By Sulaimon Olanrewaju
Every great state is the product of a great vision. Vision is the compass that guides a state into its desired destination. The vision encapsulates the aspiration of the state; where it wants to be and what it wants to become. Hence, great leaders always live in the possibilities of the future, not the limitations of the moment. They do not allow the realities of the present to muzzle them, rather they are motivated by the prospects the future offers and allow the possibilities to dictate their course of actions. Without a compelling vision, a state will neither actualize its potentials nor experience appreciable progress.
However, while visions create the future of a state in the imaginations of all concerned, it is strategy that actually drives the state to the envisioned future. Strategy is the tie between a state’s experiences and its expectations; its present and the future. Strategy is the wings on which vision flies. Without an appropriate strategy, a society’s envisioned future will remain a mirage. It is for this reason that Gerry Johnson and Kevan Scholes, in their book, Exploring Corporate Strategy, submit that it is strategy which determines the direction and development of an institution over the long term.
Strategy is vital to the actualization of corporate objectives because it bridges the gap between means and end. Strategy involves the deployment of resources at the disposal of a state for the actualization of corporate goals.
Right from his assumption of office, Governor ‘Seyi Makinde has left no one in doubt about his intention to take the people of Oyo State from poverty to prosperity. To achieve his vision of spreading prosperity across the length and breadth of the state, the Governor has adopted a two-prong strategy of creating an enabling environment and offering the necessary support for private businesses to thrive as well as strengthening the civil service for higher productivity through strategic recruitment.
By improving the state’s road infrastructure, rolling out the Light-Up Oyo project, which covers well over 250 kilometers across the state, tweaking the security architecture to ensure a round-the-clock safety of the people and their property and emplacing a protocol that facilitates ease of doing business, Oyo State, under Governor Makinde, has become a haven for local and international businesses looking for investment opportunities. As Makinde opens up new areas with world-class road facilities, so do new businesses spring up in these areas. Consequently, over the past sixty seven months, the number of enterprises within the state has grown to over two million with many people gaining employment. So, effectively, unemployment rate in the state has gone downhill and so has poverty rate.
But beyond the job opportunities created by the Organised Private Sector (OPS) as well as the informal sector, the state government has also been emphatic in its strive to create employment opportunities for the citizenry. In Governor Makinde’s first term, he employed 5,000 secondary school teachers in one fell swoop. Apart from the unprecedented number of teachers employed at once, the recruitment exercise was also unique in the sense that it was the first time that the state would deploy Computer-Based Test (CBT) in assessing applicants for civil or public service positions. That made the process credible and ensured that only the best and most suitable were recruited to teach secondary school students.
However, if Governor Makinde was zealous about job creation in his first term, he is gung ho about it in his second term. In a spate of 180 days, Makinde gave approval for the recruitment of over 21,000 personnel to various ministries, agencies and department of Oyo State Government.
It started in July 2024 with the recruitment of 500 officers and men for the Oyo State Road Traffic Management Authority (OYRTMA).
At the passing out parade for the then newly recruited officers, Governor Makinde had said, “When I was going around for re-election, I made a promise that if given another mandate to serve, I would ensure that the rule of law is upheld in our dear state. So, this recruitment is to strengthen the capacity of OYRTMA because when the agency is strengthened, the rule of law in the state is strengthened.
“We want an Oyo State where all laws will be obeyed, especially traffic laws. And to achieve this, we need to sensitize our people and enforce the laws.”
This was followed with the recruitment of 561 Amotekun operatives.
In his address at the passing out parade of the new operatives in Iseyin, Governor Makinde said, “Even though Oyo Amotekun only commenced operation in November 2020, we cannot imagine the state without them. This is how important they have become to our security architecture over the years. We recognised that there was more to be done to address kidnapping, banditry and other illegal activities in our forests, and this is what led to the initiative to establish Forest Rangers as a sub-unit of Amotekun in 25 local government areas, with about 480 recruits out of the 561 passing out today.
“These rangers are to work within the forests in their local government areas alongside other stakeholders and other community groups. Their task is to secure our farmers and other people engaged in commercial activities. They are also to preserve our natural resources in our forests to prevent illegal activities. These additional Oyo Amotekun recruits passing out today will increase the number of Amotekun to 2,500 corps members.
“Let me once again restate our commitment to providing all that is required to ensure that Oyo Amotekun can deliver on their mandate. We will continue to provide the equipment needed and monthly operational grants to ensure smooth operations.”
