This article is a response to the above-named piece by Morufu Smith. In this article, the false and bogus claims made by Smith will be addressed. Let’s start by answering this question he asked – ‘Did Governor Makinde come to governance handy with a comprehensive blueprint?’ The short answer is yes, he did. The Roadmap to Accelerated Development in Oyo State 2019-2023 is the manifesto Governor Seyi Makinde presented to the people of Oyo State to canvass their votes. Since assuming office, not only has His Excellency been following this blueprint, but he has also been tracking the promises kept and what is still outstanding on his personal website. Perhaps, Smith should search for information online before asking questions whose answers are in plain sight.
Now, let’s move to the crux of his piece – the claim that Governor Makinde by inaugurating new board members for the Schools Governing Boards (SGBs), ‘somer-tumbled’ on his previous position on the SGB initiative which commenced under Senator Abiola Ajimobi’s administration. To address this point, it is important to state His Excellency’s position on SGBs after he assumed office. In July 2019, the Oyo State Government communicated that it would not scrap SGBs. His Excellency made it clear that the initiative was laudable but that there was a lack of accountability for public funds by its existing members. And that the government would review and modify the mode of operation to make it more transparent and inclusive.
When it became clear that a complete overhaul of the SGBs was required for it to function effectively, in May 2021, the Oyo State Government announced the dissolution of SGBs in the 643 public secondary schools in the state. Dissolution of SGBs simply means all board members were relieved of their responsibilities. It is not the same thing as scrapping the system. Dissolution and inauguration of boards is a regular occurrence in both the public and private sectors. So, it is perplexing that Smith referred to the dissolution and inauguration of the Schools Governing Board as a ‘somer-tumble’ policy.
Still on education, Smith criticised Governor Makinde’s for scrapping the N3,000/year school fees instituted by the previous administration. The claim, when the fees were introduced, was that the money would fund infrastructure development in the education sector. What exactly happened to this plan? If it was effective, then why did Governor Makinde’s administration inherit an education system with so much dilapidated infrastructure?
Citing a global recession as the reason for the odious introduction of this fee by the previous administration is a lazy excuse. Governor Makinde has faced a more serious situation with both a recession and a global pandemic that shut down the economies of countries worldwide. Yet, the Oyo State economy has continued to grow under his stewardship and the no fees policy has been upheld. Not only that, but His Excellency’s administration is also addressing the rundown infrastructure inherited from the previous administration. He has carried out construction and renovations of classroom blocks and toilets whilst also constructing model schools. This is possible because, unlike the previous administration, the government has paid counterpart funding to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) every year since 2019 in order to access matching grants. This is in addition to similar developments in secondary schools including the provision of thousands of desks and teachers’ tables and chairs.
Even more concerning than the failing infrastructure in schools is the fact that out-of-school children in Oyo State grew to 272,847 under Senator Abiola Ajimobi’s administration. A ticking timebomb! This represented the highest number in the entire South-West Nigeria and the tenth highest in Nigeria. If the policies of Senator Ajimobi’s administration were so great, why did this happen? How did his government not recognise that the introduction of N3,000/year school fees was pushing more children out of the classrooms?
To demonstrate that the no fees policy by Governor Makinde was well-thought-out, in the past 2 years since fees were scrapped, the Oyo State Government has returned 54,569 children (10,914 boys and 43,655 girls) back to school. This reduces the number of out-of-school children it inherited by 20%. Understandably, access to education is the first major focus point as contained under the education pillar of the Roadmap to Accelerated Development in Oyo State 2019-2023.
To be very clear, the Oyo State Government does not permit any state-owned secondary schools to charge any levy under any guise. As an active citizen, Smith would do well to report any schools he is aware of engaging in this illegal practice to the Oyo State Government Feedback service which is available on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and WhatsApp, so that they can ensure the issue is investigated and addressed.
Additionally, His Excellency’s administration made it clear that payment of external examination fees would not be covered by the free education policy. It is important to note that Senator Ajimobi’s administration stopped paying WAEC fees in 2015 and started charging school fees of N3,000/year for secondary school students. Yet, Morufu Smith praises that administration while criticising Governor Makinde for not paying external examination fees even though he abolished the additional burden of N3,000/year fees. There is no logic in this thinking process.
