When the Reign Is Profitable, People Yearn for Same.
*ONLY A THRIVING ECONOMY CAN ACCOMODATE ALL*
Ogun state is blessed with great people, one will vividly remember that Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, His Excellency Prince Bola Ajibola and Professor Wole Soyinka hailed from this great state.
It is in view of the above that you will all agree with me that the great people of Ogun state can process information faster and better than any individual from other states, as a result of our exposure to civilization and education.
Recently, a particular writer Babajide Anigilaje advocated that Ogun state indigenes should stop bashing the immediate past Governor Ibikunle Amosun, and help the incumbent Governor concentrate on meaningful governance. While I agree with this writer, I will like to mention that the recent bashing of SIA by the people could be law of karma, for those who are fond of history, you will recall how Senator Ibikunle Amosun masterminded the serious bashing of Otunba Gbenga Daniel's administration, even before OGD left office.
This was reflected in the inauguration speech by Governor Amosun, the speech was classsified as Vandetta Mission Against the Immediate Past Government, at this time Amosun seems to be doing the right thing, those who craved to get appointment under him joined forces with him to ensure that OGD's efforts during his 8 yrs of monumental achievements were rendered useless.
Another point raised was that Prince Dapo Abiodun has no clear document indicating his proposed programme for the state. Let me remind the good people of Ogun state that Gov. Olusegun Osoba was the governor before Otunba Gbenga Daniel, he invested so much in rural electrification with no mission statement for his agenda, yet he pursued this vigorously without any derailment.
The era of Otunba Gbenga Daniel ushered in mission tagging in the state, the first term was "Awakening the Sleeping Giant", while the second term focused on 'Agenda for a Secured Future', i.e, it was OGD that introduced this template and this was what Amosun keyed into during his 8yrs administration.
The writer should stop making issue out of a mission statement, it cannot hamper the delivery of dividends of democracy, mission statement is to guide the activities of government and not the yardstick to measure development itself.
On your postulation that the good people of Ogun state keep faulting the achievements of Senator Amosun, let me refresh your memory that Gov Amosun for 8yrs has not for once applauded any project by his predecessor, even the power plant that he used for 6yrs without adequate maintennace was nothing to him.
Now, to the main gist of your write up, you said that OGD's administration left IGR at #730m, while Amosun took took it to #6bn, ordinarily those with little or low reasoning capacity will believe it to be true, forgotten that OGD's administration met IGR at #200m.
A good student of economic by all standard ought to know that IGR doesn't increase accidentally, there are laid foundations needed for such geometrical progression.
*True Position of things*
When OGD assumed office in 2003, it is necessary to remind the people that Ogun state was a civil servant state, the agenda of Otunba Gbenga Daniel was to bring investors and open the state to investment opportunities, both local and foreign, this he was able to achieve without any iota of doubt.
Private companies having realised that OGD's administration had provided an enabling environment for businesses to thrive, came to Ogun state with massive investments. The principal thing OGD used as bait was to give them tax holiday for 5years, although this was not the only thing, he went as far as giving lands to those private companies on agreement that they would give maximum consideration to Ogun state indigenes during their recruitment exercise.
Now, isn't obvious that companies like Wemco (a nail producing company), Nestle PLC, Sweet Sensation, Mr Bigs, TechMahindra and other companies that were brought to Ogun state because of the enabling environment provided by OGD's led administration and given 5yrs tax holiday contributed to the much announced increased IGR under Governor Ibikunle Amosun?.
It is not out of place to say that the IGR of OGD could have increased geometrically, if he had levied those companies with tax immediately they came,his consideration and decision to give tax holiday to them encouraged private investors, whose tax payment gave monumental boost to the Internally Generated Revenue under Senator Ibikunle Amosun's administration.
The obvious truth is that OGD brought in great investments and it was Amosun that benefitted greatly from their returns.
Another thing during the administration of Otunba Gbenga Daniel, there was nothing like Treasury Single Account (TSA). Ogun state ministries and agencies maintained different accounts, not that alone, there was financial independence or autonomy for those departments to make use of their resources for developmental projects, unlike what transpired during Senator Ibikunle Amosun's administration.
Let us objectively analyse what happened under OGD and SIA, e.g.