Then the state government, through the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board, employed 5,600 primary school teachers and 80 caregivers to shore up the personnel requirement of primary schools in the state. The governor also approved the recruitment of 7,500 teachers as well as 3,000 non-teaching staff for secondary schools in the state.
Commenting on the development, the Oyo State Wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Oladimeji Raji and the Secretary, Salami Olukayode, said Governor Makinde’s appointment of 5,000 teachers in the first term and 14,500 since the inception of his second term into the state primary and secondary schools was commendable.
The statement read, “Your disposition towards turning the tide of the education system of Oyo State remains unprecedented and unmatched not only in the annals of recruitment history of our dear state in recent times but also across the entire 36 states of the Federation including the Federal Capital Territory.
“Your Excellency Sir, your achievements in the education sector since assumption of office particularly, on the successful recruitment of over 14,000 qualified teaching professionals and about 3,500 non- teaching personnel, aside from an appreciable number of caregivers is a clear cut and a perfect reflection of your results-oriented style of leadership aimed at providing free, qualitative and quantitative education to the amiable citizens of Oyo State. This gesture shall, without doubt, have a significant touch in our classroom and as well enhance educational service delivery to our school children.”
The statement added, “It is no doubt that this noble achievement of yours, despite the prevailing global challenges of economic meltdown, will forever remain a veritable tool and special reference point that may not be easily matched by successive administrations.”
The state government later set in motion the process of employing about 3,000 workers for the state’s Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs).
Providing the rationale behind the move to employ that number of workers, Executive Secretary of the Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, Muideen Olatunji, said: “There has been no meaningful recruitment into the primary healthcare sector in over 20 years. This is the first time in two decades that the state government is recruiting into the primary healthcare system to fill the workforce gap.”
In addition to the PHC workers, the state government has also employed 12 consultants, 28 doctors, eight pharmacists, six physiotherapists, 170 nurses, three pharmacist technicians, eight medical laboratory scientists and 80 other health workers.
The state is also in the process of recruiting 791 people to fill the vacant positions in the mainstream civil service. According to the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission, Alhaji Kamoru Aderibigbe, the recruitment exercise would result in the employment of 230 education officers and 561 others.
So, altogether in the spate of six months, Oyo State Government has employed over 21,000 people.
Many people cannot but wonder why Governor Makinde decided to embark on this massive recruitment exercise, especially at a time when minimum wage went up from N30,000 to N80,000.
The reason is not shrouded in any mystery; it is the power of vision. Vision breaks obstacles into smithereens and makes mincemeat of difficulties. Vision looks beyond adversities to focus on possibilities. Vision penetrates through challenges to see positive changes. So, for Governor Seyi Makinde when it comes to empowering the people of Oyo State and putting them on the path of progress and prosperity, cost is secondary.
The massive recruitment exercise, apart from being a move to fill existing vacancies, is part of the strategy deployed by Governor Makinde to put the state on an irreversible development trajectory as encapsulated in the Roadmap to Sustainable Development 2023-2027.
The recruitment is centered on four major sectors; the civil service, the security sector; the health services and the education sector, each of which has a critical role to play in the overall development of the state.
The employment of 516 additional Amotekun corps is meant to further strengthen the security base so that farmers, traders, artisans, Small and Medium-sized Entrepreneurs (SMEs) as well as big business operators can go about their lawful engagements without any form of fear. Having the mass of the people engage in their businesses without any form of hindrance will result in a rise in productivity and economic activities and, ultimately, wealth creation.
Employing 500 new OYRTMA personnel is meant to bring sanity to the traffic management system and improve safety on the roads. This is in line with the vision to position Oyo as a state where investors and tourists will be happy to come to and live in because they know that they can feel safe and secure. Having more visitors and tourists in the state will boost revenue generation.
Recruiting more teachers will improve quality of delivery in schools and strengthen the human capital development efforts of the state, thus preparing the state and its people for opportunities even beyond the shores of the country.
Employing different categories of health workers is targeted at improving the wellbeing of everyone in the state by ensuring access to healthcare system so that everyone can contribute to building a better Oyo State.
Employing more civil servants is a move to strengthen policy implementation for the overall good of the state.
So, the rationale for the recruitment drive is to build a wholesome state; a state that works for the prosperity and wellbeing of the people.
Governor Seyi Makinde is always thinking out of the box to take Oyo State out of the woods.
Dr Olanrewaju is the Chief Press Secretary to Oyo State Governor.
