The Ilorin West APC Chairmanship aspirant and Chairman AJIBAT Foundation, Hon. Babatunde Alabi Ajidagba has presented the scorecard of Chairman NGF/Executive Governor of Kwara State, Mall AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq(CON)
The Kwara state of Harmony since its creation is truly emerging from a backwater civil service state to a go-to place for tech-enabled basic education, sport, conferencing, Medicals& healthcare, School rehabilitation, and reconstruction, civil servants welfare, tourism, and entertainment hub and north central economic powerhouse as the Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq ramps up work on the country’s largest garment factory, sugar factory film studio, innovation hub, visual arts center, international conference center, revenue house, the industrial park at Eiyenkorin and agro-processing zone, and the legacy Kwara Hotel. He has built new dental and eye care centers, modern intensive care units, and newly-equipped hospital wards. And he maintains the bits he inherited. Numerous and countless agricultural programs (provision of inputs, support) are ongoing to support farmers and boost food security.
Even though Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s administration expended more than N16bn to clear many years of salary, promotion arrears, and gratuities, and faces the daunting task of bridging the infrastructure gaps in basic schools such as fixing classrooms in more than 605 locations with SUBEB/UBEC led by Adaramaja, it is commonplace to hear apologists of the past regimes saying nothing good has happened in the last five years. The idea is to talk down the gains of the past five years in the hope that history may forget or disregard how far Kwara has come since the old order was ousted. It is truthiness. Shouldn’t people of good conscience then take the ‘good trouble’ of preserving history?
Kwara has turned the corners for positive reasons while pending deficits progressively get good attention on a sustainable basis. The administration is five years old today, with Governor Abdulrazaq overwhelmingly winning re-election last year.
Also, on Economic development projects:
The common massive garment factory located at the airport is now operational, even if not officially launched yet. So has the Gbugbu international market in addition. The sugar factory film studio is already receiving industry veterans also, while the visual arts center prepares to host dignitaries from across Nigeria to an event that would grab national headlines. These are facilities built to give Kwara a comfortable share of the multimillion-dollar industry and redirect its economy. Power of dream. The international conference center, equipped with a choice hospitality facility, and the Kwara hotel are to complement the dream.
Furthermore, Investments in the education and health sectors have yielded huge returns. Within the first 43 weeks of introducing KwaraLEARN, literacy, and numerical levels have peaked, around a 30% rise in basic public school enrolments, while learning deprivation has dropped to 56.3% by the end of the 2022/2023 school calendar, down from 73.4% before the program. In the primary health sector, the state wears the crown for its best immunization services in the north-central, earning some $500,000 from UNICEF to scale up its efforts. Access to potable water and sanitation facilities has never been higher in the state. Today, the Jebba waterworks is being launched. It was built from scratch.
Under the leadership of the AbdulRazaq-led administration, Kwara is now accredited to have a university teaching hospital, as well as Kwara State University of Education thanks to its consistent investments in human capital, improved welfare, and modern equipment. The implementation of 100% CONMESS and CONHESS for doctors and ancillary workers in the health sector — along with similar welfare packages in other areas — is a watershed as governments struggle to keep competent manpower in the state.
Similarly, the process has commenced to open up the Owu Fall, the highest waterfall in the West Africa subregion honestly – the same way the Governor constructed the 11-kilometre Osi-Obbo Aiyegunle road, linking Kwara to Ekiti State borders with asphalt road for the first time. He had also given the iconic 79-year-old Esie Museum, a pioneer tourism center in Nigeria, its first asphalt road.
My dear Kwarans,
The first term served to stabilize Kwara for growth; the second half consolidated and expanded the gains. Ilorin is shedding its old features. With its hinterlands dotted with interlocked roads, old road networks are undergoing massive upgrades, with new flyovers (Tunde Idiagbon Bridge and Unity Flyover) changing its landscape, reducing travel time, and beautifying the capital city. The Wahab Folawiyo Road (Unity Road) now has the quality and aesthetics that you can find in major capital cities on the continent. In a few months from now, Ahmadu Bello Way and Sulu Gambari Road will join the league, adorning Ilorin with astonishingly scenic roads for residents and visitors to behold!
