By Dayo Johnson & Rotimi Ojomoyela, AKURE
The 2-day South-West summit of governors, ministers, senior Federal Authorities officers and conventional rulers held in Akure, Ondo State, was greater than one other political gathering. It was an emotional reawakening of reminiscence and mission amongst stakeholders within the area.
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For these two days, October 29 to 30, the South-West leaders rediscovered their voice, shared heritage and unfulfilled guarantees to ensure that Yoruba land to retake cost of its future.
Reclaiming Yoruba spirit of collective progress
The Chairman of the Summit Steering Committee, Dr. Akin Onigbinde, believed that the aim of the two-day engagement was to rebuild the structure of Yoruba cooperation and to design a system that locations residents on the centre of governance.
To him, the South-West, as soon as a mannequin of effectivity and foresight, has been slowed by politics and fragmentation, in distinction to a time when regional planning meant measurable outcomes, and governments deliberate, executed and reported again to the folks.
In response to him, the issue was not the absence of concepts however the lack of coordination and continuity, which necessitated the transfer to institutionalize a system of normal dialogue the place residents not watch from the sidelines however take part in shaping coverage.
Onigbinde framed the engagement as a reclaiming of Yoruba identification, which is a return to evidence-based management and partnership between the governors and the ruled.
Reawakening regional blueprint
South-West’s greatest downside, in response to the Chairman of the Improvement Agenda for Western Nigeria, DAWN, Fee, Dr. Seye Oyeleye, has by no means been a scarcity of potential however the failure to harmonize the potential as a result of every state has its initiatives, however just a few of them join right into a unified regional aim.
Oyeleye famous that the problem of the area has grow to be reactive fairly than strategic, and urged states to plan collectively from transport techniques to digital infrastructure to unlock economies of scale.
The 2-day summit, he defined, was designed to search out structural options to regional fragmentation, including that the aim is to synchronize financial plans, construct shared establishments and align coverage instructions by way of the DAWN Fee.
Self-determination
Within the phrases of Ondo State Governor, Fortunate Aiyedatiwa, the South-West should cease ready for the Federal Authorities to repair its issues, acknowledging the insecurity, infrastructural decay and unemployment that threaten the area’s stability.
His phrases have been each pragmatic and visionary, praising President Bola Tinubu’s financial reforms as brave however insisted that federal reforms should be complemented by regional technique.
Aiyedatiwa promised that Ondo State would lead by instance, translating summit resolutions into measurable native programmes, an motion that displays his true understanding of what late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, as soon as demonstrated that actual governance begins with braveness and coordination.
De-politicizing Federal initiatives
On his half, the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, accused the Federal Authorities of politicizing federal initiatives, thereby denying the South-West its fair proportion of nationwide infrastructure.
Adeleke argued that improvement shouldn’t depend upon social gathering alignment or electoral favour, no matter variations in political events.
His place mirrored a deep frustration shared throughout the area that initiatives are too typically decided by loyalty fairly than logic, which known as for a decentralized mannequin of partnership through which the South-West leverages its inner capability fairly than ready for Abuja’s unpredictable mercy.
For him, the aim of the summit was to finish dependency and construct inner power, fairly than politicising improvement to the detriment of the custom of self-reliance, which was the identical spirit that birthed the Cocoa Home, the College of Ife and Africa’s first tv station.
Fasoranti laments partisan rivalry
The Nationwide Chief of the Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, on his half, lamented that partisan rivalry had weakened Yoruba solidarity and hindered improvement throughout the South-West area.
Represented by former Afenifere Secretary-Common, Senator Femi Okunrounmu, Fasoranti urged South-West political leaders to rise above social gathering divisions and return to the area’s founding beliefs of unity, welfarism, and progressive governance.
He emphasised that Yoruba political custom was constructed on people-centred management and social welfare, saying the area should reconnect with these values to drive inclusive progress.
“Occasion politics mustn’t ever once more divide or weaken Yoruba solidarity,” Fasoranti stated. “I’ve seen brothers refuse to greet one another as a result of they belong to totally different events. Improvement initiatives have been deserted, not for lack of benefit, however as a result of they have been initiated by a rival social gathering. This should finish. Improvement has no social gathering.”
He reminded leaders that Yoruba politics is traditionally rooted in welfarism, not imported ideology, and that true governance should prioritize residents’ welfare.
Yoruba monarchs preach peace, unity
Two of the monarchs, who spoke through the summit, the Alafin of Oyo, Oba Hakeem Owoade and the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye, preached peace and unity within the area. They reaffirmed the dedication of Yoruba leaders to regional unity, progress and sustained dialogue for improvement.
The monarchs posited that the summit “ has enabled political representatives to spotlight their contributions and align ongoing initiatives with the wants of the folks throughout Yorubaland.
They pledged their continued assist for President Tinubu’s administration, citing its optimistic path and dedication to the area’s developmental agenda and nationwide progress
SWDC guarantees to regional connectivity, built-in devt
The South-West Improvement Fee, SWDC, vowed to accentuate effort in direction of attaining better regional connectivity and built-in improvement throughout the six states of the South-West zone of the nation.