OPIC: The Ogun State Investment Corporation under Otunba Gbenga Daniel was given the autonomy over its generated revenue, OGD gave them freedom to make money and expend it on developmental projects, without pokenosing into their affairs, part of their executed project was the tallest building in Abeokuta, but under Senator Ibikunle Amosun's administration, OPIC did not run an independent account, all monies generated by OPIC goes into Ogun state account which Senator Ibikunle Amosun was the financial overseer.
Another agency of government that is a money making machine for the government is TRACE, under OGD, TRACE had an independent account, all funds generated by TRACE were used for proper administration of the agency unlike under the immediate past administration that whatever TRACE made goes into the Government account and being recorded as part of the Internally Generated Revenue for SIA's administration, same thing for Gateway Holdings, Housing Corporations etc.
For those who erroneously agreed that the government of Governor Amosun made ten times revenue compared to Otunba Gbenga Daniel, we may need to seperate draconian administration from the human oriented government.
During the era of Otunba Gbenga Daniel, L, ocal governments were running autonomous administration with full control over their allocations, the 20 local governments were allowed to collect tenement rates under OGD and utilizing it for the development of their local governments, this was not so during SIA's administration, all generated funds by the 20 local governments including their allocations were in the custody of the State government.
Having said that, even with this dictatorial way of accumulating so much to his administration, let's agree that the IGR of Ogun state under SIA was ten times of that of OGD, but what we must know is that OGD's painstaking efforts yielded so much for Amosun's government to reap.
Furthermore, what we need to understand is that, if Otunba Gbenga Daniel's administration could achieved so much with #730m IGR, we may have to start asking questions on the impact of the immediate past administration, having realised that he had such huge money at its disposal.
*Road Infrastructure*
DUALISATION OF LALUBU ROAD IN ABEOKUTA
This is the central business district in the state capital and the single lane could no longer cope with the new Abeokuta city which the Otunba Gbenga Daniel-led Administration has engineered.
The accomplishment on this road shows that OGROMA has grown in leaps and bounds in quality service. The road by all accounts, is a model role in all facets of road construction, from the three lanes provided on both directions, to the concrete pedestrian walk ways, which together with the central median, have been furnished with beautiful paving stones with elaborate lane marking and cat eye reflections.
Another road is the Kobape/Sagamu road up to Interchange, the significance of this road was its dualisation, the second lane was constructed anew, unlike what was witnessed under SIA's administration. What Ibikunle Amosun's led administration did was road expansion, and for all of its 8yrs, there was never a time a new road was constructed, just overhead bridges and road expansion.
This project was well applauded, yes, maybe because our people are thirsty for the replica of what they saw in Lagos, we want a Lagos-like bridges without considering the amount of billions the Governor claimed to have expended on them.
Why we need to ask questions about the value placed on our economy by the bridges, it is also one of our duties to ask questions on the impact of those bridges on employment, health sector and education.
*On the Population of Ogun State*
The author of the piece which centred on "Its Time To Stop The Bashing of Amosun" said that Ogun state population under Otunba Gbenga Daniel was just a bit higher that One Million, meanwhile the authenticity of such claim is being faulted by the research conducted by the Convenant University Repository which posited that the 2006 National Population census figures however indicated that Ogun State had a population
figure of about 3,728,098.
This consisted of 49.55 percent female and 50.45 percent male.This distribution suggests a population density of about 222 persons per square
kilometre; with Abeokuta being the densest settlement of about 7,476 persons per square
kilometre (see covenantuniversity.edu.ng).
*World Bank Assessment During Otunba Gbenga Daniel's Administration*
According to a World Bank research in 2010 'Comparing Regulations in 36 States, FCT Abuja and 183 Economies', a co-publication of the World Bank and International Finance Corporation, Ogun State under the administration of Otunba Gbenga Daniel was highly economically viable, with heavy presence of various indicators used in measuring a thriving economy.
Also in World Bank Policy note titled *"An Overview of Six Economic Zones In Nigeria: Challenges and Opportunities"*, one of the states in the Nigeria that attracted foreign investments was Ogun state.
The Ogun-Guangdong Zone is located in the Igbessa Region of Ogun State, west of Lagos State, 30
km from Lagos international airport. The zone is being developed as a joint-venture between a
Chinese consortium (82 percent) which consists of Guangdong Xinguang International Group,
China-Africa Investment Ltd and CCNC Group and the Ogun State Government (18 percent). The
equity share of the Ogun State is in return for the land and a 100-year concession for the developer.
