Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has counselled the governor-elect of the state, Mr. Oluseyi Makinde, to ensure that the state does not return to the era of brigandage.
He gave the advice in an interview with journalists shortly after he delivered a public lecture “Peace and Security Architecture for Sustainable Development in Oyo State,” organised by Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP), held in the University of Ibadan on Thursday.
On the occasion, Ajimobi was conferred with the fellowship award of SPSP in recognition of his immense contributions to the achievement and sustenance of peace and security in the past eight years in the state, which was described by President of SPSP, Dr. Nathaniel Danjibo, as a total departure from what was obtainable before Ajimobi came into power in 2011.
The lecture, which was graced by the Vice Chancellor, UI, Prof Idowu Olayinka, was chaired by former deputy vice-chancellor (Academics) of UI, Prof Adigun Agbaje.
Ajimobi, who said he would work till the last day in office as governor, regardless of various allegations in the newspapers, stated that Makinde, who will take over the reins of government from him on May 29, should be wary of power tussles between two opposing groups in the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state, if his administration would record landmark achievements in the area of peace and security.
According to him, “we thank God for giving us the opportunity to serve; and we have delivered well, and we are happy. If there is anything we want to be remembered for, it is peace and security. It is the foundation of government, and it is the basis of governance.
“For any society to develop, there must be that peace and security, which must thereafter have what I called the ‘German floor of infrastructure,’ both physical and social which we are living behind.
“As I am standing before you, I still have 18 days and nine hours. So, within that period, we will still continue to maintain the peace. It is what we are known for, and that is what our legacy will be.
“As for May 29, if someone wants to disrupt the peace, I will advise the in-coming governor to ensure that for him to be successful, and deliver the dividends of democracy, peace must be the first thing to maintain.
“So, he must not allow it to slip away. He must not take us back to ‘Egypt’ and he must not take us to ‘Afghanistan.’ We must continue to have peace and tranquillity in Oyo State.
“If you have somebody in the media or in the NURTW, making noise, you should checkmate him, and make sure he doesn’t make noise. They should take him to court. If he should foment trouble, you should arrest him and deal with him.
“I have been successful because we don’t take nonsense. Once people know, even armed robbers know that you don’t take nonsense, they will think twice. The in-coming governor must show them that he doesn’t take nonsense, if his is going to have any meaningful development, at least to sustain the good work we have done.”
Ajimobi, however, noted that education in the contemporary days must be able to lead to empowerment for people, saying: “Education is a structured information. Structured information is knowledge. Knowledge leads to skills. Skills lead to ability. Ability leads to capability. Capability leads to empowerment. Any education you have that cannot empower you, that cannot make you productive, and contribute to the society is not an education.”