Your office is in charge of chieftaincy affairs in the state. By your estimation, how would you rate the performance of Governor Oyebanji in this area?...CONTINUE READING
The governor has done well in this sector. First, he has made the traditional rulers relevant and well recognised in administration. Governor Oyebanji is of the opinion that the traditional rulers being the custodians of culture and tradition must be respected and that they shouldn’t be neglected in governance and this reflected in the manner with which this administration carries them along in every decision-making.
When we came on board, the governor made it clear that he won’t interfere in the selection of Obas in towns where there are vacancies because he believes politicizing such area of our life could be dangerous to our co-existence. He didn’t just say that; he has been matching it with actions. There was no town where there was vacancy that Governor Oyebanji goes to impose anyone as Oba or force anyone to do his bidding.
The kingmakers are allowed to perform this sacred traditional role and this was largely responsible for the level of peace we are enjoying in our dear state. Apart from prioritizing their welfare, Mr. Governor demonstrated his love and respect further with the completion of the Ekiti State Traditional Council Chamber in Ado Ekiti, where the Obas can meet and discuss issues affecting governance, security and welfare of the citizens.
Since 1999, the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers had been using the one room apartment at the old governor’s office at Oke Ori Omi in Ado Ekiti. This could hardly contain 82 out of about 140 members of the council. The facilities there were also old. But the new traditional council can contain about 140 members at a go. It has adjoining offices that can accommodate the staff of the Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs that are using the building to run the ministry now.
So, the cordial relationship between Mr. Governor and our traditional rulers can make me to proudly say that he has done marvelously well in this area. Don’t also forget that the governor has been complying strictly with the regency law, which restricts the tenure of regents to six months. However, where there are exceptional cases where the town can’t replace the regent in six months, maybe because of cases in courts, the governor often appeals to warring factions to sheathe their swords, so that the town can have a substantive Oba to push for their development.
Besides the foregoing that you have stated; can you also give the highlights of your achievements in chieftaincy affairs?
Within one year we got into office, the administration of Governor Oyebanji has presented staff and instruments of office to Onifaki of Ifaki Ekiti, Oba Adeg- benro Falore and the Onikoyi of Ikoyi Ekiti, Oba Micheal Ogundana in Ikole Local Government Area of our state. Through my office, government settled the lingering crisis at Isaoye Ekiti to ensure the restoration of the exiled Obasaoye of Isaoye Ekiti, Oba Olajide Gabriel, back to the throne.
The crisis started in 2018, when the Oba was having a running battle with the kingmakers. Because of the love the governor has for peace and development, he mandated me to wade into the matter and it was resolved this year. The monarch has reunited with his people. We have also succeeded in resolving the Omuo/Ahan Ayegunle Ekiti chieftaincy tussle, which started about four years ago.
We have also worked hard for the resolution of Asin Ekiti chieftaincy crisis, Olupole/Fayeba’s family chieftaincy/land dispute, Onimesi/Olokun supremacy battle, Olomuo Oke/Ahinda chieftaincy cum factional crisis, Ogoga/Odofin chieftaincy row and Alahun of Ahun salary crisis. All these issues might be minor to some people, but they were serious agitations in the communities affected.
However, we have been able to bring these to a stop and the affected towns are now living in peace and harmony. No crisis can be considered small, if the government had refused to take actions, they might escalate into full scale wars that could lead to destruction of lives and property.
To what extent have you been able to resolve some of the intra and inter as well as inter-state land disputes that Ekiti State was experiencing?
Land dispute is a common phenomenon in Ekiti just like every other state of the federation. A lot of issues of this nature had been brought to our notice and we are responding to them positively. When we came on board, what we did with the kind permission of Mr. Governor was to constitute a Land Dispute Resolution Technical Committee, comprising experts from the civil service, office of the Ekiti State Surveyor General and Ekiti State Boundary Commission as a standby body to wade into issues emanating from crisis on lands, either intra or inter towns as well as the ones that deal with inter-state.
