OYEBANJI: ACCOLADES FOR A TESTED AND TRUSTED PERFORMER.
By Ọmọọba Olusesan Alabi
If ever there is a governor who had garnered several awards and recognitions in a short time, it would be Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji (BAO) of Ekiti State. When he emerged as All Progressives Congress' Governorship Candidate early 2022, some were doubtful because he was not a Lagos/Ibadan/diaspora politician. I remember having to convince a Lagos-based friend and business tycoon that his being home-bred would be an advantage rather than an albatross as some feared.
In the last thirty months or so, BAO has utterly surprised doubters. By whatever indices you may want to measure him, the outcome would be “BAO has performed creditably well”.
Within the first twenty-four months, recognitions started coming in, most of them from outside the state, confirming what we already knew and what we are enjoying in Ekiti State. These were in form of awards, accolades and laurels here and there.
In May 2024, the Daily Independent Mewspaper honoured the Governor with the award of Governor of the Year (Good governance and grassroots development) in recognition of his exemplary leadership and infrastructure development which cut across the nooks and crannies of the state.
In September 2024, BAO won “The Most Outstanding Governor of the Year in Inclusive Leadership and Grassroots Development” given by MARKETING EDGE MAGAZINE, Nigeria’s leading marketing journal. According to the EDGE, BAO was honoured for his “developmental approach to governance, inclusive leadership, and uplifting the standard of living in the state” and also for “his giant strides in ifrastructure; good governance; and promoting peace in the state”.
In another but similar instance, Governor BAO was nominated the New Telegraph Newspaper’s Governor of the Year in 2024. In its nomination letter, The Telegraph’s management noted that BAO emerged “after a thorough assessment of his visionary leadership and achievements in critical sectors of the state”.
The Newspaper cited Governor Oyebanji’s "huge investment in road and power infrastructure across many communities as well as his people-oriented programs, projects and policies that have brought a remarkable impact in the standard of living of the people of the state and positioned the state as a reference point for good governance”.
Only three months into this year, another national media giant is beaming its searchlight on the performing Governor of Ekiti State. The Vanguard Group has slated BAO for its prestigious “BEST GOVERNOR’S AWARD”. This will be presented in the coming month. According to the newspaper’s management, this award “is in recognition of Governor Oyebanji’s remarkable implementation of his Six Pillars of his administration’s development agenda, particularly in the areas of Human Capital Development, Infrastructure and Industrialisation as well as in Arts, Culture and Tourism”. While presenting the nomination letter, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The Vanguard, Mr. Adekunle Adekoya said that BAO “earned the best Governor Award on good governance due to the significant development his government had undertaken across various sectors in the state”. He explained that the nomination came after reviewing the public space to identify leaders of government that are impacting on the people that elected them.
Governor BAO’s Awards are not limited to the Print Media alone. He was also nominated for and indeed won the prestigious “Silverbird 2024 Man of the Year Award”. This was after he garnered the highest number of votes to beat other nominees. Silverbird cited Oyebanji’s "impressive achievement in areas such as infrastructure and tourism development, social interventions for the less priviledged; inclusive governance, agriculture and rural development” as the basis for his selection.
Receiving this award would place BAO in the class of previous and notable winners. Since its establishment in 2005, winners include high profile personalities like President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former President Muhamadu Buhari, Dora Akunyili, Babatunde Fasola and Adams Oshiomole, among others. These are men and women of honour who indisputably had made their marks in their respective fields and made positive impacts on the populace as well as excelling in their areas of calling. Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji is now added to this noble list.
As consistently stated by BAO at various fora, these awards and recognitions could not have come if his team is not performing. Ascribing glory to God, he notes that the accolades are reflecting the overall performance of his cabinet and the entire team which he says he is priviledged to lead. He constantly affirms that any recognition he receives is a reflection of the diligence and dedication of members of his team, who, he acknowledges, are doing well in their respective duty posts. According to him, it is a collective win that came out of team spirit, unity of purpose and dedication to duty
In saying this, BAO is speaking the truth. Many members of his team are equally being recognised for their good performance. The state has consistently won laurels in areas like open governance, budget performance and Transparency in Financial Management. Two of his commissioners are chairing their forums in their national body. The Commissioner for Finance, Akin Oyebode is the current Chairman, National Forum of Finance Commissioners while his counterpart in Health, Oyebanji Filani is the Chairman of National Forum of Health Commissioners. The State Cultural Troupe has received many national and international awards.