Managing Director/Chief Government Officer of the Fee, Dr Charles Akinola, submitted that the transfer, which is a part of the fee’s broader agenda to advertise inclusive progress and shared prosperity throughout the area, additionally goals to strengthen infrastructure linkages, enhance commerce, and improve financial cooperation throughout the area to speed up sustainable progress.
Bisi Akande thumbs up Tinubu’s reforms
In his contribution, former Interim Nationwide Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and ex-Governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande, described PresidentTinubu’s ongoing reforms as deliberate and essential steps to rebuild Nigeria’s nationwide basis.
To him, the fiscal, financial, and institutional reforms being carried out by the Tinubu administration, although robust initially, are important for Nigeria’s long-term stability and prosperity.
“The reforms unfolding — in taxation, income harmonisation, and expenditure rationalisation — are deliberate steps to rebuild Nigeria’s basis. The economic system is being re-engineered to reward productiveness fairly than dependency.
“We’re coming into an period of duty, the place each naira should rely, each coverage should produce outcomes, and each reform should serve the folks.”
Awolowo’s legacy, Motion Group spirit
The Voice of a famend cleric and former Archbishop of the Methodist Church Nigeria, Most Rev. retd., Ayo Ladigbolu, carried the nostalgia of a era that noticed the Motion Group (1951-1962) not as a celebration, however as a motion of objective.
He reminded everybody that Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s management was not about rhetoric however imaginative and prescient executed by way of self-discipline, emphasizing on a time when the Western Area constructed Africa’s first tv station, the tallest constructing in sub-Saharan Africa and launched free training.
Ladigbolu’s message was timeless, as he stated the reforms being championed by President Tinubu are lengthy overdue, saying the South-West Area should be grounded in Awolowo’s mannequin of regional partnership, self-help and social welfare for it to succeed.
In response to him, the South-West should revive the ethical fiber that powered the Motion Group period, saying that is the one antidote that may save the area from being paralysed.
Why look ahead to Abuja?
The Minister of Stable Minerals Improvement, Dr. Dele Alake, spoke extensively on financial dependence, arguing that the area has the mind, capital and capability to design and execute its personal initiatives, fairly than relying on the Federal Authorities for railway strains, and different infrastructural services.
He proposed the creation of a South-West Improvement Fund that might pool assets from all six states for joint infrastructure comparable to railways, industrial zones and farm settlements, saying integration just isn’t a dream however a monetary and ethical necessity.
Alake urged the governors to maneuver from resolutions to outcomes, from dialog to building, stressing that there’s no excuses for the area, if Awolowo may construct tv stations and skyscrapers within the Fifties.
A roadmap for Renewal
On the finish of the two-day engagement, the summit adopted an in depth communiqué that mirrored the tone of each session that are sensible, visionary and deeply rooted in regional self-determination.
It known as for Yoruba unity past partisan strains, which is a renewed dedication to good governance and unflinching assist for President Tinubu’s financial reforms.
Delegates urged the Federal Authorities to repair essential highways and assist regional infrastructure that might combine the states economically.
They known as on the Federal Authorities to repair federal roads which embody the Ibadan-Ife-Ilesha federal freeway, the Lagos–Abeokuta expressway, the Ita-Owure–Ado-Ekiti freeway, and the Ifaki–Lokoja freeway.
Stakeholders on the summit lend their assist to the daring financial reforms being carried out by President Tinubu and equally need authorities to accentuate public enlightenment and data dissemination on the federal government’s insurance policies, applications, and anticipated impacts.
The communiqué additionally introduced that the South-West Summit would grow to be an annual occasion, institutionalizing the tradition of dialogue between leaders and residents whereas the DAWN Fee would function the everlasting technical secretariat to watch and consider progress.
Little doubt the inaugural South-West Residents–Authorities Engagement Summit has marked a watershed within the historical past of democratic engagement in Nigeria.
It has demonstrated that structured dialogue between authorities and residents just isn’t solely doable however important to efficient governance and sustainable improvement.
There’s the necessity for the Federal Authorities, state authorities officers, and all stakeholders within the area to take rapid and sustained motion on the summits resolutions.
Whereas in all sense the Summit was a reunion of the previous and the long run, it’s a reminder that the Yoruba story just isn’t over, solely ready to be rewritten however one query lingers, if Awolowo may do it then, why can’t the South-West Area repeat historical past?
Dignitaries on the occasion included Ondo State Governor Fortunate Aiyedatiwa; Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Chairman, Southwest Governors’ Discussion board); Ogun Deputy Governor Engr. Noimot Salako-Oyedele; Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; Minister of Energy, Adebayo Adelabu; Minister of Marine and Blue Financial system, Gboyega Oyetola; former Ondo Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko; Afenifere Chief Pa Reuben Fasoranti; Bisi Akande; and Olusola Oke, SAN.
Others embody, Chairman , Ondo state Council of Conventional Rulers, Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye; the Deji of Akure, Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi; Afenifere chief, Pa Rueben Fasoranti, represented by Senator Femi Okunrohunmu; Apagun Kole Omololu; and Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, who was represented by his SSG, Prof Abibat Adubiaro, amongst others.
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