It is no news that Ogun state governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun of APC, lost to the rival PDP in Ijebu East local government area of the state in the last governorship/state Assembly elections.
Many reasons can be adduced for this loss. First, the area has been abandoned for a long time even before Abiodun’s administration.
It appears Oke Mosan, the seat of government in the state, is too far from the ‘far East’ that borders Ondo state. Jokingly, even if the governor sits atop the famous Olumo Rock, his views will still be burdened by hundreds of kilometres of forests and undulating hills particularly when civil servants and politicians are up to some mischief.
It is only a governor that moves around once in a while that gets things done in far-flung areas like Ijebu East. But I digress!
It is only a governor that moves around once in a while that gets things done in far-flung areas like Ijebu East.
As I was saying, Ijebu East is perhaps the least developed area in the state. Except schools and health facilities, other modern infrastructures like motorable roads, electricity, potable water, etc are lacking. Their absence gives the impression that government does not care about the people.
For example, the electricity project which Osoba built in Ajebandele Ijebu has become disused following the inability of the local and state governments to effect repairs when the facility broke down over ten years ago!
A borehole to supply potable water in Orita J4 which was sponsored by a politician about three years ago has packed up due to lack of maintenance.
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Construction of drainages, rural roads, etc by the local government has been abandoned due to lack of funds.
Only recently, some politicians in the National Assembly constructed a road to link Ajebandele with some villages and hamlets like Oloke Ali and Laagan near Ondo state boundary as their constituency project. Even this untarred road will soon wash off because of the shoddy job done there. This is perhaps the only road that links the area with the state’s food basket and other forest resources.
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Besides, villages and hamlets are vestiges of organised chaos as if government lacked professional town planners in ministries and agencies.
In this area, many politicians campaigned and got elected only to betray the trust people reposed in them. Councillors would get elected from villages and hamlets only for them to build their mansions in towns and cities and move away from the electorate.
In this regard, there appears to be many incompetent politicians and civil servants particularly from this axis who only moonlight in government.
Worst still, the government’s farm/land tenure system gives room for extortion and blackmail from government officials and politically exposed persons in the state.
It is hoped that the governor will direct his attention to this local government in his second term beginning from May 29, this year.
I recall that few months before the last elections, farmers in forests were harassed and made to cough out thousands of Naira to retain their farms particularly in Omo Forest Reserve.
Most of these farmers many of whom are politically sensitive, expected a more rewarding pro-farmer policy from the state government. It should be mentioned that during their travails, the landlord at Oke Mosan pretended that everything was well even when the farmers were – and still are – being milked dry.
The above and many other reasons may have caused the last poor performance at the polls by the governor and his party, All Peoples Congress, APC. It is hoped that the governor will direct his attention to this local government in his second term beginning from May 29, this year.
