By Kehinde Akinlade
It took him less than six months into a four-year term as Senator, representing Ogun West in the ongoing 10th Senate to facilitate the growth and development of the people of Ogun West. 78 developmental projects: They are roads, hospitals, schools, electrification, trade-friendly markets and so on. Not taking anything away from past representatives of Ogun West in political offices, the huge impact of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola Yayi within a very short period in office is unprecedented.
It is 78 life-impacting, growth-engendering projects and still counting, that are evenly spread across Ogun West as at the time of going to the press. There is no doubt that the majority of the people of Ogun West believed in the All Progressive Congress APC, and the candidacy of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola Yayi as the man God sent to use his wealth of experience in governance, his built connections over the years and the levels he has attained as a ranking Senator to champion a new beginning for Ogun West in terms of deserved representation.
Before the elections of 2023, during the electioneering campaign, during the elections and before the swearing-in of the victorious candidates in the general elections, detractors were all over the place telling us that our choice in the senatorial election, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola Yayi would abscond with the mandate we gave him back to Lagos and would not deliver to us our expectations, quality representation, the type we have seen him delivered to the electorates of Lagos West. We were told by detractors that he would not fulfil his campaign promises of quality and quantitative democratic dividends.
What a way to prove detractors wrong by the Chairman House Committee on Appropriation, Senator Adeola! 78 projects and still counting, in less than a year! Ogun West is still awestruck with the number and the quality of work being done at the different sites of the developmental projects facilitated by Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola Yayi when the office of the Senator announced three back-to-back days of empowerment programmes for the people of Ogun West. His office announced January 27, 2024, for the award of scholarships and bursaries to over 1000 indigent students of Ogun West studying in higher schools of learning across the nation, 28 of January for the empowerment of 5000 market women and men and on January 29, 2024, 15000 youths of Ogun West, already trained by the Senator in different trades will be empowered with equipment and start-up grants.
In a nation with a 4.2 per cent unemployment rate as of Quarter 2 of 2023, which was an increase from 4.1 per cent in Quarter 1, training and equipping 15,000 youths for free to start up learned vocations with grants in a senatorial district is a big deal in the fight against unemployment. In a nation fighting hard against recession, support funds for a whopping 5,000 market women and men will prove a magic wand in the turning around of commercial activities within Ogun West Senatorial District and will no doubt impact the statistics of trading in Ogun State.
By the time the sun sets on Saturday 27th January 2024, over a thousand students of higher schools of learning across Nigeria who are of Ogun West origin will have received awards of scholarships and bursaries as Yayi Scholars. Parents of students picked for the scholarships and bursary awards are expressing joy over the development. Of course, no better time for parents to be supported in educating their children than now. It was a key part of the campaign promise of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola Yayi to support the development of Ogun West youths and vividly now, the Senator is delivering.
What a great time to be an Ogun Westerner! The life-changing and uplifting projects and programmes of Senator Adeola are endearing him more to the people. The noticed endearment has gone viral beyond party affiliation and geographical divides. Within and outside of his Ogun West Senatorial District, calls are being made for him to aspire higher so that his kind of quality delivery of dividends of democracy can reach more people. For a political representative who has done more for the electorates that voted him into office in less period, it would not be a bad idea for him to consider the call. Ogun State people have a quality taste for quality representation.
Congratulations to all the people of Ogun West who thumb-printed the ballot paper in favour of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola Yayi. He is not disappointing. Congratulations to the students, the market women and men and the trained youths who are beneficiaries of the triple empowerment programmes.
Kehinde Akinlade writes from Ogun West of Ogun State.
