By Morohunkola Thomas
In a recent discussion with my brother and political associate, Otunba Adeseye Famojuro, we tried to analyze the core message of Robin Sharma seminal work titled “The Leader Who Had No Title”. We came to the conclusion that the book tries to show that beyond the acquisition of formal titles, an exemplary leader is one who through his character, policies and actions inspires and influences his team mates and followers to achieve excellence in their work output. An incisive analysis of the trajectory of Governor Seyi Makinde’s political career would reveal that for close to two decades before he became Governor, he had consistently displayed the attributes of a leader that is focused on changing his operational environment to one that has witnessed rapid transformation in every key aspect. This he did without any formal title. He was not a Senator or Representative or Honorable Commissioner or even a Councilor. He had not taken any public title as he held no public office. However, the public that he was serving even without a title knew and felt his impact in many areas such as education where he gave out several scholarships and provided infrastructure in public schools; in public transportation where he provided empowerment for transport operators giving out free taxis and mini-buses; in youth employment as he hired many in his private company; in his promotion of religious harmony exemplified with the set up of a mosque in the Omituntun House and the appointment of an Imam for the mosque in addition to organizing the annual Omituntun Ramadan Lecture series despite being a Christian and in many other areas. Unlike Governor Makinde, all his predecessors had held one public title/office before becoming Governor . But Makinde had achieved all the aforementioned without a title which eventually led to his record-breaking electoral victories in 2019 and 2023. This is a practical manifestation of Robin Sharma central thesis in that popular book.Since Engr Seyi Makinde assumed office as Governor of Oyo State in 2019, he had set for himself a very broad objective: to take the state from the stage of poverty to prosperity. He sought to achieve this gargantuan task through two fundamental strategies: put in place policies that will promote accelerated development of the state and also articulate and implement programs and policies that will guarantee sustainable socio-economic development of the state. These 2 strategic approaches have no doubt been yielding desirable results.Governor Seyi Makinde embarked on massive infrastructural development in all the geo-political zones which has linked all the zones as a necessity for accelerating economic development. Since Oyo State was created in 1976, no other administration has resolved the infrastructural deficit of the state in the very bold manner in which GSM has done. He touched several local government roads , state roads and federal roads insisting that they are all for the use of the people of Oyo State . While the Federal Government has spent 24 years on the Ogbomosho-Ibadan road, GSM has spent less than 4 years to provide alternative roads from Ibadan to Ogbomoso by reconstructing the totally collapsed Ibadan- Iseyin road and constructing a completely brand new road from Iseyin to Ogbomoso which has been named after the late Governor Adebayo Alao Akala. Governor Seyi Makinde has actually done a lot in road construction, reconstruction and rehabilitation. In his first term, he has done 144.38 kilometers of roads and in the less than 2 years of his second term, he has completed 368.69 kilometers while the on-going road projects cover about 345.79 kilometers. There’s no doubt that this is quite massive and stands to open up the economic space in line with the Governor’s objective of promoting prosperity among the people. One of the greatest interventions of GSM in his infrastructural revolution is the Ibadan Circular Road named after Oba Rashidi Ladoja a former Governor of the State who conceived the idea of having a road that will encircle Ibadan in the way the 188 kilometers M25 Motorway encircles Greater London in the United Kingdom. The Senator Rashidi Ladoja Circular Road is 110 km which is being constructed in phases with the first phase being the 32.2 km East Wing that connects the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway to the Ibadan- Ile Ife Road via Badeku village and the North- East Wing which is 36.7 km leading from Oluyole Local Government to Moniya in Akinyele Local Government. The Road is designed to have 2 carriageways and 8 lanes with 7 bridges and about 30 box culverts. This highly focused Governor is building the first motorway in Nigeria and it promises to promote rapid economic development in the city which will become more accessible to every entry point from the north, the south, the east and the west. The corridors of the Circular Road will see the emergence of several kinds of businesses including real estate, hospitality, retail, oil and gas, education, medical services among others. The expected socio- economic development is so huge that the city will be a destination of choice for direct foreign investment at a scale never witnessed before in the state. It is gratifying to note that the South East wing is nearing completion and the kind of Road Furniture being put in place on the road is unprecedented. In addition to the Circular Road, the massive road work that has been undertaken in Ibadan City has never been witnessed since after the tenure of General David Medayese Jemibewon which is almost 50 years ago. The government is planning to undertake the same level of work in other zones soon.GSM’s efforts in agriculture and agribusiness are geared towards sustainable socio-economic development. The transformation of Fashola Agribusiness and Industrial Hub is a model predicated on the Public – Private collaboration in which the State provided an enabling environment for private investment to thrive thus opening up elaborate agribusiness opportunities leading to