Immediate past Governor of Oyo State, Mr Abiola Ajimobi, has berated his successor, Governor Seyi Makinde, asking him to face the serious business of governance instead of looking for mundane issues to discredit him.
The former governor said the incumbent must only correct perceived areas he (Ajimobi) might have done badly and build on the success of his eight years administration.
Ajimobi made the remarks over the weekend at Ibadan House, Oke Aremo, Ibadan, venue of a luncheon held in his honour by Ibadan Elders’ Forum, in commemoration of the ‘meritorious two-term service in Oyo State’.
The event held under the chairmanship of Mr Oladipo Akinkugbe, a professor emeritus, was attended by eminent personalities including traditional rulers, Ajimobi’s former aides and former commissioners, among others.
While speaking, Ajimobi noted that it was his prayers that Mr Makinde succeeds in office, noting that if he (Makinde) succeeds, he would have taken the state higher than he met it, urging him not to try to be perfect.
He said, “My admonition is that the new government succeeds. It is in our best interest that he succeeds. If he succeeds, he would have taken Oyo State higher than he met it.
“I am advising him that he should not try to be perfect but he must build on our successes. He must build and not demolish. He must build and not destroy. We have raised the bar of governance in this state and can’t afford to see it go down again.
“We must not return to the days of brigandage and days of locust where chaos and disorder was the norm in Ibadan. Let him face the job and not look at mundane issues. There was a time I heard he said our government officials took cars away, which vehicle is he talking about among all the issues on ground in the state.
“He must know that all journey begins with one step and end with one step. He must start now to correct wherever we were wrong. I don’t profess to be perfect but he must build on our successes. Where we have taken Oyo State now, he must not take it back.
“We know that the dual carriage roads we built can’t be returned to a single lane and the bridges we have constructed cannot be pulled down. We have taken Oyo to greater heights and it must not go down. We did not achieve perfection but achieved successes. I pray for the success of Oyo State, the success of Nigeria and the success of Ibadanland.”
The former governor commended Ibadan Elders’ Forum, saying the forum was the promoter and sustainer of whatever successes his administration might have achieved.
Apologising to those he might have offended while in office, especially in his utterances, the former governor said those were the things that made him who he is and different from every other person, saying “we can’t do things the same way otherwise I will not be me. Whoever I have offended should forgive me and I have forgiven those who offended me too,” he added.
In his speech, Chairman of the occasion, Akinkungbe commended Ajimobi for all the feats he achieved in moving the state forward since he assumed office in 2011, saying “leadership come and go but posterity would always judge if leadership was in gold or otherwise, and Ajimobi leadership in Oyo State has proven to be in gold.”
Thisday
