By Peter Adedoyin
A former Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Senator Adegbenga Kaka, Chairman, Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, Wale Adedayo, and Publicity Secretary of the State chapter of All progressives Congress (APC), Ambassador Tunde Oladunjoye, have eulogised Chief Obafemi Awolowo for his exemplary legacies in Old Western Region and Nigeria, calling on present leaders and politicians in Yorubaland to emulate the late sage.
Senator Kaka, Mr. Adedayo and Oladunjoye were in agreement that Awolowo who was the first premier of Western Region, did not think of his own, but of the masses and how to make life meaningful for them, lamenting that attitude of today's politicians are in contrast to the ideals Awolowo lived and expoused in his time.
They all spoke separately in Ogbere, the headquarters of Ijebu East Local Government Area of the State at the 113th birthday memorial lecture of the late sage titled : "Awo's Ways: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," with calls on the region's leaders to go back to the foundations laid by Awolowo and start building on them in order to return Yorubaland to the path of genuine progress and economic development and prosperity.
The programme was put together by Afenifere Movement in Ijebu East Local Government Area and attended by politicians and many sociocultural groups, youths and women.
Senator Kaka who was represented by Com. Rasaki Oladosu, eulogized Awolowo for his selfless services to both the region and Nigeria as a country, lamenting that the present crop of politicians in Southwest nay Nigeria are doing little partly because the masses over burdened them with their personal problems.
The former deputy governor of the state
said that the masses often thronged residences of the politicians with their problems, forgetting that they were only given mandate to wisely manage public resources for the development of their constituencies and the constituents.
He enjoined the masses to change their views about the politicians as their ATMs.
Oladunjoye who delivered the memorial birthday lecture, particularly extolled Awolowo's virtues and sacrifices in the areas of education saying his belief in education as espoused in series of publications, policy initiatives and governance as a bedrock for human and societal development was in total agreement with the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR, 1948) which among other things, state that everyone has the right to education.
According to him, Awolowo’s contributions in the area of education remained the greatest achievement and a reference point and a pride of Yoruba race all over the world till date.
Oladunjoye recalled that Awo and his parties (Action Group of Nigeria (AG) and later Unity Party of Nigeria - UPN) implemented Universal Free Education in the Western Region of Nigeria, citing himself among the beneficiaries.
"It was an achiever yet to be matched in any part of Africa. I could remember how I got free text books supplied to me as a pupil of St. John’s Primary School, Ijebu Itele between 1972 and 1978. We even had a song, which must have arisen from the mobilization for the mass literacy campaign on the Universal Free Education Programme," he said.
The APC Publicity Secretary in the state also identified agriculture as evidence in the establishment of many farm settlements, judicious management of resources towards building of Cocoa House in Ibadan, housing scheme and healthy civil servant relationship as part of legacies of Awolowo which the region will continue to remember with nostalgia.
Oladunjoye lamented policy inconsistencies and lack of continuity of pro-people policies and programmes by successive administrations.
"Today, the estimated housing deficit is about 22million and the figure, according to the World Bank, is predicted to double-up in about ten years. Abandoned housing projects by government and private developers, dot the landscape of this nation.
Oladunjoye canvassed synergy between the political class and civil service so as to witness the success and rapid development witnessed in the Southwest during the Awo era.
The Chairman of Ijebu East local government and one of the leaders of the Afenifere Movement, Adedayo, said the programme was put together to bring to the consciousness of the the people about the various developmental contributions of Chief Obafemi Awolowo to the South West region of the country in particular and Nigeria as a whole.
He recalled that through Awolowo, Nigeria established a television station before France, also noting that the Unity Party of Nigeria leader introduced free compulsory universal education in the region, he priotized agriculture and deployed revenue generated from the sector to different developmental projects he implemented at the time.
The local government boss called on political office holders in the country to priotize welfare of the people they are representing, and make life meaningful for them
He promised that his administration in the local government would deploy the little resources at its disposal to make life bearable for residents and indegens of the council area, through provision of necessary amenities.
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