The project originated from a 2004 study of South China University of Technology on the feasibility
of setting up a Guangdong economic trade cooperation zone in Nigeria. This study was used in the
successful bid by Xinguang International Group in the first MOFCOM tender in 2006.
The project was originally planned to be located in Imo State, but the developers ran into high administration fees imposed by the State Government and a general climate of insecurity, and decided to relocate their
project to Ogun State.
There is need to establish that there was no time that the security in Ogun state was poor under the Otunba Gbenga Daniel's administration as claimed by Mr Babajide Anigilaje, if it was, Ogun state would not be considered for this huge project.
The list of World Bank Assessment of OGD's administration is endless, at every point in time, the state under OGD was described as an enabling environment for business, and other investment opportunities.
Even in the research, it was established that if the tempo of development adopted by the Otunba Gbenga Daniel's administration, by 2025, Ogun state will be one of the strongest economies of the world.
*Education*
It is good to give accurate information so as not to portray ourselves as unpatriotic, hence, we lose our integrity and people's respect.
In the write up 'It's Time To Let Go of Amosun's Bashing' by Babajide Anigilaje, the author gave the following as Gov. Amosun's achievements:
* 6 State Polytechnics
*503 Secondary Schools
* 1, 562 Primary Schools.
The need for clarification is essential so as not to miscontrue that the creation of additional educational institution was a big deal by Amosun's government.
The author gave the number of State University under Sen.Ibikunle Amosun as 3, where he got that, I cannot say, but what I am sure the whole Ogun indigenes knew the fact that Senator Ibikunle Amosun tried to establish Moshood Abiola University of Technology, but till this moment it was a wishful thinking, classified as utopian as the institution did not only fail to exist, it nearly killed the prestigious Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, one of the reasons for recent backwardness in our education sector.
*HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT/TRAINING UNDER OGD*
Let me give kudos to the writer of "Its Time To Stop the Bashing of Amosun" for being objective that the SIA's administration failed in this area, therefore, calling on Prince Dapo Abiodun's administration to emulate OGD's administration.
The desire to transform the state into an individual hub could only be realized if sufficient attention was paid to human capital development. From the onset the Administration had recognized the need to link intellectual cabability with industrial development. It therefore embarked on an extensive collaboration with foreign edeucational institutions to open up opportunities for eligible graduates and public servants to go abroad for further studies as part of a broader picture to boost the state's human resources.
The Human Capital Development Programme (HUCAP) was birthed as a result of the identification of the critical areas which the state needs to focus on. These are:
* Information and Communication Technology;
* Sustainable Agricultural Development;
* Business and Entrepreneurship Development;
* Public Sector Management;
* Mining Engineering;
* Infrastructural planning;
* Facilities management;
* Processing and Product Engineering; and
* Sports and Tourism.
These development areas of focus are deemed to be the critical areas that will re-awaken the state's huge potentials and place it on the road to sustainable development. To match words with action the state in 2005 sponsored 43 indigenes of the state for Masters Degrees Programmes, with collaborating universities in the United Kingdom.
The training and retraining of public servants for renewed capacity has signified the willingness to polities and programmes towards this end. HUCAP has demonstrated the commitment of the Government towards achieving development and it believes that a partnership with the private sector has all the potential to further the goals of the programme.
The implementation of the Human Capital development programme in the state has cost the government a sum of $3million (about #450million) in just five years.
*OGD's Achievements*
When Otunba Gbenga Daniel assumed office in 2003, Ogun only had the following:
*OGD met 1, 330 Public Primary Schools, he added 110 to it making it 1, 440.
*OGD met 785 Private, he added 967 to it making it 1, 752.
*OGD met 253 Public Secondary School, he added 218 to it, making it 471
*The most important is the State Polytechnic, OGD met 1, he added 4 to it, spreading across the entire zones of the state with adequate financial and architectural provisions, making it 5 as at the time OGD was leaving office.
*Clarification*
The writer who claimed that Senator Ibikunle Amosun's administration established 6 State Polytechnic should with a matter of urgency withdraw this position and state clearly that the immediate Governor established 1 State Polytechnic.
*OGD met One State University which was Olabisi Onabanjo University, thereafter, he established the first University of Education in Nigeria, making it 2 State Universities.
