As Yam Is To Palm Oil, Infrastructure Is To Economic Growth

By Adebayo Rasheed Mabayoje

One of Yórùbá’s popular traditional menu is yam-and-palm oil. In fact, palm oil is the most common and immediate variety of edibles that goes with yam. It is from this table tradition that an adage like this is derived: “tí a kò bá torí isu j’epo, àá t’orí epo j’esu”. This summarises as meaning that an individual’s choice of yam-and-palm oil for dinner lies in the strong desire to have one of the two at a point in time. Your order for yam is caused by your crave to eat palm-oil or the other way round. The argument I am trying to present here is within economic and social development discourse.

Like the analogical Yórùbá food menu painted above, economic and social transformation of a clime and the people therein is based on the process of adding improvements to the communities and environs, such as grading, subdivisions, drainage, access, roads, utilities and such others. We can take all of that as the analogical yam, which once it is set on the dining table it is most certain that palm oil, which represents investments must be found.

What the foregoing is presenting is the fact that infrastructural development is the sine qua non of economic development of the people.

Having taken the analogical yam for infrastructural development, it is important to mention the role of the cook who ensures that the yam is well prepared in order for the right variety of oil to go with it.

Leadership is quite important in the business of government, especially at the apex. Osun is lucky in this instance.

Today, very many plates of palm oil have been attracted to the dinning table due to the well prepared yam by the good cook- Aregbesola. New businesses spring up in Osun, particularly in the state capital- eateries, malls, auto galleria, petrol stations, financial businesses, private hospitals, hotels, fashion houses/outlets, big electronic brands and shops like Samsung, Nokia, Slot, etc have all rushed their establishments into Osun, particularly within the last four years.

Aparent. This points to the fact that the purchasing power of the people have drastically increased, particularly in the last four years under current administration. Without reference to any financial or economic theory, common sense marks the fact that businesses pack up once patronage reduces. The new businesses springing up in, and those ones moving branches into Osun are attestation to economic growth and pirchasing power that Aregbesola’s action plans have brought to Osun people.

Adebayo Rasheed Mabayoje

Now, what the people are expressing is apprehension over how this steady development would be sustained after Aregbesola. The people are expressing worries over the kind of leadership that would come after November 26th when his reign would end.

They reference  how Lagos state after Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu have steadily moved on developmentally up to this point. And they conclude that, fir example, current daily N20 billion IGR of Lagos state wouldn’t have been possible if a government that does not belive in the ideology passed on by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to his successors had been at the helm of Lagos administration. In essence, current level of developments in Lagos state would never have been possible