This essay was submitted by Ayomipo Adelusi
Oyo state was created in 1976. It has its capital in Ibadan. The inhabitants of the landscape include the people of Ogbomosho, Ibadan, Saki, Ibarapa, Oke-ogun, and Oyo. At creation, it encompassed the present day Oyo and Osun state. With about 5,580,894 residents currently occupying the landmass of 28,454km2 land area, a GDP of $29.8billion, a per capita of $2,666, and an HDI – human welfare and development measurement of 0.626 divided into 33 Local Government Areas. Having signalled a brief outlook of my dear state, it is expedient I share with you my manifesto; a published declaration of intentions, motives, that I aim to achieve in Oyo state within a tenure of four (4) years if elected.
If elected Governor of this glorious state, I would focus my attention on the four most sacred sectors (education, health, power, energy and housing, and agriculture). I consider them crucial to decent and standard living for citizens, and which concurrently contribute to the posterity of the SDGs, as spelt out by the UN General assembly in 2015.
EDUCATION SECTOR
Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world – Mandela N. – Boston, As of 2018, there are 463,280 out-of-school kids in Oyo state. Illiteracy is an identified problem in the state. If elected, I will:
Set up an initiative that only focuses on returning Out-of-school children to school, and make education compulsory over an age range.
Promulgate laws to punish offenders and deviants to the law in bullet-point 1, with severe penalties put in place as a checkmate.
HEALTH SECTOR
In health, according to data derived from UNICEF Accelerated Action for Impact, Oyo state is characterized by high neonatal mortality and low levels of immunization. It ranks 3rd after Kano and Jigawa in terms of neonatal deaths. Though there are various health facilities in the state, however, the strength of monitoring and evaluation is yet to be sufficient. If elected, below are measures and systems to put in place in the health sector:
Maintenance of existing health facilities before constructing new ones. There is a total of 1237 health facilities in Oyo state, of this 62% are Primary Health Care facilities (PHC),
470 are SHC, and 4 THCs.
Reduction of people’s engagement in risky behaviours that jeopardize health, e.g. Okada
riding. Measures would be in place to encourage people to shun the life-threatening activity and embrace safer crafts.
POWER, ENERGY AND HOUSING SECTOR
The rural spaces in zones of isolation in the state with an apex demand for electricity and energy for improved livelihood and settlement liveability remain underserviced in terms of accessibility to a reliable supply of electricity. Also, the perceived urban center is ridden with similar problems, which are evident in urban youths’ recourse to activities such as Okada riding, Agbero, etc., as a last resort. To alleviate these problems, this government will;
Engage in increased Energy production through renewable energy sources; solar,
geothermal, biomass, abundant in rural areas.
Create awareness and public sensitization on unlimited energy choices available to
households.
Housing
Incorporation of subsidized housing programs in the state. This will be geared towards
providing subsidized rental assistance to low-income households.
Construction of vocational estates where electricity and housing problems are adequately settled.
AGRICULTURE SECTOR
According to the SDG 2 set by the UN General Assembly, a problem to address globally includes hunger otherwise known as food poverty. A man who cannot feed his family certainly has more problems than roads and electricity can solve. John Lewis, in his work, The Lewis theory of Economic Development, described the management of surplus labor from agriculture as a pathway to economic development. If elected, I will ensure:
Intra and interstate transportation systems, especially those that directly affect agriculture, are improved and strengthened.
Storage facilities and processing systems are improved to keep excess production from
wastage and ensure agricultural commodities are available round the year.
Re-institutionalization of Marketing Boards for the state.
Processing, conservation and preservation as forms of storage.
Institutional measures – school-to-land system, promoting agricultural cooperatives, and
channeling agricultural credit through such cooperatives.
The price of labor in the sector is increased. This will attract more able-bodied youths,
shifting their attention away from oil, and the ‘white-collar job’ industry that is already
saturated.
Conclusion
Ultimately, working effectively on these four sectors will positively expedite the status of the economy. For emphasis, agricultural development will necessitate the growth of the transportation sector and in turn, create employment. Housing, power and energy will give rise to a planned and renewed city, as well as make self-created jobs available, to further develop the vocation and skill sector of the state. The importance of energy cannot be underestimated as it is often claimed to be crucial to human development, especially in rural locations. Without doubt, an investment in the sectors mentioned above will bring about an increased turnaround in achieving a more significant number of the SDGs. Without education, food, and shelter in Oyo state, violence might become an inevitable
phenomenon, and SDG 16 becomes a mirage.
I will actively work with those in the cabinet, opponents, the private sector, and the people at large, in getting the latitude and longitude of the four cardinal points (West, South, North, and East) on the map. These are what summed up my ‘SMART’ agenda – a world where I believe a fish is not forced to climb trees.