What gladdens my heart is that we are achieving tremendous mileage. The first inter- state land encroachment matter that we waded into was the Ilasa/Alu (Kogi State) land dispute. We knew that for Ekiti to make headway in the fight against transborder killers, bandits and kidnappers, we must be in good accord with our neighbours like Osun, Kogi, Ondo and Kwara states. In the case between Alu and Ilasa in Ekiti East, we have visited the National Boundary Commission to let them know about our findings. We were reassured that the matter will be resolved amicably and our citizens in the two towns will continue to live together in peace.
We have also made efforts to settle the lingering Ipoti/Ejiyan/Owatedo, Otun/Aaye Oja and Ise/ Orun/Emure land disputes to prevent bloodshed and loss of property.
Flooding is one issue that ravaged Ekiti this year; how are you responding to this in order to give the victims some respite?
Immediately we heard about the issue, Mr. Governor swung into action. Let me say this and the people had acknowledged it; the aggressive dredging of flood-prone waterways really prevented the flooding from escalating beyond that level. The Ureje and Elemi rivers were dredged early in the year but despite that it got flooded. However, we thank God that no life was lost and this also minimized the level of destruction.
The government also carried out channelisation around Omisanjana and Agric Olope areas; this also helped in a way. However, regarding the victims, we have visited the places on the instruction of the governor to examine the level of damage. Besides this, staff of the Ekiti State Emergency Management Agency have visited the affected sections to do elaborate enumeration of the victims for possible intervention that will palliate their sufferings.
The Ministry of Urban and Physical Planning has also visited some of the affected zones and it was discovered that some of our people were building on waterways thereby blocking free flow of water and this was causing flooding. Our advice to our people is that, before they build their houses, they must get proper approval from government agencies, that is the best way to avert some of these occurrences.
Despite noticing some of these lapses, the Federal Government in conjunction with the government of Governor Oyebanji still distributed palliatives to about 7,000 persons, who were victims in year 2022, and those who were caught in the web of this pathetic occurrence in 2023, will enjoy a similar intervention programme soon.
There was also rainstorm that blew away some houses. How did the government respond to the situation?
Natural disasters are things that are difficult to prevent, but the government is making fran- tic and concerted efforts to mitigate the effect. This year, there was heavy rainstorm across Ekiti, but the Oke Ako and Ijesa Isu Ekiti were the two towns that were most affected. In fact, a total of 105 buildings were affected at Oke Ako Ekiti alone.
Immediately this happened, the governor being a very kind man quickly instructed that I visit the victims and as a matter of urgency go for on- the-spot assessment of the level of wreck- age and within a month, the victims got a sum of N24 million cheques to rebuild the structures that were damaged while similar gesture was also extended to the victims of rainstorm at Ijesa Isu who benefited roofing sheets, food items, mattresses, cement, planks, clothing materials and other items that can help in rebuilding their damaged buildings and give them some kind of relief.
This year, you were the leader of Ekiti contingents to Israel. How was the pilgrimage experience like?
Very interesting. You know spiritual rebirth in the life of any person and nation is very essential and that was why the Ekiti State government always support the spiritual growth of citizens. Though the government no longer sponsor peo- ple to holy land, it is now self-sponsored or if you are helped by individuals or organisations, but Governor Oyebanji provided the enabling environment for the intending pilgrims through the office of Ekiti State Pilgrimage Welfare Board.
Both the Muslims and Christians are enjoying this attention just to ensure the safety of our people outside the country. The experience we gathered there was that tourism and hospitality businesses can sustain the economy of any nation and that is what our governor is replicating here. If you get to Ikogosi Warm Springs now, you will get what I am trying to say clearly.
Other tourist sites in Ekiti will be given attention to increase our income, create jobs and launch us to an enviable position in Nigeria and outside the world as one state with huge potentials in tourism. With what we are doing, Ekiti will also be on the world map as a state with huge potentials in the sector.
