2 days Ago By Kayode Odunaro
In contemporary times, Nigerians are going through a lot, to use a local parlance, in terms of the socioeconomic challenges that the majority are facing. Not a few of such Nigerians in desperate situations are looking up to the government at all levels to do something to make their lot better. For many representatives, particularly at the federal level, the direct approach to touching the lives of their constituents beyond the customary ‘hand-outs’, are what has been loosely termed ‘empowerment’ through facilitations and directly from personal resources.
The range of such includes skills acquisition and vocational trainings, entrepreneurship development programmes, purchase of equipment for trained constituents, farm inputs and cash grant as seed capital, purchase of books, laptops and granting of scholarships and bursaries for students and other direct impact programmes meant to alleviate poverty and provide means of sustainable income generating ventures. The numbers of the impact differs from legislator to legislator and indeed some legislators are assessed for performance on the level of the empowerment for future elections. One legislator, who has made a name for himself as a ranking performer, if not the most ranked legislator in empowerment in Nigeria is Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (CON) aka Yayi (APC, Ogun West), hitherto a prominent household name and performer in Lagos State, before relocation to his homestead in Ogun State.
His empowerment programmes have a history. Back in Lagos as a state legislator and subsequently as a federal legislator as a member of the House of Representatives and Senator, empowerment programmes are the cornerstone of his effective representation that saw his re-election five consecutive times, representing the largest senatorial district in Nigeria in terms of population, Lagos West, twice. Indeed, he is not a ‘stranger’ to encountering youths walking to him to recount their success story from benefiting from his empowerment facilitations years back.
His last empowerment as a Senator in Lagos West went viral on social media on the strength of its magnitude and the huge numbers of recorded constituents that were beneficiaries. It was indeed a parting shot that may not be rivalled for a long time in the history of Lagos State, and indeed Nigeria. Since he moved to Ogun State, he has been replicating his trademark of what is undoubtedly mega empowerment in his senatorial district of Ogun West to the joy of his constituents who openly confessed that such has never been experienced in the annals of their experience of any representatives of government.
In just over a year, direct recorded beneficiaries of Yayi’s facilitated empowerment programmes numbers over 40,000 in trainings, provision of equipment like sewing machines, vehicles, mini buses, tricycles and bikes for transportation business, deep freezers, fishing appliances, catering equipment, hair making equipment, make-up artist equipment, cash grants, provision of inputs and scholarships and bursaries grants. At one of his mega empowerment programme at Ilaro in less than a year as senator representing Ogun West, no less a personality than Senator Jubrin Barau, the Deputy Senate President, himself not a stranger to massive empowerment in his Kano North senatorial district, described Yayi’s empowerment as “supa duper’ in extent using an American expression adding that with this kind of empowerment no one dare ask the Senator what he is doing in Abuja or has brought home for his constituents. In that empowerment, over 15,000 constituents benefitted from the senator’s facilitation in one fell swoop.
And expectedly the video of the mega event went viral on social media as an example of what effective representation should be. But it would be uncharitable if anyone wants to encapsulate the phenomenal Yayi only in his empowerment of his constituents in terms of effective representation and attraction of socio- economic development. Indeed, his exertion and facilitations in the area of infrastructural development is second to none in the systematic and holistic fashion he is addressing the huge infrastructural deficit associated with his senatorial district.
And in monetary terms the empowerment facilitations in billions are a drop in the ocean compared to the huge multi-billions outlay of his facilitated infrastructural projects. So far, over 100 projects including roads, school buildings, Police Stations, Primary Health Care Centres, Intensive Care Units (ICU), Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) centres, modern markets and town halls have been constructed, ready for use and some recently commissioned for use. Road construction with ancillary structure like culverts and destroyed bridges are areas that Senator Adeola has concrete and durable accomplishments worth noting.
So far, over 30 of such roads/bridges of various lengths have been constructed across the five LGAs of Ogun West. One can just mention a few already being used for brevity. They include Moboluwaduro-Ago-Ilobi Road, Old Oja Odan- Ebute Road and Ebute Igooro Township Road among others.
Educational infrastructures facilitated by Senator Adeola are just astounding to say the least. At least over 150 new classrooms have been added to Ogun West senatorial district at primary and secondary levels in a programme of 12 classrooms with staff rooms and solarised boreholes in over 25 schools. Among them are Ansa ru-Deen Primary School, Igbogilla, Government Technical and Science College, Ayetoro, Yewa College, Ilaro, Iganmode Grammar School, Ota, District Community High School, Owode, District High School, Ipokia and Methodist Primary School, Ado Odo among others.
The Senator also facilitated three well equipped information, communication and technology centres around the district in a drive to enhance literacy in computerisation. On health care infrastructure, the senator has facilitated some critical facilities including seven Primary Health Care Centres with ambulances notably at OOU (Ayetoro Campus), Ayetoro and Oke Odan as well as the establishment of two intensive care units at the State Hospitals in Ilaro and Ota. To provide a conducive environment for trade and commerce, Senator Adeola facilitated the construction of at least seven number of modern 40-lock up and 60 open shops in his district with solarized boreholes.
They include those in Agossasa, Ipokia, Oloola in Imeko Afon and Sayedero, Ilaro..