At this point, it is important to address other comments made by Smith to back his fictitious claims that Governor Makinde has a penchant for ‘somer-tumble’ policies. Regarding the Central Abattoir in Amosun Village, Smith claimed that ‘Gov Makinde was a vociferous voice, condemning the order to relocate, asking former Governor Ajimobi to reverse the order’. This is false. The records show that Governor Makinde, at the time a governorship aspirant, advised then-Governor Ajimobi to suspend the relocation of the butchers to Amosun village until further talks are held with the leaders. This was after people had been killed in clashes between the butchers and the police. Does Morufu Smith consider this bad advice? How does he equate asking the government to dialogue more with the leaders to prevent further bloodshed to opposition to the relocation of butchers to the Central Abattoir?
To further buttress his bogus claim, Smith criticised Governor Makinde who as a governorship candidate, had talked about a plan to support Oyo State farmers to grow and export maize to Botswana. This is after His Excellency explained that upon assuming office, it became clear that the maize grown in Oyo State did not meet export specifications. Instead of criticising Governor Makinde, Smith should perhaps, be more concerned that the administration of Senator Abiola Ajimobi claimed to have carried out an agriculture revolution during its 8 years in government but supervised an agriculture sector that did not prioritise cultivation and production of improved seeds. It might interest Smith to know that the current administration has been working on growing maize that meets export specifications while at the same time, focusing on other crops that the state has a comparative advantage in like cassava, rice and soybean.
Let’s move on to the Ikere Gorge Dam. Smith claimed the plan was shelved because Chief Bode Akindele advised it was not a viable project. Had Smith sought information before putting pen to paper, he would have seen that Governor Makinde had explained in his First Year in Office Broadcast that ‘the dam has been given to private concessionaires by the Federal Government.’ Governor Makinde also stated that the authorities were in discussions with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to ensure that Oyo State’s interest is factored into the arrangement.
Finally, Smith cited the actions taken by Governor Seyi Makinde on the Ibadan Circular Road and Agbowo Shopping Complex to support his untenable point about ‘somer-tumble’ policies. Did he even consider the background of these projects?
The Circular Road was flagged off by Senator Ajimobi in June 2017 stating that the first phase of 32km out of the 110km project would be completed in 18 months. By 2021 when the contract was revoked, 4 years after it was awarded, the project for the construction of the first 32km was still only at about 5.5% completion. At the rate that the concessioner was going, how long does Smith think it would have taken the concessioner to complete it? Furthermore, Smith would do well not to repeat preposterous lies peddled by ridiculous people that Governor Makinde who had the documentation for the project, did not know that it was a PPP arrangement. Even His Excellency’s post on social media in 2019 referred to the arrangement as a concession!
The Agbowo Shopping Complex was a moribund facility for the 8 years of the previous administration’s tenure. Yet, Smith reserves his kudos to the past administration for doing nothing about this facility and reserves knocks for His Excellency for entering into a PPP arrangement with concessioners to lease the property for 50 years at N4.8 billion. It beggars belief that anyone would reason this way.
The question Smith and anyone interested in the progress of Oyo State should be asking is why work has stopped on both projects. Be that as it may, the people of Oyo State can be rest assured that whatever issues that caused the delay on both projects will be addressed and the projects will be completed. This is because Governor Makinde has demonstrated again and again that he is committed to resuscitating moribund assets and completing any abandoned or uncompleted projects by past administrations. He did it with the Pacesetters Quarry and Asphalt Plant, Ijaiye. He showed with the recently completed 7.2km Idi Ape-Basorun-Akobo-Odogbo Barracks Road and the recently commissioned 9.7km Saki Township Road dualization projects. He will do it again.
In conclusion, it is important that Oyo State citizens continue to hold their elected officials to account. However, this must not be done by making false claims, distorting facts or spreading outright fabrications, especially when the facts are readily available in the public domain. Morufu Smith should make the effort to verify information rather than spreading lies and propaganda about Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration.
Leave a Reply