In one year in office, Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo is turning heads with his development programmes and projects, writes Solomon Odemwingie
In just about one year, Edo State is in a silent revolution and the age of renaissance occasioned by the developmental strides of Governor Monday Okpebholo. The level has dramatically changed yet Akpakomiza is not making noise as his humility has brought true democracy to the doorsteps of the people. Governance can now be measured in figures and numbers and not rhetoric as we have seen in the recent past.
From infrastructure projects like the flyover bridges at Ramat Park, Adesuwa on Sapele Road to various initiatives in education, health care, interest free loans, increase in internally generated revenue, investment strides, legal framework against cultism, disarmament of firearms, renovation of schools, education grants, civil service improved welfare, health insurance to social welfare schemes, the state developmental machines are grinding on and there is no going back.
The report card of the governor so far in office is loaded with unbelievable chapters in Edo political chronicle. With a formidable team of goal-getting players, Okpebholo is moving towards standing out as one of the best All Progressives Congress (APC) governors in Nigeria.
Edoline welcomed numerous fleets of vehicles like never before and commuters and travellers now do so with ease. The stresses and strains in the transportation sector in the past have given way to a new comfort and confidence. Adequate attention has also been paid to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of old and new roads without exception. Even major highways hitherto branded as federal roads by the past regime are being resuscitated and macadamised. The action governor has made his party the envy of all. The resultant effect is the large scale defection by political actors to the ruling APC on a daily basis.
The education sector has undergone total transformation with the upgrading of the hitherto moribund Usen College of Education to a modern polytechnic, with state of the art facilities in place. Auchi Polytechnic has also been transformed and upgraded remarkably comparable with any other in the country. Edo State University, Iyamho and Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma have similarly witnessed innovations and upgrading.
The governor has also put new policies in place to check exploitative excesses of private schools entrepreneurs, thereby making learning easy and more accessible to the poor. Optimistic projections can now be made that the future of Edo is in education.
There are still more noticeable features of the Okpebholo administration. That he has zero tolerance for cultism and related offences has inspired confidence in the people. He has equipped security personnel in the state with vehicles and mobile machines to comb all nooks and crannies not only to nip in the bud all criminal activities but also to facilitate arrests. In fulfilment of his vow to halt all criminal activities in the state, he has taken the fight to the dens of cultists and criminals, pulling down their structures wherever they are found. He has done this with caution to ensure that the innocent do not suffer for the sin of others.
Wherever or whenever Akpakomiza features in discussion, people eulogise him. He is not known for casting aspersions on others or even his predecessors. He believes that his works would speak for him.
A man with a highly developed sense of dignity, his leadership style of setting the standards to be emulated cannot be ignored. He is easy going but firm, as well as respects and accommodates opposite views without coercion. Those close to him compare him with the late Chief Tony Anenih who was noted for hard work and for talking less.
There is no gainsaying that Okpebholo has laid the foundation for progress across all critical sectors with a divergent developmental programme for governance.
Okpebholo has lived up to his words that: “I will restore hope in leadership, create opportunities and set Edo on the path of lasting progress.” Edo State has undergone a high degree of transformation in Okpebholo’s “decisive steps of turning vision into reality.”
Everyday witnesses a new mark of development. Agriculture has been given a major boost, with the governor procuring tractors to enhance farming. Beaming with smiles after inspecting the harvesting of maize, he reaffirmed his administration’s determination to ensure enough food for the people. “You can see for yourself, I don’t just talk, I do it,” he said without fear of contradiction.
Practical governance may have come to stay in Edo as Okpebholo has set the standard for future leaders. The governor has given the people practical examples of how best to assess any government that is doing well and ready to identify itself with their yearnings and aspirations. True governance will no longer be in rhetoric, oration, propaganda, fictitious memoranda of understanding or hearsay but visible practice. Dividends of democracy can now be counted in numbers and figures. This will be Okpebholo’s legacy by the time he completes his tenure as governor. He has just started, but Edo people are yearning for more, having seen what he has to offer. They see him as a political leader of immense value.
Odemwingie, a former newspaper editor, writes from Edo
