The immediate past governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, has urged his successor, Governor Seyi Makinde, to face governance instead of looking for mundane issues to discredit him.
Ajimobi advised the incumbent to correct the perceived areas he (Ajimobi) might have done badly and build on the success of his eight years’ administration.
The former governor spoke at the weekend in Ibadan House, Oke Aremo, Ibadan, venue of a luncheon held in his honour by the Ibadan Elders’ Forum, for his “meritorious two-term service in Oyo State”.
The event was chaired by Prof. Oladipo Akinkugbe and attended by eminent personalities, including traditional rulers, Ajimobi’s former aides and commissioners, among others.
Ajimobi noted that it was his prayers that Makinde succeeds in office, noting that if the governor 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 vehicles 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.”
Ajimobi hailed the Ibadan Elders’ Forum, saying it 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.
Prof. Akinkungbe hailed Ajimobi for the feats he achieved in moving the state forward since he assumed office in 2011.
“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,” he said.
President, Ibadan Elders Forum, Ambassador Olusola Sanu, said since the forum’s formation, “its activities have been characterised by monitoring progress in the state public service, giving gentle admonition to active political players and making suggestions on possible ways of ensuring social and political advancement of the state generally without soliciting, whether overtly and covertly, for any patronage.
“The Elders Forum believes that acknowledging good performances will not only be pleasing to the performer, it will also inspire in-coming governors not just to perform well, but try to surpass whatever standard is met on ground,” Ambassador Sanu said.