*Evidence of Otunba Gbenga Daniel's Brilliant Performance While in Office*
One of Nigeria’s 100 most successful Businessmen (National Concord) - 1993
MKO Abiola Leadership Prize - 2004
Africa Leadership Prize for the Best Performed Governor for year 2003 – 2004
City People Magazine Award for Best Performing Governor for 2003 - 2004
Man of the Year (by the American Biographical Institute Inc) - 2004
Best Performing Governor in Primary Education Development - 2005
Corporate Governance Award of the Institute of Directors, Nigeria – 2005
Zik Leadership Award, 2006.
The Raymond Dokpesi: Electronic Media Award 2009.
Best Governor in the Southwest, National Daily Newspaper
Best Performing Governor, Heroes of Nigeria Project, African Leadership Magazine (2009)
African Star Excellence Award in Enterprise Development, African Business Leadership Consortium (2010)
Humanitarian Award, the Plight of Africa Foundation 2010
Award of Excellence, Nigeria Medical Association, (Ogun State, Branch) 2005
Award of Excellence, Shelter Watch Initiative 2006
Merit Award for Excellence, Peace and Conflict Resolution, Owan Progressive Union, Abeokuta Branch.
Best Telecom Supporting Governor, Nigerian Telecom Awards
Good Governance Award by the Institute of Directors (2005)
Special Award, Lions Club District 404B (Nigeria (2007)
Service Award, Africa-UK Youth Exchange Programme (2007)
Supportive State Government Award, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)
Governor of the Year, FAME Achievers’ Award, 2005
Best Governor in Nigeria Award, Nigeria Association of Nigerian Students
Merit Award, United NATIONS Office on Drugs and Crimes 2005
Merit Award, Sigma Club, University of Ibadan, 2004
Examination Ethics Chief Master Marshall, Exam Ethics International (2009)
Presidential Merit Award, National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (2004)
Award of Excellence, Molusi College, Ijebu Igbo (2009)
Meritorious Award, Ohana Eze Ndi Igbo (2009)
Gold Merit Award (NUJ) NAN Chapel (2004)
In Conclusion, it is my desire to see Ogun state of all round development, good roads, stable electricity(which we ought to have by now, if the Power plants done by OGD were efficiently utilized), employment opportunities, huge investments and maximum security.
To have a land of our dream, is our collective responsibility, now is the time to embark on the *AGENDA FOR A SECURED FUTURE*.
Ogun state is blessed with great people, one will vividly remember that Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, His Excellency Prince Bola Ajibola and Professor Wole Soyinka hailed from this great state.
It is in view of the above that you will all agree with me that the great people of Ogun state can process information faster and better than any individual from other states, as a result of our exposure to civilization and education.
Recently, a particular writer Babajide Anigilaje advocated that Ogun state indigenes should stop bashing the immediate past Governor Ibikunle Amosun, and help the incumbent Governor concentrate on meaningful governance. While I agree with this writer, I will like to mention that the recent bashing of SIA by the people could be law of karma, for those who are fond of history, you will recall how Senator Ibikunle Amosun masterminded the serious bashing of Otunba Gbenga Daniel's administration, even before OGD left office.
This was reflected in the inauguration speech by Governor Amosun, the speech was classsified as Vandetta Mission Against the Immediate Past Government, at this time Amosun seems to be doing the right thing, those who craved to get appointment under him joined forces with him to ensure that OGD's efforts during his 8 yrs of monumental achievements were rendered useless.
Another point raised was that Prince Dapo Abiodun has no clear document indicating his proposed programme for the state. Let me remind the good people of Ogun state that Gov. Olusegun Osoba was the governor before Otunba Gbenga Daniel, he invested so much in rural electrification with no mission statement for his agenda, yet he pursued this vigorously without any derailment.
The era of Otunba Gbenga Daniel ushered in mission tagging in the state, the first term was "Awakening the Sleeping Giant", while the second term focused on 'Agenda for a Secured Future', i.e, it was OGD that introduced this template and this was what Amosun keyed into during his 8yrs administration.
The writer should stop making issue out of a mission statement, it cannot hamper the delivery of dividends of democracy, mission statement is to guide the activities of government and not the yardstick to measure development itself.
On your postulation that the good people of Ogun state keep faulting the achievements of Senator Amosun, let me refresh your memory that Gov Amosun for 8yrs has not for once applauded any project by his predecessor, even the power plant that he used for 6yrs without adequate maintennace was nothing to him.
