Hello,

How are you? It’s been another two weeks since I last wrote to you. Since then, I have picked out a new book that I will be reading for the month of April. The book is well acclaimed, with leaders from all sectors acknowledging the author and the importance of the subject he wrote about. I hope I will agree with them when I am done reading the book too. Especially because the book touches on a subject I have spoken a lot about in the past – trust. 

This April, I will be reading Stephen M.R. Covey’s “The Speed of Trust. The One Thing That Changes Everything.” If you’ve read “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” or “The Eighth Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness,” then you have read from the senior Covey. In my reading of the month, his son, who now runs his father’s business, shares insights about the importance of trust in any relationship. 

During the End SARS protests, I remember saying that one of the reasons the protest lasted for as long as they did, even after the Federal Government said they had agreed to the demands of the young people, was because of the huge trust deficit in Nigeria. Whether in politics, business, religion, or even the family, trust no longer exists. And so, one of the first tasks that every leader must embark on is to rebuild trust. This is not easy.

But, I am happy to say that here in Oyo State, we have been working for almost three years to reverse this trend through transparent and open leadership. We have been faithful stewards of our collective wealth. Like the servants who were given five, and two talents in Jesus’s parable, we have multiplied the wealth of the good people of Oyo State – our true masters. 

So, like the master in that parable of the talents, will you entrust many more things to us?

I promised in my last newsletter that by the time you receive this one, I would have decided whether to run again for office. Sometime last week, I picked up the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms for a second term as the elected Governor of the good people of Oyo State. 

Yes, I am presenting myself again to serve. 

In the last three years, Oyo State has seen unprecedented development in all sectors with no zone left behind. We have worked hard in all the four pillars upon which our Roadmap to Accelerated Development in Oyo State 2019-2023 is built. We are engineering a modern Oyo State. 

But as every engineer would tell you, our work is not done until all problems are addressed. We believe we have laid a solid foundation for solving the problem of moving the good people of Oyo State from poverty to prosperity. We would love an opportunity to build on that foundation. So now, the ball is, once again, in your court. If you, the good people of Oyo State desire it, then we will serve you for four more years.