Senator Yayi’s One Year As Ogun West Senator and His Progressive Representation

Damilare Oloyede, Omooba

For the distinguished Senator representing Ogun West in the 10th National Assembly, Senator Adeola Olamilekan Yayi, he has been able to validate a Yoruba proverb in the last one year. “Omo to ba maa je Asamu, ati kekere laati ma senu samu samu”, literarily meaning what a child will become when he grows, would have been obvious from tender age.

For Yayi, one year was more than enough to show that he meant well for the marginalized people of the west and the entire Ogun State at large. Having duly represented elsewhere and still has the heart of his subject, he came home as the “prophesied son of the promise land”, a Moses of his people.

If you disagree, make enquiries from the 5000 market women who received financial grants and the 15,000 women and youths empowered with equipment and seed funding. It wasn’t just a promise he made to them. It was a three-day programme witnessed by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jubrin, and other senators. The awestruck Deputy Senate President with what he witnessed said the project has gone beyond the word ‘Mega’ but to what the Americans describe as “super-duper”, he concluded that the constituents can never be wrong in bequeathing leadership to this son of the soil.

Barely three months into his tenure as the representative of the Ogun West, Yayi used his influence to attract the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, alongside more than half of the 109 senators, to experience the rich tradition and cultural heritage of the people of Yewa during the 2023 Yewa Cultural Festival in Ilaro.

A delegation that has arguably never been hosted in the region and even the state at large. This has convinced many to see Yayi as a great mobiliser who has the capacity to be the region’s anointed man for the district producing the governor of the state by 2027.

Akpabio said Senator Adeola has facilitated many developmental projects to Yewaland and deserves to be appreciated, stressing that it was high time for the people of Yewa to produce governor since the creation of the state.

While Yayi was trying to use his influence to put the rich culture of the West to limelight, the state of infrastructure in the region was also brought to the fore for urgent action.

Akpabio who was the Chairman at the Grand Finale of the 2023 Yewa Cultural Festival and conferred with the chieftaincy title of ‘Fiwagboye’ of Yewaland, by Yewa Traditional Council declared that the Senate will give Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun all necessary support in his efforts to get approval for the reconstruction of Abeokuta-Lagos express road, as well Papalanto-Ilaro road from the federal government.

If the above events are quickly forgotten, take a tour of the west and see for yourself the empowerment of security agencies through donation of patrol vehicles and others, provision of health care facilities. Some educational institutions within the region also got operational vehicles from the responsiveness and benevolence of their distinguished representative.

Senator Adeola wasn’t just sitting at the upper chamber; he will be perhaps seen as one of the most active lawmakers at the national assembly. Being the chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations speaks volume to his activeness. He is well appreciated for the swift passage of budgets, including the 2024 Budget, which was passed in record short time to ensure the January-December budget cycle is sustained.

In the space of a year representing the people of Ogun West, Senator Yayi has a total of 10 bills to his name. It is not unexpected of the experienced senator who is not a newcomer at the floor of the house. He has used his experience to continually display proper representation of Ogun West and Ogun State at large.

Some of the bills have passed the first and second reading stages and would, in no record time, get passage to law by the Senate.

They include “The Nigeria Railway Corporation(Amendment) Bill 2023”, “ Federal College of Geological and Cement Studies, Iselu Yewa North, Ogun State(Establishment) 2023” , “Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria Amendment Bill 2023”, “ Bill for An Act to Establish Federal University of Technology , Ilaro, 2023”, “Bill for an Act to Amend National Commission for Women Act CAP N23, LFN 2004”, “ Bill for an Act to Amend the Niger Delta Development Commission Act No.6,2000”, “Bill for An Act to Establish Certified Pension Institute of Nigeria , 2023”, National Institute of Border Studies, Imeko, Ogun State (Establishment) Bill 2024”, “National Energy Bill 2024” and “Agricultural Processing Zones(Establishment) Bill 2024”.

Some of the motions moved by Yayi became resolutions of the Senate. They are “Motion on the Urgent Need to Suspend Restriction Order Places on Supply of Fuel to Border Communities”, Motion on the Urgent Need for Palliative Repairs and Total Reconstruction of Lagos-Ota- Abeokuta Express Road” and “Motion of Urgent National Importance to Address the False Allegation Against the Senate and Presidency on the 2024 Appropriation Act by Senator Abdul Ningi”.

The senator had pledged to make his Senatorial district a “small London” before the end of his first four years as their representative. This resolution is obvious in the infrastructure he has attracted and completed by leveraging on the federal government aid and constituency projects interventions.

He has had his hands on over 100 projects including roads, school buildings, Police Stations, Primary Health Care Centres, Intensive Care Units (ICU), Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) centres and town halls have been constructed and ready for use.

One will likely lose count of his infrastructural interventions but the ones that can be quickly reckoned with as obtained across the senatorial district includes construction of 19 roads of various kilometres with culverts, construction of 13 new Classrooms of 12 Blocks with staff rooms and libraries and construction of 7 ultra- modern town halls spread across the five LGAs of the senatorial district.

The list goes on to include the construction of 4 Primary Health Care Centres, (now handed over to Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta as outreach stations), construction of 3 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) centres in hospitals, construction of 3 modern Police Stations handed over to the Nigeria Police Force and construction and equipping of 3 ICT centres in different locations of the senatorial district.

With figures available at public disposal, Senator Adeola has facilitated the supply and installation of over fifty 500KVA Electric Transformers for communities, ensuring illumination to some areas that have been plagued by darkness for decade(s).

The senator has also carried out training in various vocation and skills acquisitions lasting weeks in areas such as Fashion Designing, Leather Works, Interior Decoration and Event Planning, Fish Production, Confectioneries and Cake Making, Hair Dressing, Solar Energy and Agric-Value Chain among others, beneficiary numbering 15000 were giving equipment and seed fund to start their businesses. The equipment was worth over N2billion while start up grants of between N80,000 and N150,000 totaling over N1billion were disbursed.

No fewer than 5000 market women were empowered with N50,000 each to boost their trades just as 1532 undergraduates benefitted from scholarships and bursaries (university undergraduates got N200,000, polytechnic undergraduates got N180,000 and college of education undergraduates got N150,000), a sigh of great relief at a time the economy was biting hard.

Other institutional beneficiaries of the senator’s facilitations includes 5 hospitals that got modern ambulances in 5 LGAs, 3 Patrol Vans Nigeria Police Force Area Commands in the district, 5 Agro Mechanized Tractors for each LGAs, 2 Commuter Buses for School of Nursing, Ilaro and Ogun State Institute of Technology, Igbesa, 30 mini buses as empowerment for some constituents as well as Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro and OOU Campus , Aiyetoro, and 30 Tricycles for selected constituents.

His actions in the past one year have been screaming “come back home” to the illustrious and industrious sons and daughters of the land who have crossed borders after enduring years of neglect.

The Aremo of Yewaland is obviously changing the narratives, bringing governance closer to his people than ever before.

If there’s still anyone not convinced of the progressive representation of the Ogun West by Senator Yayi, the gods of the land will ask you why the beloved Aremo of Yewaland hasn’t earned your trust for any leadership position.

When the mantra and the Yoruba refrain ‘Omo wa ni eje kose’ comes up, you should remember that it only took a year for the son of the soil to prove himself and surpass all existing records.

It’s just a year already and there’s three more to go on this phase, the Yewa people, the Ogun West people and Nigerians at large will know there’s one Senator Yayi who has earn the love of all and sundry.

Oloyede writes from Ado-odo, Ado-odo Ota local government area, Ogun.