Segun Adewale: The Man And His Mission For Ekiti Prosperity

By Ibrahim Sarafa

One great weakness of anyone seeking political office that Nigerians had most times ignored is their antecedents. This, like a mirror, reflect their capability, resourcefulness, leadership concepts and ideals, which could have given a practical guide on what to expect when such person is given the opportunity to lead. But as with other failings, we (the electorates) to a larger extent, have not critically accessed those seeking public offices, hence, our collective disappointments with governance.

Segun Adewale

In Nigeria, every four years, elections are held into various political offices with little or no impact on the wellbeing of the people. The people have seen their aspirations shattered. In my view, the best way to correct this anomaly, is to elect the rightful person(s) to public offices, whose understanding and capacity to deliver the need of the people have been ascertained by evaluating them, relying on their antecedents.

As such, this analysis can better be explored by the people of Ekiti state to arrive at who could best serve their purpose as governor come 2018. Governor Ayodele Fayose will exhaust his tenure in October next year after serving the maximum two terms as the Ekiti state helmsman. The need for a replacement, which will be decided by the people of the state through the ballot.

But as I have observed earlier, the people must critically accessed those vying to take the top seat in Ekiti and settle for the best that will set the state on the path of progress, peace and prosperity.

Ekiti, like most states in Nigeria, have found themselves struggling in meeting up to yearnings and aspirations of their people– a development that have aggravated the frustrations of the people, which has increased their search for redemption. Disturbing, is the fact that, despite Ekiti’s vast potentials in Education, this has counted little for the people of the state, who have endured excruciating poverty due to inadequacies of elected officials, especially governors’. The state has been under what I called ” structural poverty” .

However, this can be remedied, if the people can maximise and utilise the opportunity next year’s governorship election presents by using their thumbs to elect someone who is genuinely interested in the restoration and development of the state as governor. At the last count, no fewer than 50 persons from the two major political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), as well as other relatively popular political parties have signified intention to rule the state from October 2018.

Expressively, one of those aspirants, Otunba Segun Adewale (OSA), is the most appropriate as the next governor of Ekiti state when his antecedents are considered or put into perspective. Aside his sterling capability, resourcefulness and leadership zeal, Otunba Segun Adewale’s strong love and posture for Ekiti emancipation and development is a great asset in ushering the needed restoration to the ‘fountain of knowledge’. From his private venture to philanthropy, Otunba Segun Adewale has shown tremendous responsibility a core value that is lacking in our governance system in Nigeria.

This explained how he was able to build Aeroland, a leading travel agency, into a world reputable venture in Nigeria aviation sector, which returned millions of dollars and have created hundreds, if not thousands, of direct and indirect jobs. In the over 20 years of leading the Aeroland group, his impressive quality has earned him several awards, both locally and internationally.

In the packs of international organisation/company that have endorsed the leadership capabilities of Otunba Segun Adewale through awards are British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Qatar Airways, AirFrance/KLM, Etihad Airlines, Egypt Air, United Airlines, Asky Airlines, South Africa Airways, Rwanda Air, among others.

As someone who has strong feelings for humanity, Otunba Segun Adewale has always shown uncommon attentions to alleviating the plights of the people without expectation of any sort. This formed his tradition– an attitude that revealed his innermost love and passion to remedy the people of Ekiti from the plague of poverty that has ravaged them over the years. At every opportunity, he has lamented bitterly on the poverty level in the state– something he observed Ekiti should have no business with and have promised to eradicate it if given the mandate to lead the state. Expectedly, his exposure and private sector experience is another great benefit that will play a cogent role in driving development to the state. This offers him background knowledge of how best to tackle challenges bedeviling a society like Ekiti.

Whenever he has the chance, providing succour for people who are distressed and in dire needs have always been his best calling. Though, a silent giver, but the rave of his philanthropic gestures resonate louder that it will be too hard, if not impossible, to suppress. Already, countless number of people have become graduates owing to Otunba Segun Adewale’s scholarship scheme while several people, mostly of Ekiti root are gainfully employed, either in his company or through his influence. His emphasis has always been his people– a decisive factor which motivated him to be seeking the governorship seat in the state.

In a recent assessment of his aspiration, Otunba Segun Adewale said “Our plan is to start giving back to our motherland irrespective of getting the ticket to contest or otherwise. To date, I have constructed more than 31 boreholes in Lagos, donated transformer to Celetown, built small bridges at Agbado, donated classrooms at Abule egba and Baruwa, construct river canals, donated town hall, gave scholarships in millions every year amongst others. Meanwhile, apart from employing about 70% of Ekiti indigenes in my work force, I haven’t really done much in the area of welfare for our people.” This is a clear indication of a man whose sole aim of seeking mandate is to serve. Unlike regular politicians who are fond of cajoling the electorates for their selfish benefits, Otunba Adewale is straightforward in making himself available for people to critically access him. His drive has remained service to humanity and such has not changed.

The truth, which Ekiti people must come to term with in their choice of governor in 2018, is that delivering desirable governance goes beyond pettiness and that calls for true commitment. This has remained the basis why Otunba Segun Adewale is presenting himself for the service of the people of Ekiti state, as he had understudied their challenges and understands their expectations. Interestingly, it was his concern for the people of Ekiti that spurred his aspiration to seek the top seat in the state are the people, and as such, the people must embrace this paradigm shift. They need to understand that the choice of who oversees the affairs of the state bears so much on their respective endeavours and they should maximize their chances of entrusting their mandate to Otunba Segun Adewale, to aid his drive to setting Ekiti on the path of prosperity.

Sarafa Ibrahim is a journalist and writes from Osogbo
neyoclass09@gmail.com