The story of COVID-19 pandemic is what even a 3 year old kid knows about because of the depth of its gravious impact on humanity from the developed countries, to the fast developing nations down to the underdeveloped nations as the scourge of coronavirus continues to threaten humans very existence.
When Developing countries especially within the sub-Sahara Africa rage to hold their leaders accountable for squandered and embezzled public resources, the state then resorts to using government security apparatus to suppress such call for effective leadership by the people which they swore to oaths to protect.
To even think that African leaders especially Nigerian leaders or (rulers) if you permit me, have a particular penchant for embezzling public funds just for the fun of it or they steal out financial insecurity, or they just don’t care about their people by subjecting them to pauperized existence in order to maintain firm control of the larger poor Nigerians for political reasons.
Nigerian leaders have so mastered the art of treachery, deceit, dishonesty, secrecy, and sheer abuse of political power so much that they have mostly converted political offices into family businesses where politician fathers give their wives and children juicy offices at the expense of the poor masses.
It is from this old usual way of ruling the people in Nigeria which the people of course seemed to have been acclimatized to that has made most Nigerian politicians whom I would like to refer to as ‘old order politicians’ to thrive in their game thereby, living in affluence at the expense of the poor masses.
Little wonder why in less than one year in office of the executive governor of Oyo state Engr Seyi Makinde, other governors who got into office around the same period have made Makinde’s approach to governance and leadership style an adopted template that has since been applied in their various states.
Governor Makinde has within one year in office as a governor shown the capacity of a genuine leader who truly empathize with his people not for political reasons but because he knew exactly how to rise from obscurity from a humble background to affluence as a global personality.
When governor Makinde presented his economic blueprint to the people he sought to govern at different fora prior to the March 2019 guber election, making quality healthcare as part of his four cardinal pathway to economic prosperity left some at least myself curious, little wonder if it was part of the usual political gimmicks to sway the people for their votes considering the level of deterioration and deplorable state of health facilities across the state.
The masses in their usual way of resorting to fate and waiting for the next messiah after a daunting disappointment in the immediate past governor, had coined the media success by the last administration as ‘audio governor’, an acronym which best describes a government run on the backdrop of sheer propaganda contrary to physical economic development in the state.
Governor Makinde during his year 2020 budget presentation before the Oyo state house of assembly declared an appropriation of a total sum which represented 5.18 percent of the N213billion 2020 budget for the fiscal year, and has since been described by many political watchers as the governor who saw tomorrow from today and conquered it ahead of its arrival with huge investment in Oyo state health sector.
By that singular level of commitment to the health sector in Oyo State by Governor Makinde who some so called political elite would rather term rooky being a man who is a sharp contrast between the old order and the new order which he represents, has exhibited a prophet-like attribute who had seen tomorrow from today thereby, preparing vigorously for the days ahead even before the advent of the dreaded coronavirus in Nigeria which is fast overwhelming other unprepared states across Nigeria.
Never before has the people of Oyo state across all social strata and political divide been in harmony with a governor to which they stand opposition to like they do governor Seyi Makinde, no wonder the words of the Holy book (Bible) states that ‘when the righteous rules a nation the people rejoice’.
COVID-19 in Nigeria has further exposed most Nigerian governors who may well be described as ‘audio governors’ sequel to their little or no investment in state healthcare architecture as a result of what could be described as ‘unrestrained access to medical tourism around the world’ by themselves and members of their families.
Makinde, despite his unmatched wealth among his contemporary being a successful business mogul from a private sector background resolved to high investment in Oyo state healthcare sector affirming the general saying that ‘health is wealth’, thereby bringing nearly free and qualitative healthcare service to the downtrodden.
The result of such huge investment in the state by the state government under the leadership of governor Makinde has resulted in the success rate at this present time of global pandemic, and keeping the number of confirmed COVID-19 case to only 9 persons despite the state’s close proximity to Lagos state which is the most hit so far in Nigeria.
It is however believed and highly anticipated among the ruling party, the Oyo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the people of the state to see Makinde’s quick come back from the dreaded virus even though he was yet to exhibit any symptom.
Akeem Olatunji| writes from Ibadan Oyo state capital
