people of Oyo State over the death of the former governor, a charismatic and visionary leader and a politician who made history as the first two-term governor of the state.

Back to where we were (apology to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo), the tone and content of Makinde’s condolence message also appeared to carry a shade of this so-called intellectual prudence. There is a common template for such letters by political leaders and the words they carry are pretty much predictable. But Makinde’s letter was slightly different. It sounded sincere and completely devoid of any political undertone.

First, let us examine the meaning of the word, prudence. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, prudence simply means “intelligence in action”. However, the Catholic dictionary takes it further by describing prudence as an “act of virtue” that involves the following three mental operations: “To take counsel carefully with oneself and from others; to judge correctly on the basis of the evidence at hand; and to direct the rest of one’s activity according to the norms determined after a prudent judgment has been made.”

Put in another way, prudence or intellectual prudence as the case may be, is an emotional state in which a person dispenses with actions or deeds that are in his own personal interest and embraces actions that are in the best interest of everyone. It is fully expressed when a leader especially predicates his actions on what is evidently right, at the expense of what he considers to be right, personally.

Now, I will give a few examples. On May 27, when Makinde inaugurated the Anwar-ul-Islam Basic School, Ipapo in Itesiwaju Local Government Area, he did not only acknowledge the fact that the model school was a brainchild of the Ajimobi administration. He specifically noted that it was one of 22 model schools started by his predecessor, which his own administration had the privilege of completing.

Makinde did not just stop at giving credit to the ex-governor, whose party he defeated at the polls, he also stated categorically that it was the priority of his government to complete all outstanding projects started by his predecessor.

Similarly, on May 29, at the inauguration of the rehabilitated Eleyele Dam, a project that is of unmatched importance to Ibadan residents, given the painful history of flooding in the historical city, Makinde had the following to say: “This afternoon, I commissioned the Eleyele Dam Rehabilitation project. I restated that the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project initiated by the previous admin was a courageous and bold move to ensure that we do not live the history of the floods of 26th August, 2011 again.”

It was this preceding statement that the Twitter user, @amstrodema, who I referred to at the beginning of this article reacted to as follows: “The fact that you complete projects initiated by the past administration regardless of party differences is a sign of intellectual prudence. You give me goosebumps sometimes sha.”

Again, on June 18, when the governor inaugurated the expanded Security Control Room and City Watch facilities at the Oyo State Security Trust Fund Headquarters, Onireke, Ibadan, he also took time to explain that the project was done by Ajimobi and that all he (Makinde) did was to improve it to make the system more efficient, cost effective and sustainable.

Highlighting some of the improvements made to the system, the governor noted: “The entire system has been reconfigured so that we no longer need to pay internet access fees of N3.5 million/month. Also, we have acquired the license for the software for life so no longer need to run the trial version we met. This facility now wholly belongs to Oyo State.”

The governor further explained some of the enhanced functionalities of the system, including how it is now possible for residents who are in danger or distress to discreetly alert security agents at the touch of a button on their mobile. The technology also allows operatives to narrow down the location of the victim in real time. The rest of this is a story for another day.

One more thing that made a lasting impression on me was the following statement by Makinde at the same occasion: “For those familiar with my statements during my campaign trail, you’ll recall that I was going to scrap this entire architecture because it was like a white elephant. But I was convinced to give it another shot and today we have been rewarded with a functional centre.” This indeed is a classic demonstration of intellectual prudence.

Finally, back to the beginning, some of Makinde’s assertions in his condolence message to family of his late predecessor, Ajimobi, in my opinion firmly established his sincerity of purpose, high level of emotional intelligence and the possession of a high degree of intellectual prudence.

For me, the most striking part of that message is where Makinde, in a manner most uncharacteristic of politicians, said the following about the late Ajimobi: “Surely, he will be remembered for leaving a blueprint for some of the activities that our administration is now undertaking.”

What manner of politician openly acknowledges the inherent benefits of projects started by his main opponent and constantly restates his commitment to completing them all, even to point of admitting that he has adopted part of his developmental blueprint? It can only be a politician who puts the welfare of the people over and above politics in every regard.

One can therefore conclude that Adebayo Adelabu, the governorship candidate of Ajimobi’s All Progressives Congress, who lost to Makinde in last year’s election, was merely betraying his own lack of intellectual prudence, when he accused the governor of lacking adequate preparation for governance.

According to Adelabu, this was why Makinde had been busy completing and inaugurating projects started by his predecessor instead of initiating his own set of projects. Adelabu was saying in essence that were he to be the one in Makinde’s shoes, he would have abandoned all the projects left uncompleted by Ajimobi, despite their obvious benefits to the people, and initiate new ones just to show the people that a new man is in charge.

By the same token, one may equally credit veteran politician and candidate of the African Democratic Congress in last year’s governorship election in Oyo State, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, with the gift of prescience going by his account of how he turned down overtures made to him by Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State to support Adelabu against Makinde in the same election.

Hear him: “Despite ongoing Coalition talks at that time, I still gave audience to Governor Fayemi, a man for whom l have a great deal of respect, and who I’d had a wonderful relationship with, right from our days in NADECO. I respectfully turned down his passionate plea that I align with Bayo Adelabu and the APC.

“Despite my progressive roots, which Governor Fayemi alluded to in that meeting, l explained to him my reasons for turning him, and indeed Adelabu, down. The crux of our discussion, then, was that every politics is local, and that it was in the best interest of Oyo State at that time of its history, that I coalesced with Engr Seyi Makinde, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to win the gubernatorial election.

“I wish to conclude that despite the advertised failings of post-victory agreements, I sincerely do not have any regrets for being an active participant in the Coalition that brought in Engr Seyi Makinde, as it was honestly, the best decision, in those circumstances, and sincerely, in the interest of Oyo State.”

With the hindsight of Makinde’s sterling performances in the last one year, it was also likely the Oyo electorate were gifted with some sort of clairvoyance to have voted for Makinde so massively during the election.

Anyone familiar with the late Ajimobi, would readily attest to the fact that one of his most favourite statements was that government is a continuum and that it is not compulsory for any particular government to complete all the projects it started. He must have said this in the belief that his successor, just like himself, would feel duty bound to complete any such projects in the overall interest of the people.

For this reason, Ajimobi strongly desired for Adelabu to succeed him. But the omnipresent knew that Ajimobi, for all his efforts, needed a Makinde to build on his legacy. In the end, God did not only grant Ajimobi the unprecedented privilege of governing Oyo State for two successive terms, He also gave him a successor he truly, truly deserved.

Finally, inspite of the avoidable brouhaha over Ajimobi’s burial site, I am sure the former governor is truly resting in peace, knowing that the people of his beloved Oyo State are in good hands, and also knowing that his legacies are intact, and actually being built upon. What remains for Makinde to do is to appropriately immortalise the memory of this great man.