Ekiti indigenes trooped out in a large number penultimate Thursday to welcome Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele back home. The throng comprised constituents from Ado Ekiti, Efon Alaaye, Ekiti West, Ijero and Irepodun/Ifelodun, among others.

Eminent sons and daughters of the state also converged on the Ekiti State International Agro Cargo Airport to receive their illustrious son. The throng differed political leanings, religious bias or social stratification, but cut across all the strata of the state.

It was a gathering of people with hearts burdened with appreciation for their collective advancement and not about their partisanism. It was a gathering of the aged and children, christians and muslims, artisans and hunters, farmers and market women, civil servants and political leaders, academics and business class, traditional rulers and religious leaders.

Every shade of the state made up the throng that flooded the streets of Ado Ekiti and Iyin Ekiti to celebrate Bamidele’s accomplishments in public service. Women danced back and forth, chanting diverse panegyrics in his honour. They sang ecstatically to the admiration of all guests from other parts of the federation. Hunters, too, repeatedly fired gunshots to welcome the son of the soil. And the youths took the streets, dancing and drumming to the delight of everyone.

The gathering was quite unusual. But its rationale was never lost to the ecstasy that suffused the firmament. It was all in celebration of effective representation Bamidele had offered first as the representative of Ekiti Central in the National Assembly and also the leader of the business of the Senate.

It was also in appreciation of his initiatives that culminated in the establishment of Federal University of Technology & Environmental Sciences in Iyin Ekiti; Federal College of Agriculture and Tropical Studies in Efon Alaaye and development of key infrastructure projects in Ekiti State University.
For them, Bamidele has not only represented Ekiti Central creditably in the National Assembly. He has equally done the entire state proud. They cited diverse pro-people legislation he had promoted in the interests of Nigerians. They specifically mentioned Student Loans (Access to Tertiary Education) Act, 2024 and National Social Investment Programme Agency (Establishment) Act, 2024, which they claimed, had benefited homes across the federation.

One of the event coordinators, Dr Titilayo Akinola further justified the influx of Ekiti people to the streets of Ado Ekiti and Iyin Ekiti to appreciate their illustrious son and representative. For Akinola, the reception was a natural display of appreciation and not about politics. It was a celebration of sterling stewardship and not about partisanism.

This is evident, according to Akinola, in road projects Bamidele has facilitated to different parts of the state, mini stadia he has provided across Ekiti Central, markets he constructed in diverse communities, hostels he built for medical students in Ekiti State University and FM Radio Station he also set up for the same institution. These facilities will not only benefit members of All Progressives Congress, but also all sons and daughters of the state.

Another Ekiti indigene, Hon. Israel Adesokan commended Bamidele’s spirit of statesmanship and service delivery to the state and the community, which according to him, demonstrated transformative leadership he had been providing to constituents and Nigerians at large.

Beyond infrastructure projects, Adesokan highlighted various life-transforming programmes Bamidele had promoted to address the roots of poverty and unemployment among Ekiti youths. He explained how Bamidele collaborated with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria to incentivise Ekiti youths to venture into entrepreneurship.

This intervention, according to Adesokan, has utterly changed the ugly narratives of joblessness in the state. Bamidele did not just train young graduates and left them in their lurch. He equally partnered financial institutions to provide much-needed seed capital for the start-up business and advisory services to the established small and medium enterprises. Honestly, we have never had such a level of representation in the state.

From Ekiti State Airport, the procession ended up at the Palace of Oluyin of Iyin Ekiti, Oba Adeniyi Ajakaiye. Despite the fall of dusk, other traditional rulers from Ekiti Central honoured the senate leader with their royal presence. Ekiti indigenes, far and near, gathered at the palace in admiration of their son.

Shortly after Bamidele’s arrival at the palace, Oba Ajakaiye conferred an honorary chieftaincy title, Oluomo of Iyin Ekiti on him in appreciation of his sterling leadership. The conferment was witnessed by nearly all traditional rulers in Ekiti Central, each of whom attested to Bamidele’s commitment to the causes of his constituents.

Oba Ajakaiye explained the rationale behind the honorary chieftaincy title he conferred on Bamidele. First, the monarch described the senate leader as an embodiment of what true leadership stands for. He also referred to Bamidele’s concern for his community in terms of real development he had graciously facilitated to the state.

He further said: “As a community that produced him, we are glad to honour him with Oluomo of Iyin Ekiti. We are also glad to note that our son has risen to national prominence not only as a politician, but also as a servant-leader committed to improving the lives of the people.”

Like other traditional rulers that graced the reception, Oba Ajakaiye outlined diverse projects and programmes Bamidele had facilitated, pointing out how the senate leader had turned Iyin-Ekiti into a huge construction site with many landmark projects that validated his leadership quality.

Oba Ajakaiye listed the projects to include construction of Iyin-Ilawe road, construction of the road network within the community, installation of solar lights and building of market stalls with modern facilities and the dualistion of Ado-Ekiti-Ikere-Akoko road, a 31-kilometre highway that connects Ekiti State to Federal Capital Territory through Ondo, Edo and Kogi States.

He said: “Bamidele brought a unique sense of integrity to impactful national service. Since his assumption of office, Bamidele has addressed the challenges of poverty and unemployment among his constituents. He has equally changed the narrative of the country’s general poverty reduction with the enactment of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (Establishment) Act, 2024.

“Bamidele has sponsored impactful capacity-building programmes for the youths. He has deliberately promoted skills development, entrepreneurship programmes and financial support by empowering Ekiti youths with basic skills and tools they can work with to earn a decent living, and thousands have benefited from such programmes.

“The support includes empowering young graduates and small businesses, supporting women and their trade as well as creating opportunities for the jobless. Bamidele has been in the forefront of responding swiftly to emergency situations, whether caused by conflict, or natural occurrences. He has always ensured that those in dire need, received timely assistance,” the monarch reeled out Bamidele’s diverse interventions to the state and beyond.

After Oba Ajakaiye conferred the honorary chieftaincy title on him, Bamidele accepted it and expressed his admiration for the heroic welcome the people of Ekiti organised for him. He, thus, observed that the reception “is not just a celebration of his modest accomplishments, but also a call to greater exploits in public service.”

Bamidele revealed how revered monarchs across the South-west states had proposed to honour him with honorary chieftaincy titles at different times. He, however, said he had never accepted it for what he ascribed to personal reasons. Now that his community had recognised him with an honorary title, he stressed that he would not take it for granted while reaffirming his dedication to the development of his constituents and Nigerians.

Apart from the honorary chieftaincy title, Ekiti State University also decorated Bamidele with a Doctor of Law (Honoris Causa) during its 29th convocation last weekend. The university conferred the honour on him, citing his contributions to the development of the institution, Nigeria and the global community.
The latest honorary doctorate was the third the senate leader had received in the last 26 months, first from Joseph Ayo Babalola University on January 23, 2023 and second Federal University, Oye-Ekiti on February 11, 2024.

Each of the institutions conferred the awards on him in reference to his strategic approach to governance in Lagos State, his passion for youth development in Nigeria, his contribution to the enactment of pro-people legislations at the National Assembly and his compassion for the people at the grassroots.