Olumide Alli is the Caretaker Chairman of Akinyele South Local Council Development Area of Oyo State and an advocate of public –private partnership and community collaboration for development. In this interview with YEJIDE GBENGA-OGUNDARE, he speaks on the development of his council area, APC government in the state and vision for grass roots development.
how will you rate the present administration in Oyo State?
To be sincere, I will say the present administration has tried especially in developmental issues. The state is lucky to have a man that is focused and has such a solid vision; many may not see what is on ground at present but the truth is, he is laying a foundation that will put the state on the next pedestal of greatness. Often, when foundation is being laid, people will just see it as you are just doing something, but when the building starts to rise, they will appreciate what is being done; that is the case here. Governor Abiola Ajimobi has laid a solid foundation, he has performed wonderfully and all that he needs to get the state to the level of his dreams is the support of the people. He is the brain and figure behind a new and glorious Oyo State and has been working round the clock to make the state a pacesetter not only in name, but in both social and economic areas.
Your council is a newly created council development area; of what importance is it to the people?
As we all know that the local government is the nearest to the people and in many cases, some council areas are so large that there seems to be a disconnection between the people in some areas and the council at large. In such communities, it usually looks like only a particular area is being focused, this is usually not the case, but that is how it looks to people. But with the smaller council development areas, infrastructures can be evenly spread as the communities each council is responsible for is streamlined and as a result, more people can be reached and the essence of the local council is felt more by the people especially those in the hinterland. In Akinyele, we have so many rural communities and the smaller council development areas makes it easy to touch everyone because their needs are usually different and simpler that the urban areas.
How have you been able to take the dividend of democracy to communities under your council?
Well, I thank God for everything and I thank our leader, Governor Abiola Ajimobi for the opportunity to serve. The essence of this is to serve the people and because we are new and have virtually no structures on ground, ours was a herculean task especially due to the fact that we have so many villages in our council. But in spite of this, we had our work cut out for us because we know the governor does not want excuses, he wants performance and obvious results. The first thing we did was familiarise ourselves with every area under our council, we met with the community heads and landlord associations as well as the youths to know the needs of the communities. We found out that what community A desires and considers a priority is different from what community B wants, so this became our guide. I will tell you that they didn’t ask for too much than the basic amenities that will make life easier; potable water, fixing of roads, health care centres, drainages and other basic things.
And because there was paucity of funds and the governor does not want unnecessary delays in payment of salaries, there was a need to look inwards and think out of the box, so I had to bring in friends and well meaning individuals to partner with us and help in bridging the gap and fill the perceived vacuum.
As at today, we have provided health centres, an example of that is the Kajorepo Community Health Centre, we have refurbished roads, done vocational training for youth and widows, commenced a soft loan empowerment for women, school training for secondary school students and such things as is required from one community to the other. We wish to do more than this because it is their right to have those things and a responsibility of the government.
What should the people expect from the government of the day?
What they should expect is provision of more infrastructural facilities and policies that will make life easier for the people. The governor is determined not to rest on his oars and wants to leave a state that is much better than what he met in all spheres of life. I am sure there are many projects in the pipeline both at the state and the local government levels. The transformation is just commencing, people should just support the government and play their part. They have been trying and we appreciate the support we enjoy, the people of Oyo state have indeed been wonderful.
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