Now, to the main gist of your write up, you said that OGD's administration left IGR at #730m, while Amosun took took it to #6bn, ordinarily those with little or low reasoning capacity will believe it to be true, forgotten that OGD's administration met IGR at #200m.
A good student of economic by all standard ought to know that IGR doesn't increase accidentally, there are laid foundations needed for such geometrical progression.
*True Position of things*
When OGD assumed office in 2003, it is necessary to remind the people that Ogun state was a civil servant state, the agenda of Otunba Gbenga Daniel was to bring investors and open the state to investment opportunities, both local and foreign, this he was able to achieve without any iota of doubt.
Private companies having realised that OGD's administration had provided an enabling environment for businesses to thrive, came to Ogun state with massive investments. The principal thing OGD used as bait was to give them tax holiday for 5years, although this was not the only thing, he went as far as giving lands to those private companies on agreement that they would give maximum consideration to Ogun state indigenes during their recruitment exercise.
Now, isn't obvious that companies like Wemco (a nail producing company), Nestle PLC, Sweet Sensation, Mr Bigs, TechMahindra and other companies that were brought to Ogun state because of the enabling environment provided by OGD's led administration and given 5yrs tax holiday contributed to the much announced increased IGR under Governor Ibikunle Amosun?.
It is not out of place to say that the IGR of OGD could have increased geometrically, if he had levied those companies with tax immediately they came,his consideration and decision to give tax holiday to them encouraged private investors, whose tax payment gave monumental boost to the Internally Generated Revenue under Senator Ibikunle Amosun's administration.
The obvious truth is that OGD brought in great investments and it was Amosun that benefitted greatly from their returns.
Another thing during the administration of Otunba Gbenga Daniel, there was nothing like Treasury Single Account (TSA). Ogun state ministries and agencies maintained different accounts, not that alone, there was financial independence or autonomy for those departments to make use of their resources for developmental projects, unlike what transpired during Senator Ibikunle Amosun's administration.
Let us objectively analyse what happened under OGD and SIA, e.g.
OPIC: The Ogun State Investment Corporation under Otunba Gbenga Daniel was given the autonomy over its generated revenue, OGD gave them freedom to make money and expend it on developmental projects, without pokenosing into their affairs, part of their executed project was the tallest building in Abeokuta, but under Senator Ibikunle Amosun's administration, OPIC did not run an independent account, all monies generated by OPIC goes into Ogun state account which Senator Ibikunle Amosun was the financial overseer.
Another agency of government that is a money making machine for the government is TRACE, under OGD, TRACE had an independent account, all funds generated by TRACE were used for proper administration of the agency unlike under the immediate past administration that whatever TRACE made goes into the Government account and being recorded as part of the Internally Generated Revenue for SIA's administration, same thing for Gateway Holdings, Housing Corporations etc.
For those who erroneously agreed that the government of Governor Amosun made ten times revenue compared to Otunba Gbenga Daniel, we may need to seperate draconian administration from the human oriented government.
During the era of Otunba Gbenga Daniel, L, ocal governments were running autonomous administration with full control over their allocations, the 20 local governments were allowed to collect tenement rates under OGD and utilizing it for the development of their local governments, this was not so during SIA's administration, all generated funds by the 20 local governments including their allocations were in the custody of the State government.
Having said that, even with this dictatorial way of accumulating so much to his administration, let's agree that the IGR of Ogun state under SIA was ten times of that of OGD, but what we must know is that OGD's painstaking efforts yielded so much for Amosun's government to reap.
Furthermore, what we need to understand is that, if Otunba Gbenga Daniel's administration could achieved so much with #730m IGR, we may have to start asking questions on the impact of the immediate past administration, having realised that he had such huge money at its disposal.
*Road Infrastructure*
DUALISATION OF LALUBU ROAD IN ABEOKUTA
This is the central business district in the state capital and the single lane could no longer cope with the new Abeokuta city which the Otunba Gbenga Daniel-led Administration has engineered.
The accomplishment on this road shows that OGROMA has grown in leaps and bounds in quality service. The road by all accounts, is a model role in all facets of road construction, from the three lanes provided on both directions, to the concrete pedestrian walk ways, which together with the central median, have been furnished with beautiful paving stones with elaborate lane marking and cat eye reflections.
Another road is the Kobape/Sagamu road up to Interchange, the significance of this road was its dualisation, the second lane was constructed anew, unlike what was witnessed under SIA's administration. What Ibikunle Amosun's led administration did was road expansion, and for all of its 8yrs, there was never a time a new road was constructed, just overhead bridges and road expansion.