Fantastic Governor AbdulRahman also did this,
Do you know that no fewer than 30 inner roads (including the 4.7km Yebumot-Adeta-Oloje, which is due for commissioning, only Adeta commissioned ) are in various stages of completion within the capital city, while a dozen others are being constructed or rehabilitated in the Kwara hinterlands, such as the 13km Ile Ire District road, Ora township road, first post-colonial Orisa Bridge (Oro Ago), Igbaja township road, newly awarded Arandun-Esie-Oro, Omu Aran-Oko, Ajase-Oke Iya, among others? In the north, the government has facilitated the 128-kilometer Bode Saadu/Kaiama/Kosubosu road, which has since started and is, alongside 74.3km Bacita-Shonga-Lafiagi, 37km Okuta-Kenu-Teberu, and 42.5km Eiyenkorin-Afon-Offa-Odo Otin, valued at over N400bn. Upon completion, the Bode Saadu road will redefine the travel history for travelers from the capital city or other areas to Kaiama and some parts of the Baruten axis of the state.
This is apart from such projects as the Emir Palace Road/erosion control at Dumagi, Ketu Road in Baruten, Malete Youth Farm-waterworks road in Moro, and Bukka Adena bridge in Kaiama. On top of these are the 84.7km of rural roads, which are underway across the state.
SMART CITY PLAN
Abdulrazaq is restoring sanity with the new Ilorin City Master Plan, a component of which has made provisions for a decent extension of the capital town. It is called the Ilorin Smart City Project, which is due for unveiling today, May 29. It is modeled after New Delhi and Washington DC in its compliance with UN prescriptions for sustainable living. Without jeopardizing our culture and tradition as Africans.
The administration’s progressive programs are supported by appropriate policy frameworks for sustainability. Its six-month maternity policy, announced on May 29, 2023, and about the third in Nigeria, complements its investments in basic education and healthcare as women in civil service are allowed to expose their children to exclusive breastfeeding without fear of losing their jobs or salaries and other perks. His education programs are now being supported by the Education Trust Fund. The Fund, due for launch soon, is a platform to bring in philanthropists and private sector players to support the government’s efforts to make education more inclusive and accessible. To save the colleges of education from collapse, the Governor has inaugurated the process of upgrading them in phases to allow for sustainability. These big dreams, intentional and ambitious, are well-articulated in the state’s sustainable development plan for 2020-2030. And so is the 20,000-hectare smart city.
Sincerely, Kwara’s leading position as a bastion for gender inclusion is supported by the Kwara State Gender Composition Law, which mandates the state to have at least 35% of either gender in public appointments. Described by the United Nations (UN) Women as a shining example that should be emulated by the federal government and other states, the gender law is the first of its kind in Nigeria.
Youth Inclusion: In youth empowerment, the state is the gold standard. Governor Abdulrazaq is surrounded by a team of brilliant young people who are, at the same time, willing to learn from older, more experienced people.
SPORT achievement of Governor Abdulrazaq led administration;
So it is in the sports sector. In April, the government approved the turnaround of the indoor sports hall for the first time since 1991. That complements the many facilities the Governor has added: the largest squash racket center in Nigeria with eight courts and a new table tennis arena that accommodates many players at a go, among many others already done or are in the greater Kwara plan.
This will not only attract national and international championships to the state, with its trickle-down effects on the economy, but it also offers a strategic platform to wean young people off violent crimes, drugs, idleness, and other anti-social behavior. The objective is to transform the sprawling Kwara State Sports Complex from a den of the underworld to a haven of recreation for the state’s active, talented youths.
If one attempts a mental analysis of what the Governor is doing across the state, what one sees is the emergence of a new economy anchored around hospitality, creativity and entertainment, agribusiness, entrepreneurship, innovation, and tourism — a dream supported by the race to build the right human capital and an efficient health care system, among others.
Governor AbdulRazaq has steered Kwara away from the violent politics and thuggery of the past, making it one of the most peaceful states in the country, while at the same time supporting different state and federal institutions to achieve their mandates and redirect the energy of youths to hard work, digital skills, and legitimate earnings.
In a nutshell, Governor AbdulRahman remains committed to his lofty agenda, without rubbishing the legacies of the founding fathers of the state. As he steps forward to higher callings, the nation acknowledges and speaks well of his humility, patriotism, and vision. May Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq continue to succeed.
Hon. BT MEDIA TEAM
New Vision New Kwara
AJIBAT FOUNDATIONS
10 JUNE 2024