By Brian Ajayi Jatto
Beneficial development does not occur by chance or happenstance but through conscious roadmaps initiated by that leader armed with foresight and the will to make a meaningful impact on and difference in the living standard of his people.
The chicken-hearted dare not dare to chart new trajectories for fear of failure and disappointment. He thinks it is impossible if it has not been attempted or tested before.
Virgin areas that will impact positively on the lives of the people are considered anathema either for fear of stumbling or outright as a misadventure. In many instances, the corruption-prone leader thinks of the opportunity cost of deploying state funds meant for sustainable development to watering private and self-serving motives and setting in motion inaction, retrogression and inertia in the core areas of people-focused development.
In other instances, the leader is confronted with a myriad of daunting issues of stunted development; entrenched and fossilised political interests that stall government business or sabotage it or both.
In the midst of this milieu that could have dissuaded a lily-livered leader, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu has set out to, clinically, implement his charter of sustainable development to take Edo State out of the doldrums of failed “mega projects; inflated “mega” projects; inflated “legacy” projects,” poorly-finished projects and undelivered “messianic” promises premised on those policies, programmes and projects that would have impacted positively on Edo people if handed conscientiously and commitment.
Pastor Ize-Iyamu’s vision of meaningful development is woven around a matrix of Irreducible Minimum Objectives and Standards, Core Strategies and Success Indicators and Strict Policies, Programmes and Projects Conception, Implementation and Monitoring, that is encapsulated in his “SIMPLE Agenda”, a compendium of his vision and hope for a Greater Edo State.
The SIMPLE Agenda, as espoused by Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the front running governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is defined as S = Security and Social Welfare; I = Infrastructure Development/Urban Renewal; M = Manpower Development and Training; P = Public/Private Partnership (PPP); L = Leadership by Example and E = Employment Creation and Social Empowerment Scheme.
The revolutionary working programme is built on a foundation that the pastor has consistently strengthened by his assurance that the people of Edo State and by extension, the country at large, should hold him responsible and vicariously liable for the implementation of the contents of his “Simple Agenda”, if elected as governor on September 10, 2016. At a recent interactive forum in Lagos, he emphasised that “I want to assure you that I mean well”. Yes, he means well, given his robust enthusiasm to take Edo State to Greater Heights. His SIMPLE agenda is anchored on security/social welfare, infrastructure development/urban renewal, manpower development and training, public/private partnership, leadership and employment.
The foregoing and other core issues not listed here are woven around the foundation of the solid truth, consistency, accountability, care and above all, the fear of God, enshrined in the SIMPLE Agenda, as propounded by Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu to power the new era of good governance that he will usher in on November 12, 2016, in Edo State. He will open up spaces hitherto hidden from the people and provide a human face that is dedicated to the overall welfare and of the people. He will work together with the people with renewed vigour, tenacity of purpose for the benefit of all, without bias.
Pastor Ize-Iyamu’s desire to serve the good and hardworking people of Edo State is predicated on mutual trust, mutual cooperation and the belief that the people’s mandate is a sacred endowment that must be used, primarily, for the uplift of their welfare and general living standard.
That is the SIMPLE Agenda.
• Jatto is a Political Analyst/Commentator based in Lagos.