A governor and his many firsts

Trail-blazing is never an easy task. It involves lots of conceptualisation, planning before the eventual execution. It is always a difficult task. Scoring firsts is however turning a pastime of Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s government.From sector to sector, the government is scoring what many hitherto considers impossible task in the 37-years of existence of Ogun State.

At the inception of his administration, he inherited a state faced with daunting security challenges where armed robbers raided banks and other commercial outlets with effortless ease. Many bankers were forced to lock their gates against customers for fear of attacks. But the governor faced the menace headlong. He imported 13 state-of-the-art Armoured Personnel Carriers(APC’s) from the United States; bought 200 patrol vans fitted with communication gadgets, purchased 2000 AK-47 rifles, 500 bullet proof vests,500 bullet proofhelmets as well as 2 million rounds of ammunition for security operatives to face the challenge.

At the launch of the security equipment, the Inspector-General of Police, Muhammed Abubakar, who was so dazed by the quantum of the security equipment on display that he described the State government as a role model in the area of crime fighting in the country. Abubakar had told the gathering “this is the first time in the history of this State and Nigeria that this kind of donation would take place. I have done police job in every length of this country, I have served in the six political zones of this country, so I can say there is no State in this country that has donated what you have donated in a single form”.

He recounted the hassles he went through when he was an Assistant Inspector General of Police in-charge of Lagos/Ogun zone due to non-availability of security equipment. “I was opportune to be here as Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of this zone.I know what I went through without this equipment, I want to thank you (Governor Amosun) and the people of the state for this gesture and I want to use this opportunity to invite both foreign and Nigeria investors to come to Ogun State because the state government, by this donation, has taken giant strides in the area of security”.

Interestingly, since the intervention, crime statistics in the state have crashed significantly. Hoodlums suddenly found the state unsafe for their nefarious operations as policemen backed by combat-ready soldiers.

The governor followed up the gesture with the purchase of 500 electricity transformers and distributed same to needy communities across the state. That feat, again, was a first in the history of the state and Nigeria. The highest number close to that figure in the state was 130 which were bought by late Chief Olabisi Onabanjo, while 300 was the highest number purchased by any government in Nigeria.

The recent eruption of crisis within the legislature again brought to the fore the uncanny ability of the governor as a mediator. The 26 member state legislature suddenly broke into two factions. One faction led by the Speaker, Rt.Hon. Suraj Isola Adekunbi, suspended four members of the house citing gross indiscipline as reasons. But in a swift fight-back, the suspended four rallied their sympathisers in the assembly and suspended the Speaker and his Deputy, Hon. Tola Banjo. A logjam ensued. But Senator Amosun displayed that innate character of a consummate mediator.

While indigenes of the state were still trying to fully grasp why the state legislature is relapsing into the crisis, the governor conveyed a meeting of the two groups and settled the matter promptly.

Instructively, Senator Amosun didn’t allow the spat between the lawmakers to linger more than 24 hours before the settled the matter. He drew applause for this because the lifespan of the last legislature was aborted prematurely due to a similar misunderstanding which was, strangely, allowed to fester.

Senator Amosun is also blazing the trails in his urban renewal drive. His administration constructed the first flyover-the first on any state road in Ogun state and also the first pedestrian walkbridge. But what broke many records was the speed at which the Ibara-Sokori-Totoro road was constructed. That speed qualifies for a place in the Guinness book of records. The two and a half kilometre six-lane road was constructed within four months!

To display that the road was not a flash in the pan, the administration also set rolling a road revolution in the state by awarding the contract for the construction of 12 roads spread across the three senatorial districts of the state in one fell swoop. Today,road construction work is ongoing several key cities in the state.

Governor Amosun also scored another first with the appointment of Mrs Abimbola Akeredolu as the first female Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Ogun State. The governor scored two firsts in the process. He raised the number of women in the 34-member State Executive Council to twelve; a figure far above 30 percent.

Perhaps what still baffles close watchers of the Ogun politics was the presence of the departing Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Wemimo Ogunde,SAN at the swearing-in ceremony of his successor. Ogunde, the scion of the late Hubert Ogunde, a theatre icon, exited the apex decision making body in the state setting tongues wagging among traducers of the government that there was a crack in the well-knitted council.

Olusola Balogun is a media aide of Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

But the presence of the grey-hair Ogunde at the swearing-in of Mrs Akeredolu put a firm nail on such lies. The affable Ogunde was seen exchanging banters with his former colleagues before the governor came in.But it was during the speech of the governor that the close affinity between the Governor and the former AG manifested. Senator Amosun was so effusive of the qualities of the departing AG that the event could easily be passed for a valedictory ceremony for the Ijebu-Ososa lawyer.
Interestingly, it was the first time in contemporary history of Ogun where a departing commissioner will be available at the swearing-in and even proceeded to hand over to his successor. The practice has always been that of lamentation and accusation and cries of assassins gunning for the jugular of the departing commissioner.
The governor is also acquiring reputation among financial experts in the country for his shylock approach to debt and loan negotiations. Before he assumed office, loans are secured at between 12 and 15 percent interest rate. But Senator Amosun came with his matter-of-factly approach and has been securing facilities at less than 10 percent interest rates.