Change In Government And Governance: Makinde Since 2019 Going Into 2027 | By Faozey Obidiran Gazaly

Democracy throughout the world stipulates change in Government and a change in Government bring some many change to way of doing things in Governance and others. Engineer Seyi Makinde since the inception of his Government in 2019 have been so many changes to Oyo State and the style of Governance in place. This write-up will forward two categories of change since the beginning of Seyi Makinde Administration in the year 2019; Change in Governance and Attitudinal Change.

A. Change in Governance. There are so many ways through which the Government of Engineer Seyi Makinde brought change to Governance in Oyo State and it has continue to help in the improvement of Oyo State as a whole. The following are the changes that came into place since the beginning of the Government in Oyo State.

1. Pension and Gratuities: Retired civil servants on Oyo State will continue to shower a song of praise on the incumbent Governor of Oyo State who listened to their during campaign in 2019 and fulfilled his promises since he emerged as the Governor. The former administration have a wide range of debt in Pensions and Gratuities towards the Pensioner’s in the state. I could remember as interview where the Mr Bayo Adelabu tendered an apology on behalf of Sen. Abiola Ajimobi over the issue of payment of gratuities in the state by the Government. The current government met 56 billion as unpaid gratuities to pensioners According to figure,the Oyo State Government since 2019 have paid more than 30 billion to pensioners going into 2023. # 235 Million have been the monthly payment of gratuities by the Oyo State Government to the Pensioners.
2. Civil Servant Salary and 13th Month Salary: To be fair,the Former administration paid the 13th month salary to the Civil Servants in Oyo State in their first two years in Office and stopped during the third year because of the state of the economy. Since the beginning of the Government of Engineer Seyi Makinde,he had paid 13th month salary to Civil Servants four years in a row and the state of the economy is not as favourable as we want it. Sometimes I bother how the Government manages finances and funds to be able to meet up yhe payment. 11 billions naira goes as salary being paid by the Oyo State Government monthly and there have not been a miss since thr beginning of yhe Administration since 2019.
3. Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) sole ownership. The Oyo State as a whole do not have a state University but a co-owner University with the Osun State Government. I always feel like we should have our own state University. There are varieties of issues facing LAUTECH which have led to the closure of the school for months without the two Governments of Osun State and Oyo State reaching an agreement before 2019. Engineer Seyi Makinde during his campaign before 2019 made a promise that the Probly facing the school will be a thing of the past if he emerged as the Governor of Oyo State. LAUTECH today is now the property of Oyo State making it the first state university solely owned by the Oyo State Government which I believe we will more then one before he retires from the Government Office. Recently the Oyo State House of Assembly passed the Bill to make the College of Education in Oyo a State University.
4. Roads Connecting cities in Oyo State: Another change in the face of governance in Oyo State since 2019 is the construction and reconstruction of major roads linking major cities in Oyo State. Many roads in that category have been constructed and more will be constructed. Among them are the Moniya-Iseyin Road, Ogbomoso-Iseyin Road,Saki-Ogbomoso-Igboho Road,Oyo- Iseyin Road and so on. Adequate transport infrastructure and services helps to have a uniform socio-economic development in the state.
5. Local Government Election: Local Government election of Chairmen in the 1999 Constitution has it that the Chairman can be elected or appointed. The Governors of the States in Nigeria hide under the clause of Appointment to appoint local government chairmen naming them as caretaker chairmen. The last administration in Oyo State conducted Local Government election once in their 8-year rule and it was during their last years in Office. Seyi Makinde led government in their second year in Office conducted a local government election which the local government chairmen to be elected and executive chairmen.
6. Sport and its activities: The state of Sport facilities and activities in Oyo State before 2019 is in a state of decay. The Prestigious 3SC in Oyo State even went into Relegation. The Current Administration in Oyo State when they came in through the ministry of Youths and Sports have brought about different changes in the Sport sector in Oyo State. Lekan Salami Stadium wore a new look and an international competition was held recently due to the new state of the Stadium. Thanks to the Seyi Makinde Administration. Also sport centers and facilities like Mini Stadium Igboora, Olubadan mini stadium,Durbar Stadium, Oyo,Saki Township stadium,Soun Stadium, Ogbomoso,Ebedi Township Stadium all receive a new touch and look from the Seyi Makinde led Administration.

B. Attitudinal Change. Attitude of Leaders says alot if an administration look forward to succeed. Since the beginning of the current administration in Oyo State,there have been attitudinal change in her leader and leaders. Engineer Seyi Makinde’s attitude have proved to be different when it comes to leadership and government in Oyo State. My admonishes here are from personal experience. There are so many attitudinal change in Oyo State since the inception of the current Administration and amongst them are the following.

1. A Listening Ear. The Governor of Oyo State has a listening ear. I can’t count the number of things which have been said by people which serves as a foul to his government which he had taken care of one way of the other. I remember a time when I called out leaders of my local government in a WhatsApp group which I belong tk over issues affect the people of the local government on two occasions,The Chairman of my Local Government,Hon. Kehinde Adeyemi Akande replied to one as to what they are doing to it and the Federal Honourable of my Constituency,Hon. Stanly Odidi-Omo replied to the other as per makinge sure the issue is taken care of. As at today,the two issues have been taken care of. Another one is the My Oyo App where you can easily log on to complain about a Governmental issue. This platform have served as a way of getting feedback from people.
2. Saying things as they are. I have been to events where we have the Oyo State Governor and listened to his interviews on different occasions and I can tell you categorically that he is the type of individual who says things as they are without wanting to score a political point. He will say it no matter the harm it will do,it is so important to tell things to the people for the benefit of doubt. That’s a change in attitude in the current Governor of Oyo State.
3. More Technocraticism, Less Politicking. I once read through the profile of the people working with Engineer Seyi Makinde and I can tell you that we have so many technocrats who could help in moving the state of Oyo State towards developmental strides. It may not be helpful to his politics but it is of greater help to his Governance.
4. Continuous Governance During campaign. My Principal,Barr. Olasunkanmi Olaleye is a member of the Oyo State Executive Council and he has been a pillar towards ensuring the success of this administration since the beginning of his time in serving the administration. It is Campaign Period and my Boss is always in his office engaging in his activities of serving the Oyo State Government. If it were to be some time, this period of time will be a close in Governance but full campaign time especially for a government seeking re-election in Office.
5. Populist Governance. I am a student of Political Economy and I have read about Populism. So many people have tagged the government of Engineer Seyi Makinde as a Populist Government. Maybe they don’t know understand what Populism is, Populism is a political ideology in which a government is after the rights and interests of the common people. That ideology is a taint of Democracy and its philosophies. Maybe we want more of a Populist Government in Oyo State by making sure the Government of Seyi Makinde exist beyond 2023 since the government have been tagged as a Populist Government.

Yours politically,
Faozy Obidiran Gazaly.
faozygazaly@gmail.com