By Olayinka Oyebode

Protocol was broken for a few minutes at the recently concluded Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA) that took place at the redeveloped Ikogosi Warm Springs Resort, Ikogosi-Ekiti when the organisers announced a special presentation to Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi. To the curious crowd of journalists, media executives, businessmen and government officials at the resort’s main auditorium, venue of the award ceremony, the question was what could be the special presentation other than the traditional award usually reserved for the host governor.

The special presentation turned out to be an enlarged version of a cartoon published earlier in the week by a leading national daily where the cartoonist had brilliantly captured the frustration of the opposition who are at loss over which of  Fayemi’s  numerous achievements could be faulted.
The unveiling of the drawing drew a thunderous applause from the audience. Subsequently the issue of development in Ekiti State became the recurrent topic by various groups and personalities in the hall that evening.

The award-winning cartoonist who was a nominee at the NMMA, when asked to comment on the drawing simply said: “the cartoon speaks for itself.”  According to him, Governor Fayemi has done so much to develop the state and its citizens that he had in the process, inadvertently, raised the bar of governance as well as qualification for political office in the state.
A vast majority of  the participants at the event who are mostly first time visitors to the Ikogosi Warm Springs Resort- where nature and modernity have a perfect blend- could not but agree with him.

The new life that has been injected into the Ikogosi Warm Springs Resort is an eloquent testimony to the transformative leadership style of the Governor who masterminded the redevelopment of the once moribund spring to a world class standard tourist centre. But in actual fact, Ikogosi Warm Springs, like the Ekiti Project itself, remains a work in progress, as the government has concluded plans for the second phase of development with a foreign technical partner.

The successful transformation of  Ikogosi Warm Springs, many believe, is a product of courage, vision and penchant for excellence which the Fayemi administration  is noted for. In just about three and a half years, the JKF administration has impacted positively on the lives of the citizens and the various communities with its well structured developmental strategies anchored on the 8-point agenda.

Just as the JKF’s Midas touch has brought life back to Ikogosi, two moribund industries- Ire Bricks Factory and Odua Enterprise Centre (formerly Oodua Textile) have also been resuscitated. This helped to expandthe State’s r, providejob opportunitiesfor the youths, encouragenew skills acquisition by workers and enlarge the middle class in the State. By ensuring peace and tranquillity and putting relevant laws in place to protect investments and investors, the state has been able to attract scores of billion naira private sector investment.

Fayemi’s quiet revolution in the agriculture sector has energised the sector, leading to more youths embracing commercial agriculture under its Youth in Commercial Agriculture Development (YCAD) scheme. This pragmatic approach to agric business and the attendant empowerment programmes for the young farmers is gradually making Ekiti the food basket of the nation, while raising a crop of  young entrepreneurs in that sector.
A passionate and compassionate leader, Fayemi in the bid to take good care of the indigent elderly citizens of the state, established the Social Security Benefit Scheme  that gives every qualified elderly citizens N5,000 stipends monthly.

The number of beneficiaries has since been increased to 25,000 elderly citizens drawn from the 16 local government areas of the state. Other components of the social security scheme include the food bank (where indigent old people could go and get a meal and or food items).
According to available statistics from the State Burof Statistics [SBS] , within three and a half years, the JKF administration has jobs of different categories to the tune of 3,327 in 2011 and progressively increased the figure to 10,465 and 30,187 in and 2013 respectively.

A total of 736.715km of roads havebeen constructed since when he made known his plan to make all parts of Ekiti accessible by major roads  before the end of 2014. dams in the state become the bid to water supply  coverage by eighty per cent.

The huge investment in education including the computer per child initiative, massive renovation of all public schools and the introduction of various capacity building programmes for the teachers has also started to yield positive results with the remarkable performance of students in external examinations as well as state and national competitions.

The comprehensive renovation and  equipment of  all the general hospitals and health centres across the state as well as the Free Medical Mission programme which has covered nearly 400,000 people has also helped to create a more healthy citizens. Indeed the JKF vision of banishing poverty and sickness in the state is becoming a reality.

Fayemi has demonstrated that an activist in government can make a difference. In three and a half years he has shown through his works that he is a builder of a new dawn, working with imagination, insight and boldness. He presents the challenge that calls for the best in people and brings them together around a shared sense of purpose. His eyes are on the horizon, not just on the near at hand. He is a social innovator and change agents who is able to motivate the citizens with better ideas for optimal productivity.

As an inspiring leader, Fayemi has been able to replace transactional politics of yester years  with transformational leadership. His emphasis has always been on how  institutional framework  can be strengthened to ensure effective service delivery;  How leaders and the led can work together to achieve common goals. What mechanism and processes should be put in place for genuine and effective empowerment of the citizens towards the attainment of the good life for all.

JKF continues to espouse this concept of good governance, participatory democracy and strengthening of institutions in practical terms especially in the running of the affairs of Ekiti State by laying emphasis on key elements of good governance including accountability, transparency, efficiency and effectiveness, responsiveness, the rule of law and forward vision. He believes that trust is a public good without which no great thing can be achieved collectively. Hence, he believes trust has to be earned.

Fayemi’s unique approach to governance and style of doing development with the people has inspired hope of a better tomorrow for Ekiti people. Curiously this has remained a big headache for the opposition, many of whom find it extremely difficult to deny the pace of development that is evident in all  the nooks and crannies of the state.

Thus, from the rolling hills of Ekiti comes forty and nine gbosas for John Kayode Fayemi, this innovator, social justice crusader, democrat and change agent – Oni Uyi, Oni Eye!- as he clocks 49 today.

*Oyebode is Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ekiti State