It was immediately clear that our first task in Ekiti was to practically and symbolically rebuild trust in governance. Without resurrecting that platform of trust, we would be barred from delivering the service we sought to give the people. Thus, we resolved to talk less and do more, to let our deeds speak for us as we led by example. This meant performing at a level of devotion and commitment to an ideal of public service worthy of the people’s trust.
This has not been easy in a climate where people had become accustomed to boisterous leaders, official non-performance and dysfunctional institutions. However, we made considerable progress. We eschewed the vulgar arrogance associated with power and opted instead for simplicity and sensitivity to the demands and needs of the people of Ekiti. We restored the work ethic by separating the sport of politics from the reality of governance and public service. We held forth the objective of transforming governance into an honorable vocation in the eyes of the next generation who must soon take the baton from us and who must progress far beyond where we have left off. By seriously instilling the ethos of integrity, competence, reliability and openness, we made considerable progress towards regaining the trust of our people.
Trust is the bedrock of governance. Without public confidence in a leader’s intentions and ability to realize them, there is little that can be accomplished. A leader’s performance is determined as much by the trust people deposit in him as by his/her own exertions. That we came as far as we have is a testament to your faith in us; more than that, it is a testament to your faith in yourselves. After the many years of the locust, after so much breakage, violence and waste, we needed to start believing in ourselves again. We had to persuade ourselves that the sun could rise again over the land of honour and that we deserved a better way.
We regained the conviction that we have the power within us to solve our collective problems by ushering in a period of economic development and democratic good governance that would assure a better life for all who wanted and were willing to contribute their good efforts to it. This has been the mainstay of the past four years: rebuilding the trust between the people and those elected to serve them, and more importantly rekindling self-belief, confidence and the can-do spirit for which our people are legendary. What we have been able to achieve are not my achievements; they are yours. In these past four years, what we have seen are the first fruits of what can happen when we join hands and work together toward our greater civic purpose. By the grace of God, I pray nothing and no one will keep Ekiti from continuing our ascent towards greatness.
A time comes in the life of a society when it must look beyond personalities and begin to identify and honour those principles by which we will mould the future. A wise and progressive society must always move beyond the temporary burst of campaign drama to weigh-in on the clash of competing values that lies at the heart of the political contest.
Modeling Good Governance
Our time in office was defined by the belief that Ekiti could be the test case for what we call an empathetic society – a society defined by a social contract between government and the governed, the state and civil society and between fellow citizens. We believe in a society in which we are all partners in progress; a society in which the state is committed to empowering all citizens – not just a few – to live to the fullest of their potential. We believe that our call to leadership was a call to fulfill a noble if not sacred duty unto the people and unto God in whom we trust. We were mindful that the present reflects both the past and the future. As such, our assumption of governance was a covenant between us and our forebears whose sacrifices ensured the creation of Ekiti State and also between us and future generations for whom we hold the state in trust. We embarked on a progressive agenda intended to spread just and broadly shared development across the land so that all of our citizens could drink from the wellspring of progress no matter what part of the state they live. All would benefit but each according to his/her need.
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