This project was well applauded, yes, maybe because our people are thirsty for the replica of what they saw in Lagos, we want a Lagos-like bridges without considering the amount of billions the Governor claimed to have expended on them.
Why we need to ask questions about the value placed on our economy by the bridges, it is also one of our duties to ask questions on the impact of those bridges on employment, health sector and education.
*On the Population of Ogun State*
The author of the piece which centred on "Its Time To Stop The Bashing of Amosun" said that Ogun state population under Otunba Gbenga Daniel was just a bit higher that One Million, meanwhile the authenticity of such claim is being faulted by the research conducted by the Convenant University Repository which posited that the 2006 National Population census figures however indicated that Ogun State had a population
figure of about 3,728,098.
This consisted of 49.55 percent female and 50.45 percent male.This distribution suggests a population density of about 222 persons per square
kilometre; with Abeokuta being the densest settlement of about 7,476 persons per square
kilometre (see covenantuniversity.edu.ng).
*World Bank Assessment During Otunba Gbenga Daniel's Administration*
According to a World Bank research in 2010 'Comparing Regulations in 36 States, FCT Abuja and 183 Economies', a co-publication of the World Bank and International Finance Corporation, Ogun State under the administration of Otunba Gbenga Daniel was highly economically viable, with heavy presence of various indicators used in measuring a thriving economy.
Also in World Bank Policy note titled *"An Overview of Six Economic Zones In Nigeria: Challenges and Opportunities"*, one of the states in the Nigeria that attracted foreign investments was Ogun state.
The Ogun-Guangdong Zone is located in the Igbessa Region of Ogun State, west of Lagos State, 30
km from Lagos international airport. The zone is being developed as a joint-venture between a
Chinese consortium (82 percent) which consists of Guangdong Xinguang International Group,
China-Africa Investment Ltd and CCNC Group and the Ogun State Government (18 percent). The
equity share of the Ogun State is in return for the land and a 100-year concession for the developer.
The project originated from a 2004 study of South China University of Technology on the feasibility
of setting up a Guangdong economic trade cooperation zone in Nigeria. This study was used in the
successful bid by Xinguang International Group in the first MOFCOM tender in 2006.
The project was originally planned to be located in Imo State, but the developers ran into high administration fees imposed by the State Government and a general climate of insecurity, and decided to relocate their
project to Ogun State.
There is need to establish that there was no time that the security in Ogun state was poor under the Otunba Gbenga Daniel's administration as claimed by Mr Babajide Anigilaje, if it was, Ogun state would not be considered for this huge project.
The list of World Bank Assessment of OGD's administration is endless, at every point in time, the state under OGD was described as an enabling environment for business, and other investment opportunities.
Even in the research, it was established that if the tempo of development adopted by the Otunba Gbenga Daniel's administration, by 2025, Ogun state will be one of the strongest economies of the world.
*Education*
It is good to give accurate information so as not to portray ourselves as unpatriotic, hence, we lose our integrity and people's respect.
In the write up 'It's Time To Let Go of Amosun's Bashing' by Babajide Anigilaje, the author gave the following as Gov. Amosun's achievements:
* 6 State Polytechnics
*503 Secondary Schools
* 1, 562 Primary Schools.
The need for clarification is essential so as not to miscontrue that the creation of additional educational institution was a big deal by Amosun's government.
The author gave the number of State University under Sen.Ibikunle Amosun as 3, where he got that, I cannot say, but what I am sure the whole Ogun indigenes knew the fact that Senator Ibikunle Amosun tried to establish Moshood Abiola University of Technology, but till this moment it was a wishful thinking, classified as utopian as the institution did not only fail to exist, it nearly killed the prestigious Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, one of the reasons for recent backwardness in our education sector.
*HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT/TRAINING UNDER OGD*
Let me give kudos to the writer of "Its Time To Stop the Bashing of Amosun" for being objective that the SIA's administration failed in this area, therefore, calling on Prince Dapo Abiodun's administration to emulate OGD's administration.
The desire to transform the state into an individual hub could only be realized if sufficient attention was paid to human capital development. From the onset the Administration had recognized the need to link intellectual cabability with industrial development. It therefore embarked on an extensive collaboration with foreign edeucational institutions to open up opportunities for eligible graduates and public servants to go abroad for further studies as part of a broader picture to boost the state's human resources.
