Oyo State:The Pace Setter State. News|Discussions|Projects
Mar 1, 2016 1:10:54 GMT
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Post by Honorebu on Mar 1, 2016 1:10:54 GMT
Honour for Shittu, development plans for Oke Ogun
In a manner reflective of the concept of “Local Development”, the Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, has challenged the people of Oke ogun in Oyo State to come up with an “Oke Ogun Development Agenda.” According to him, “Local Development” principle is one in which the people of a given area will come up with a blueprint on their developmental needs. He submitted that the agenda or blueprint is to enable the Buhari administration, of which he is a part, meet the developmental aspirations of an area renowned for age long marginalisation and underdevelopment. This demand by the minister was part of his response to various evocations made during a reception held for him at IDG School, Iseyin. The reception was at the instance of Oke Ogun Development Council, ODC, – a non-political, non-religion, socio-cultural organisation for all Oke Ogun sons and daughters. Chairman of the occasion and Minister of State for Agriculture, Otunba Bamidele Dada, had brought the issue of the myriad of challenges facing Oke Ogun to the front burner when he said what the area was getting was not commensurate with the potentials it has.
He said, “The issue of agriculture, water resources and electricity are germane to this area. We have able men and women who can transform Oyo State.” Dada, who stood in for Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture, enjoined the Communication Minister to ensure that President Muhammadu Buhari and his fellow ministers in the federal cabinet utilized the potentials of Ikere George Dam to generate electricity, develop agriculture and promote tourism. His exhortation followed that of Hon. Dauda Adam, chairman of the ODC committee that planned the reception and that of Mr. Oladoja Oladele, mni, acting President of ODC. In their respective speeches welcoming guests to the occasion, the duo had separately identified the attributes of Oke Ogun and the challenges the people are facing “in spite of the enormous resources with which the Almighty God endowed the area”. According to Oladele, Oke Ogun Development Council decided to honour Shittu because he is an exemplary individual who could serve as a role model, especially for the youths.
In his own remark, the Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba (Dr.) Abdulganiyu Ologunebi Ajinese I, on behalf of the people of Oke Ogun to which Shittu belongs, thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing him as a senior minister. While reiterating the determination of Oke-Ogun to produce the next governor of Oyo State, the monarch said, “Oke-Ogun region has the best brains and hands for the job.” The monarch who is also the Chairman, Conference of Oke-Ogun Obas and Chiefs, said it was unfortunate that some detractors of Oke- Ogun at the state and the federal levels, “are erroneously looking down on us and also categorising us as being uncivilised but we have, by several means, proved this notion wrong, not just by performance but also in our conduct. Oke Ogun can boast of a lot of people who have done well and are still doing well in the service of their fatherland, Nigeria.”
In his keynote address, the Asiwaju of Oke-Ogun, Prof. Emeritus, Dibu Ojerinde, said Oke-Ogun took a significant position within the Oyo State geo-political equation. Ojerinde who is the Registrar and Chief Executive of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), lamented that successive administration at federal and state levels had not given Oke Ogun deserving attention in spite of the quantum and variety of resources that abound in the area. The man who is also known as Asiwaju Oke Ogun also mentioned Okerete International Market, Saki, the abandoned Badagry-Oke-Ogun-Sokoto Road, marble deposit in Igbeti and some other mineral resources in Oke Ogun as areas calling for the urgent attention of the governments. Mother of the Day, Chief (Mrs) Sherifat Fowewe Agoro- Keshinton, expressed appreciation to God and to President Buhari that Oke Ogun now has a voice within the top echelon of the federal government. She then prayed for the success of the administration and urged the minister to always “remember the son of whom he is”.
The minister, in his response to the honour done him and the various speeches, thanked the Oke Ogun people and the ODC for their support. He assured them that he would not let them down, saying “I think you know me very well, many of you can define me in terms of incorruptibility and performance and I will not disappoint you.” Shittu, a former member of the Oyo State House of Assembly and two time commissioner in the state, described Ikere Gorge dam as a great resource that has the capacity to provide water, irrigate farmlands and electrify Oke Ogun and its environs. He added that everyone in President Buhari’s cabinet has the passion to serve the nation and solicited the support of Nigerians and prayers for Buhari administration. He disclosed that he had met with the ODC leaders and had asked them to formulate a blueprint to be tagged “Oke-Ogun Development Agenda” which can be used as a development guideline for the area. He said, “I will make sure that all the concerned ministers, ministries and agencies involved come to Oke Ogun for assessment and take necessary steps that will hasten and enhance the development of Oke Ogun.”
And to underline the seriousness he attached to the regional development, he disclosed that he had appointed a Special Adviser on Oke- Ogun Affairs, adding that he would like ODC to organise Oke Ogun day annually and regularly to avail sons and daughters of the area the opportunity to come together, brainstorm and move Oke ogun forward. Apart from Shittu, the Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Minister of Works, Housing and Power, Babatunde Raji Fashola and his Water Resources counterpart, Engineer Suleiman Adamu, were also honoured on the occasion. The latter was represented by the Managing Director of Ogun-Oshun River Basin Development Authority, Engineer Akintunde Soyemi. Also, a publication entitled “Ikere Gorge Dam: A Goldmine Waiting to be Tapped” was presented and circulated on the occasion. It was edited by Jare Ajayi, General Secretary of Oke Ogun Development Council. Besides the royal fathers from all the major towns in Oke Ogun, dignitaries present at the occasion included former deputy governor of Oyo State, Chief Iyiola Oladokun; former member of the country’s Upper Chamber, Senator Gbenga Babalola; OPM Chairman, Deacon S. A. Oyedemi; COIN Chairman, Prof Layi Egunjobi; Prof Bayo Lasebikan; Amb. Layi Iyanda; Dr. Kunle Oyeyemi (from Covenant University); Prof Kehinde Yusuf; Architect Niyi Kehinde; Admiral Amos Adedeji (rtd); Alhaja Titi Akande; former Commissioner for Women Affairs in Oyo State and Olori Funke Ladigbolu, a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police. Others were Mr. Debo Adesina, Deputy Editor in Chief of Guardian newspaper; Chief Lasisi Adewuyi; Prince Oye Adeagbo; Hon. Olaogun Adelowo; Comrade Remi Adegbola; Prince Yemi Aderounmu; Mr. Amusa Adebisi; Chief Kola Ganiyu and Mrs. Yetunde Oyebode; Princess Nike Ayoola; Mr. S.I. Ige; Barrister Bayo Toluwalase; Chief Dele Ajila; Chief Isaac Ishola Tejubiyi; Mr. S. A. Popoola; Deacon S. Ipadeola; Surveyor Ola Siyanbola and Hon. Dele Akinleye. Also at the occasion were Hon. Ahmed Ajayi; Alhaji Abdulsalam Jimoh; Deacon Timothy Ojerinde; Alhaji Murtala Rabiu; Mr. Dayo Atanda; Hon. Akeeb Abubakar; Alhaji Wahab Balogun; Mukadam Abdullah; Engineer Solomon Ogunrinola; Mr. Gideon Awotunde; Mr. Zacheus Adepoju; Mr. Bimpe Ogundiran and Major Abdulfatai Shittu. Dignitaries also included Alhaji Azeez Adeyemo; Mr. Funpe Ojeyemi; Mr. Sola Ailako; Engineer Lateef Amao; Mr. Azeez Mustapha; Mr. Kayode Okunlola and Mr. Adebimpe Adediji.
National Mirror