Let me pause at this point and acknowledge the immense contribution of our late Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Honorable Kehinde Ayoola. He did all the planning and groundwork to ensure that this project turned out as it did today.
I can report to you that we were able to bring the situation in Sasa under control within a few hours. Contrary to news that has been circulating on social media, since about 2pm on Saturday, the 13th of February 2021, the situation in Sasa had been de-escalated. A curfew was put in place and there has been no further unrest since then.
Let me once again, use this opportunity to thank my brother, the Executive Governor of Osun State, His Excellency, Governor Gboyega Oyetola for putting aside all differences, especially partisan politics, all through these negotiations. We appreciate his applying wisdom in taking a stand for what is best for the staff and students of LAUTECH.
I am calling on any individuals or groups planning to take any actions that would lead to the forcible removal of anyone from Oyo State to desist from taking such actions. Any persons who fail to abide by this directive will face the full wrath of the law.
Gratitude is something that a lot of us take for granted. Somehow, a lot of us feel that we can only express gratitude when everything is fine. But we know that as far as this world is concerned, everything cannot be great all the time. So, we must be grateful for what we have. In showing gratitude, we will receive even more.
Many would describe 2020 as a tough year. However, our 2020 is not defined by these events. As the first stanza of that song says, “When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.” So, let me recount some of the blessings that 2020 brought us as a people..
Sometimes, I hear people say, why are you praising him for doing his job. And I ask, will you berate them if they don’t do their jobs? Then is it not logical to praise people who do theirs? So, I join in praising Governor Nyesom Wike, my brother, for the work he has done here. I say to him well done. At the same time, I say keep on doing even more, so that more people will keep celebrating you.
So, with this inauguration of the Oyo State Anti- Corruption Agency (OYACA), we are sending out a clear message, here in Oyo State, we have zero-tolerance for corruption. Any person elected, employed or engaged in any capacity in the public or civil service in Oyo State, who accepts or promises to accept money, fees, donations, loans, gifts, or any other reward for rendering a service to members of the public will be investigated and made to face the full wrath of the law.
We continue to maintain a positive outlook for 2021. Many of the projects we started in 2020 have less than 18-month cycles. So, we will see a good number of projects initiated by our administration completed in 2021.
We all know that information is a weapon. The meaning of the saying, the pen is mightier than the sword is not lost on us. So, you journalists, can use your pen – or keypads as is more applicable these days – to either develop the nation or destroy it. One wrongly worded headline can spark a burn down the entire nation.