massive increase in agricultural development and food security. The investment in agriculture which GSM has attracted to Fashola within a period of 5 years is on a scale that can only be driven by knowledge! This has attracted international attention which led to the President of Sierra Leone and some state Governors visiting the Hub recently. The Governor has not neglected small holdings farmers. He has undertaken huge investment in agriculture in order to ensure food security.He has provided loans for small holders farmers while distributing free improved seedlings, free agricultural inputs including arable crops seeds, cassava cuttings, tree crops seedlings, agro-chemicals, fertilizers, livestock and fish feeds. The Governor also assisted small holders farmers with disinfectants, livestock vaccinations, fungicides, knapsack sprayers, salt lick, etc. He also assisted the farmers with free farm tractorization which has led to massive increase in the number of hectares planted by Oyo State farmers. The result is a highly appreciable increase in farm harvests. GSM went further to recruit, train and equip a new set of 133 agricultural extension workers who are helping farmers in the various local governments with access to modern agricultural knowledge, and various government incentives for farmers. About 4,000 Poultry farmers were assisted by the government with bags of maize grains . In addition, the veterinary services were strengthened leading to vaccination campaigns for livestock as follows Type of Livestock. Number Vaccinated Cattle. 95,948Sheep & Goat 74,525Dogs 3,789Birds( poultry). 1,217,653Meat inspection for human consumption was also undertaken by the Veterinary services as follows:Type of Meat. Number InspectedCattle. 3,731,526Sheep& Goat. 10,322,469Birds ( poultry). 16,082,353The agricultural sector under Governor Makinde is paying close attention to rural development. Rural dwellers are being assisted with training programs on modern agricultural practices and on climate change and its effects on agriculture. The rural dwellers are also are provided with technical assistance on soil testing which was undertaken in 100 communities. They were also assisted with rural financing programs including micro loans.A number of rural roads were constructed under the World Bank Supported Program “ Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) as follows: Road Km LGAFRSC – Okudi-Oyada. 6.82km. AtisboMarket – Illa Junction. 4.37km. OriireAdebayo Alata -Obembe,Aba Oje. 8.85km. Oluyole Olukoye – Okere Dam. 9.53km. IseyinFashola Farm Settlement. 8.43km. Oyo WestAlako-Idiya-Batake FarmSettlement. 37.1km. Ido The program has also upgraded and rehabilitated 3 markets as follows Oja Agbe Market, IseyinAare Alasa Market, Akanran, Ona Ara Local Government Oja Oba Market, Agbejoda, Igboora, Ibarapa Central.Governor Makinde is also making giant strides in education. By canceling the payment of school fees in our secondary schools, the Governor has increased access to secondary education which has led to a huge increase in enrollment in public primary and secondary schools. The government has been upgrading infrastructure in public schools which had suffered neglect for some years. He has recruited several thousands of teachers in both primary and secondary schools. Between 2021 and 2025, Oyo State Government through the Teaching Service Commission, TESCOM, recruited about 15,300 teaching and non- teaching staff into public secondary schools. The Governor also provided learning materials including e-learning materials for final year secondary school students. Enrollment in Public Primary and Secondary Schools Year. Pry Schools Jnr Secondary. Snr Secondary 2018/19. 427,091. 190,809. 177,4072019/20. 456,003 223,490 189,4912020/21. 1,990,613 245, 878. 206,1032021/22. 2,017,570. 269,147. 226,677 This shows that compared with the 2018/2019 figures, enrollment in primary schools has gone up by almost 1.6 million pupils while that of public secondary schools has gone up by almost 130,000 students Makinde will be remembered for being the Governor who secured sole ownership of LAUTECH for Oyo State. He also met the yearnings of the Oke Ogun people by establishing a campus of the University in Iseyin where modern facilities have been provided. LAUTECH has expanded its courses to become a conventional university providing more admission opportunities for Oyo State residents. GSM has succeeded in banishing the culture of strikes and closures which became regular in LAUTECH some years before he assumed office. Today, the university remains the best state owned university in Nigeria for the past few years. The welfare of students of higher institutions of learning is very dear to the Governor so much that he appointed one of the very popular former StudentsLeaders as Senior Special Assistant on Students Affairs. Recently, the government made available over half a billion naira for payment of bursaries and scholarships for Oyo State indigenes studying in tertiary schools including students of the Nigeria Law Schools and Medical students. GSM has committed huge resources to the health sector. He’s probably the only Nigerian State Governor who has made available one primary health care center in each political ward. Thus, Oyo State has about 351 PHCs under the supervision of the Primary Health Care Board. In the same vein, the upgrading of secondary health facilities has been given due attention. Recently, the Governor recruited medical and health care personnel for both the primary and secondary health care facilities. For the secondary health facilities, the government has recruited close to 1000 health care personnel through the State Health Management Board.He also recruited through the Primary Health Care Board about 4,000 Health Officers in the first quarter of 2025. In addition, GSM has expanded the scope of the State Health Insurance Scheme by ensuring that pensioners and young children in primary schools are covered.The environment has also been receiving attention. Waste disposal has