The Human Capital Development Programme (HUCAP) was birthed as a result of the identification of the critical areas which the state needs to focus on. These are:
* Information and Communication Technology;
* Sustainable Agricultural Development;
* Business and Entrepreneurship Development;
* Public Sector Management;
* Mining Engineering;
* Infrastructural planning;
* Facilities management;
* Processing and Product Engineering; and
* Sports and Tourism.
These development areas of focus are deemed to be the critical areas that will re-awaken the state's huge potentials and place it on the road to sustainable development. To match words with action the state in 2005 sponsored 43 indigenes of the state for Masters Degrees Programmes, with collaborating universities in the United Kingdom.
The training and retraining of public servants for renewed capacity has signified the willingness to polities and programmes towards this end. HUCAP has demonstrated the commitment of the Government towards achieving development and it believes that a partnership with the private sector has all the potential to further the goals of the programme.
The implementation of the Human Capital development programme in the state has cost the government a sum of $3million (about #450million) in just five years.
*OGD's Achievements*
When Otunba Gbenga Daniel assumed office in 2003, Ogun only had the following:
*OGD met 1, 330 Public Primary Schools, he added 110 to it making it 1, 440.
*OGD met 785 Private, he added 967 to it making it 1, 752.
*OGD met 253 Public Secondary School, he added 218 to it, making it 471
*The most important is the State Polytechnic, OGD met 1, he added 4 to it, spreading across the entire zones of the state with adequate financial and architectural provisions, making it 5 as at the time OGD was leaving office.
*Clarification*
The writer who claimed that Senator Ibikunle Amosun's administration established 6 State Polytechnic should with a matter of urgency withdraw this position and state clearly that the immediate Governor established 1 State Polytechnic.
*OGD met One State University which was Olabisi Onabanjo University, thereafter, he established the first University of Education in Nigeria, making it 2 State Universities.
*Evidence of Otunba Gbenga Daniel's Brilliant Performance While in Office*
One of Nigeria’s 100 most successful Businessmen (National Concord) - 1993
MKO Abiola Leadership Prize - 2004
Africa Leadership Prize for the Best Performed Governor for year 2003 – 2004
City People Magazine Award for Best Performing Governor for 2003 - 2004
Man of the Year (by the American Biographical Institute Inc) - 2004
Best Performing Governor in Primary Education Development - 2005
Corporate Governance Award of the Institute of Directors, Nigeria – 2005
Zik Leadership Award, 2006.
The Raymond Dokpesi: Electronic Media Award 2009.
Best Governor in the Southwest, National Daily Newspaper
Best Performing Governor, Heroes of Nigeria Project, African Leadership Magazine (2009)
African Star Excellence Award in Enterprise Development, African Business Leadership Consortium (2010)
Humanitarian Award, the Plight of Africa Foundation 2010
Award of Excellence, Nigeria Medical Association, (Ogun State, Branch) 2005
Award of Excellence, Shelter Watch Initiative 2006
Merit Award for Excellence, Peace and Conflict Resolution, Owan Progressive Union, Abeokuta Branch.
Best Telecom Supporting Governor, Nigerian Telecom Awards
Good Governance Award by the Institute of Directors (2005)
Special Award, Lions Club District 404B (Nigeria (2007)
Service Award, Africa-UK Youth Exchange Programme (2007)
Supportive State Government Award, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)
Governor of the Year, FAME Achievers’ Award, 2005
Best Governor in Nigeria Award, Nigeria Association of Nigerian Students
Merit Award, United NATIONS Office on Drugs and Crimes 2005
Merit Award, Sigma Club, University of Ibadan, 2004
Examination Ethics Chief Master Marshall, Exam Ethics International (2009)
Presidential Merit Award, National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (2004)
Award of Excellence, Molusi College, Ijebu Igbo (2009)
Meritorious Award, Ohana Eze Ndi Igbo (2009)
Gold Merit Award (NUJ) NAN Chapel (2004)
In Conclusion, it is my desire to see Ogun state of all round development, good roads, stable electricity(which we ought to have by now, if the Power plants done by OGD were efficiently utilized), employment opportunities, huge investments and maximum security.
To have a land of our dream, is our collective responsibility, now is the time to embark on the *AGENDA FOR A SECURED FUTURE*.
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