Without doubt, the recognitions are coming not by reason of lobby or purchase, but by dint of hard work, focus on development and the desire to serve the people of the state. These have impacted positively in virtually all areas of performance and by whichever indices used to assess. The fact that these recognitions are coming from reputable bodies and institutions OUTSIDE EKITI STATE is an indication of the Governor’s dexterity and performance. The governor and his team have justified whatever applause or accolades bestowed or may still be bestowed.
Since his inauguration on October 16, 2022, BAO has demonstrated that he has come to serve Ekiti people. He came with what he called the Six Pillars of his administration. These are:
-Governance
-Youth Development & Job Creation
-Human Capital Development
-Agriculture and Rural Development
-Infrastructure and Industrialization
-Arts, Culture Tourism
Incredibly, Governor BAO has paid deserved attention to all the Six Pillars. Policies and projects are structured to reflect and actualize the Six Pillars. The impact goes beyond saying as the facts speak for themselves. As noted earlier, those bestowing the honours variously referred to outstanding performance on the Six Pillars as the basis for the awards.
Not having the luxury of space, we will not address performance on each pillar in this particular treatise. Suffice to say that the Public Service is happy; Roads are being constructed; more than 90% school enrolment has been achieved; our schools are a beauty to behold; the youth are receiving the desired attention and push; and we are gradually achieving food security. Our tourist centres are being worked upon. It is a known fact that the Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort can now compete favourably with similar establishments across the globe having been worked upon by this administration.
As for peace, no governor before him had surpassed him in building bridges across the political divides. With his saying that Ekiti is bigger than individual ambitions and political leanings, he has made moves and succeeded in bringing all former governors to a “round table” to achieve unity beyond party affiliations. This in particular has entrenched peace in the political arena. If there is an award for political bridge builders, BAO will surely win miles ahead of others. He is on the same page not only with his immediate predecessor, but with all of them thus rescuing the state from political upheavals existing in some states.
BAO has also demonstrated the beauty of continuity in governance by completing a large chunk of projects inherited from previous governors. He not only completed them, he brought the governors back to commission the projects. BAO appears to have studied all his predecessors and borrowed a leaf from each of them. He combines the humane nature of Niyi Adebayo with Ayo Fayose’s grassroots politicking; Segun Oni’s daring Road Revolution and Kayode Fayemi’s strategic human and capital development. All these have produced in BAO a 360-degree governor.
All said and done, BAO, as a home-grown governor, daily proves that something good can come out of Ekiti Nazareth. His growing up in Ekiti has been an advantage to governance. Having schooled here, he knew what the schools needed and he is attending to them. He has first-hand knowledge of our Tourist places and he is opening them up. The hospitals are not left out. He traversed the roads as a young man and knows what to do now that he is in charge. He has an unsurpassed experience in governance not available to others before him having served in all “progressive” administrations in Ekiti State. No wonder he was able to hit the ground running and plant his footprints in virtually all areas of development. In BAO, Ekiti has a governor with focus on development, love for his people, having a commitment to serve and a peace maker.
As a team player, he has consistently advocated that “the honours are not about me but for Ekiti People. The Awards are dedicated to God for His Grace bestowed on us; to President Tinubu whose strong support made these possible for (us) to shine and to Ekitikete for providing the opportunity (through their votes) to serve”. He believes that each award and accolade would always be a call to greater and more impactful service. That is Vintage BAO: ordained by God, elected by Ekitikete and honoured by all.
Ọmọọba Olusesan Alabi is the Permanent Secretary, Ekiti State Ministry of Information.
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