received huge material and human resource investment which has led to an improved waste management in the state. The Governor has recruited a number of Environmental Health Officers who are working in various markets and local communities to enforce the State Guidelines on Hygiene. Street trading is being tackled through various means including the provision of alternative trading points such as the new Agodi Gate traders market that has taken more than 1000 traders off the streets. In the same vein, advocacy and law enforcement efforts are helping to reduce the menace of street trading and indiscriminate waste disposal leading to a cleaner environment. In order to prevent hitherto perennial flooding during the raining season, the Governor has embarked on the construction of new bridges and culverts as well as the dredging and channelization of streams and rivers. A flood alert system has been installed in several areas of the state In order to ensure that the various policies of government are effectively implemented, the Governor from his very first day in office has paid close attention to the welfare of workers and pensioners. For the past 70 months that GSM has been in office, Oyo State workers and pensioners have received their pay on/or before 25th of every month. He has paid 13th month salaries for 6 years . Promotions of staff and payment of leave bonuses have been consistently undertaken without failure in the past 70 months. GSM has been paying more than the minimum wage of 70k approved by the federal government, he pays 80;000 naira . As of today, Oyo State government pays monthly salaries and emoluments amounting to 14 billion naira while the local governments pay 10 billion naira. Thus, the sum of 24 billion naira is injected into the state economy every month. This has resulted in massive economic expansion, poverty reduction and socio-economic stability at a level never experienced before. This combined with other efforts of the government has not only led to accelerated economic development but is also instituting sustainable socio-economic development.Security of lives and property is a fundamental responsibility of the government. GSM has put in motion policies that are promoting harmony and good neighborhoods. Security agencies have received the highest level of logistical support which has enhanced their performance. The establishment of the Amotekun corps has been an indisputable game changer which has been helping the state to effectively deal with emerging crimes like kidnapping and banditry in some parts of the state. The collaboration by the various security agencies has led to drastic reduction in street violence and other forms of criminal behavior that we used to know. The regular engagement with stakeholders has led residents of the state to take security issues seriously. The Light Up Oyo State project which has put up street light in several parts of the state has greatly helped in reducing night crime while also promoting the night economic activities.The improved security situation in Oyo State has led to a boom in several sectors of the economy. Real estate has started thriving with many people relocating to Ibadan where investment in landed property has witnessed an unprecedented growth. The state government has simplified property registration system which has attracted many investors in real estate business. Tourism investment is greatly improving with a number of 5* hotels and first class lounges springing up. Cultural tourism is also thriving with 2 major film villages being established by notable theatre practitioners.Retail trade is witnessing an amazing growth as many new retail outlets are emerging. Private investment in tertiary education is increasing with new private institutions being established. Furthermore, sports and youth matters are receiving adequate attention. An unprecedented number of youths are in government while the remodeling of the Lekan Salami Stadium is highly commendable. The performance of Oyo State teams in National Sports festivals is also a source of pride while the Shooting Stars Sports Club has being performing at a top level.GSM has set up institutions that will protect the legacy policies, programs and projects that his administration is putting in place. Notable among the institutions is the Oyo State Mobilization Agency for Socio-Economic Development OYMASED which is charged with providing the people with a new orientation that will help with the preservation of our Core Values which ultimately leads to socio-economic development. Other institutions include the Rule of Law Enforcement Authority, the Anti Land Grabbing Authority, the Project Performance Monitoring Agency and the Oyo State Anti Corruption Agency. The efforts of the specialized non- ministerial Agencies are helping the government to stabilize the system and promote a culture of order and respect for the rule in every aspect of life in our dear state.The foregoing has shown that Governor Seyi Makinde has been quite phenomenal. He succeeded in touching every aspect of governance in Oyo State. GSM started as a leader without a title over 2 decades ago but in the past 70 months when he has assumed office as Governor of the pacesetter State, he has demonstrated a very clear understanding of his mission, setting for himself clear cut objectives and the strategies for accomplishing them . He has shown deep love for his people with his determined efforts in poverty reduction by spreading prosperity. The journey still has 26 months to go during which Oyo State will witness massive inauguration of completed projects. I enjoin the people of this great state to continue to give their Governor maximum support and position themselves to partake in the drive to make Oyo State the pride of Yorubaland, the cynosure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and well respected sub- national entity within Africa and beyond.
Morohunkola Thomas is the Director – General, Oyo State Mobilization Agency for Socio-Economic Development ( OYMASED).
