From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Governor of the State of Osun, Gboyega Oyetola, has argued that despite the security challenges confronting the country, Nigeria has made some giant strides in the past 61 years of Independence.
Speaking to newsmen in an event to mark his birthday in Abuja, he dismissed the insinuations that the country is stagnant, insisting that progresses have been recorded.
Asked the level of progress of Nigeria since Independence, he said: “I think by any standard we have moved, we may not have achieve the level that we are thinking of as a nation, but I think we are moving.
“Comparing us with other nations that had attained the same independence as ours may not necessarily be too good enough because you are not too sure of what they have.
“We could do better given the level that we are now, particularly the efforts that have been put into running the affairs of the country by the present administration of President Muhamadu Buhari. I think we are moving. We are not stagnant. We are challenged.
“For instance, the issue of security is a big challenge but that is not only perculiar to Nigeria, we have the challenges in other parts of the world. But what is important is for you not to give up.
“I believe we are making progress, we may not be at the level which we are expecting as a nation but we are stagnant. Nigeria is moving forward,” he argued.
On how he feels at 67 years of age, the Osun Governor said: “First of all, I want to thank the Almighty God for sparing my life over the years till date and for giving me very good health.
“I must thank my family too for taking good care of me. I think is the grace of God, we should give the Almighty God the glory for been able to attain 67. I am very healthy. I have no problem with my health. So we thank God.”
Revealing how he has prioritized the salary of workers in the state, he said: “There is no magic. It is a question of defining your priority, getting them right. I also believe that workers deserve their pay. Don’t forget that I came from the private sector background. I employed people in my company. As a matter of policy, there was no time I didn’t pay their monthly salary.
“So, I decided that moving forward, I must as matter of necessity make the payment of workers salary a priority. God has been quite kind. I look at my cash flow and define my priority right. So there is no magic, is a question of creativity and setting your priority right.
“There is no magic in finance. It is nothing extraordinary, but my background has actually helped me to able to look at some of these issues and define what I need to do at any point in time,” he revealed.