Hello,

How are things going with you?

I hope you enjoyed the Eid el-Fitr, which coincided with the Workers’ Day holiday. It was a long weekend for all of us, and it’s great to be back at work after that break. The break provided an opportunity to catch up with some reading amid all other social activities. Have you been reading my book of the month along with me? In case you missed my last newsletters, I have been reading Stephen M.R. Covey’s “The Speed of Trust. The One Thing That Changes Everything.”

A point was made in this book about politicians and trust. Quoting a Gallup survey, the author stated that politicians are the least trusted people in society. But some politicians have also managed to reduce this trust deficit (at least for themselves). And so today, I thought it would be a great idea to share with you, especially those who are thinking about going into politics, one thing that I believe can contribute to building trust – clearly communicating intentions.

One of the reasons people do not trust politicians is because politicians are seen as putting personal and party interests ahead of the people’s interests. So, everything a politician does is interpreted through that lens. Add to this the fact that political opposition is often brutal, wearing the cloak of activism while seeking their self-interests.

To reverse this trend and regain people’s trust, politicians need to communicate their intent. So, when we get feedback from the people, we act on them either by explaining why we took a particular stand or by listening to them and making necessary changes. 

For example, many people have been complaining about why we chose diesel generators over solar energy for the ‘Light Up Oyo’ project. So, we needed to explain to them that we did not choose to use diesel generators; the contractor offered to power the lights using these generators for quick deployment as gas generators have a long delivery timeline.

The ‘Light Up Oyo’ project will be powered by gas generators/battery-packed inverter systems until the Oyo State Independent Power Project (IPP) is ready. The IPP will then become the primary power source for the project with the gas generators/battery-packed inverter systems as a backup. Also, given the cost-effectiveness of maintaining the DC powered lights in the long run, we decided against the solar-powered ones.

So, if you are planning to go into politics and want to reduce the trust deficit, then start thinking of clearly communicating your intent and listening to the people you lead. When they do not understand your actions, explain them. When they disagree, convince them, and when they have a better option, listen to them. Of course, you can’t please everyone. That would be impossible. In fact, there are some unpopular decisions you might take that they may not even understand, no matter how you explain them. But in the long run, it will become more apparent to them, and they will appreciate you the more for taking that stand. Our decision not to completely lock down the Oyo State economy during the COVID-19 pandemic comes to mind.

And so, here in Oyo State, we have created several avenues through which the people can communicate with us. We have the 615 Citizens’ Enquiry Number, which we operationalised. We also have a dedicated social media account for feedback on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Aside from this, quite a good number of the Oyo State Executive Council members, including myself, are on social media. You can even write me back by responding to this newsletter to share your thoughts.

Let me leave you with this quote from Covey’s book today, “The motive that inspires the greatest trust is genuine caring—caring about people, caring about purposes, caring about the quality of what you do, caring about society as a whole.”