A Letter To The Great Citizens of Ondo

My great and wonderful people of Ondo state. I, your son Omotoso, Samuel Tope (O.S.T) take this opportunity to inform you all that I would love to serve you in the capacity of becoming your accessible servant as the Honorable Member of the House of Assembly of Akure South / North constituency. Permit me to say it is highly imperative for you to know that our state is endowed bountifully with all diverse and available natural resources; human, nature, economic, space, speculative resources to mention but few.

In lieu of this, I want to passionately convey to you; we have lots of these which you cannot imagine at a state’s disposal, and yet Ondo State among others since its creation on 3rd February 1976 is still experiencing dilatory progress in its developmental achievement. Just because we are under-utilizing these natural endowments; this is not unconnected with the fact that the leadership of this state has been falling into the wrong hands who are so greedy, myopic, indecisive, incapacitated, filled with propaganda, corruptions and different forms of impunity which have let our precious state down in the time past. Therefore, the hosts of heaven have seen the lamentation of our people and have orchestrated my aspiration to liberate the wonderful people of Ondo State.

This needs to be addressed if we must grow as a state. Anytime I visualize and imagine how blessed this sunshine state is and juxtapose it with our present state, coupled with insincerity in proper avocations of our so-called leaders makes me shed tears. I have seen these things for too long and I am saying enough is enough. Our state needs to be great again my people. The glory of Ondo State needs to be brought to the limelight to the point of envy for other neighboring states and international entities.

The sun has refused to shine brighter as it has always does just because of the different acts of wickedness and evils perpetrated by our political elites which have deliberately kept the populace aground; most especially the youths. These youths have numerous and gargantuan ideologies, exposure, and the recent trend of ideas and methodology that can transform this state. It is so gloomy and sardonic that, the political elders are beginning to see us (youths) as irrelevant, juvenile, and amateur but only useful thugs and political hooligans in the society. They have forgotten that we are in the space of the populace.

Listen to me great people of Ondo State. Do you know that thousands of children are out of school? Do you know that these children are our future pillars? Do you know that these kids, if not properly brought up, would turn bad eggs in the future? Do you know that many youths who are supposed to become breadwinners and the pillar of the house are jobless and even financially broke to the extent that most of us struggled to attain our varsity degrees; most could not start a business because of several bottlenecks involved in access to funding. Many are still roaming the streets of Nigeria looking for ways to break loose from abject poverty and heritable penury.

The YiBi program under the leadership of several progressive youths and I, has helped more than two hundred children or teens and some number of parents empowered to be able to possess financial freedom through our entrepreneurial development and empowerment program under YiBi. Education is paramount and we must ensure we use every measure to transform our continent into an epitome of knowledge.

This outcry today, would enable our Elder statesmen and stakeholders the opportunity to start looking at us (youths) with a different perspective and motive. Though numerous youths have resolved into illegitimate ways of life, this is not tantamount to the entirety of the youths who are doing the same. Let me submit to the great people of Ondo State that there are countless numbers of youths doing their legitimate businesses and thriving with the current situation. I have encountered enthusiastic Ondo youths both home and abroad; who are greatly intelligent, law-abiding, transparent, and responsible in their dealings.

Old problems that have lingered for so long cannot be combated with the same approach over and over again; as no one on earth can ever change a situation by tackling with the same approach repeatedly. Or should we throw a baby away with the bathwater?  Certainly no – And that is why a new approach needs to be equipped. My vision in this state is to liberate the entire Ondo citizenry from the vices that are bedeviling our state.

In this cogent and concise manifesto, I have engrossed and concentrated on new and creative ideas that will transform and transmute the geographical area of this state. It is high time Ondo state gained recognition in this country. Our state needs to be transformed into the epitome of commerce and industries. We can be as grossly endowed as and more than Lagos state; because we have more resources than they do.

As your son who is morally and culturally exposed, I have every necessary experience, technicality, and potentials required to pilot the affairs of this state to a stance of higher progress. See, over the years, I have traveled far and wide, local and international to undergo knowledgeable training, mannerism, and lots of exposure while envisaging this day. Permit me to put you that I  have planned numerous beautiful, enthusiastic, and astonishing ways in which things related to this state can be done without stress and the entire populace would benefit greatly from my leadership as I am given the mantle to forge ahead.

Yours Sincerely

Samuel Tope Omotoso

PRIORITIES

Omotoso on the issues

Old problems that have lingered for so long cannot be combatted with same approach over and over again; as no one on earth can ever change a situation by tackling with same approach repeatedly. New approach needs to be equipped. And that is why I have risen up and shown my interest to liberate the entire Ondo citizenry from the vices that have stayed with us this long.

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  • Conduct a full-scale governmental restructuring to streamline supererogatory operations, redesign operating models, transform services delivery through effective use of technology, and enhanced citizen participation in decisions.
  • Lead an Initiatives to call Citizen Voice (CV) platform which will enable the citizenry to have their voices heard.
  • Making the strong presence of the state government effort in the local area, affirming the state's determination in solving local area issues, and prolong problems that have lingered for too long.
  • Forge the administration to become more focused, transparent, and result-oriented through various programs.

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  • Revitalize abandoned structure of the past administration (before this present), which helped reduce the maternity deaths; highly subsidized health care charge.
  • Slash the medical bills presented by this present administration in our state hospitals.
  • Recognize Health care personnel’s effort and their allowances will be reviewed and fairly compensated.
  • Resuscitate the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) structure in Ondo state.
  • We will build, expand and revitalize Rural Health Care Centre to ensure every town and community has access to basic health care.
  • Charged the Ministry of Health to promote public health education to the general public as well as to primary schools.
  • Charged the Ministry of Environment and waste management to conduct swift operations in making the state clean and tidy always.
  • Set up a special task force within the Ministry of Health, to look into ways to disintegrate current fake drugs on the market.
  • Enacting strict directives regarding the process of buying and selling of medications in Nigeria’s complex health system.
  • Putting all non-hospital pharmacies – also call chemist shops – on strict regulatory control on their medication supply chains.
  • Increasing doctor to patient ratio in hospitals as well as rural health care centers.

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  • Ensure technical schools' curriculum is intertwined and inculcated into our entire secondary schools to vocationally orientate and equipped the students with the utmost essential skills to progress into society.
  • Enhance and equipped public school laboratories with better apparatus and instruments that will help keep their skills and curriculum updated in accordance with the world.
  • Create a credit facility and scholarships for university students who are unable to pay their tuition.
  • Schools with an insufficient workforce will be review and more competent teachers employed, retrained, and redeployed.
  • Ensure professional development for all teachers, including continuing education and mentorship programs.
  • Rebuild, modernize, and green our state’s schools to equip them with stabilized power supplies and a conducive environment.
  • Our public schools can and should be more than just places where children learn – they can be community centers that build the health and well-being of students.
  • Provide year-round subsidized school meals through our school meals programs, and offer incentives for sourcing food from local sources
  • Build Community Library to serve the suburban and rural areas to make learning lifelong habits.

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  • The State will work to expand Ondo’s agricultural markets, both nationally and internationally.
  • Build clusters of storage facilities in all the locality headquarters.
  • Support privately owned agro-processing factories with either start-up or debt-fund for expansion.
  • Establishment of a sector in our state that specializes in Agricultural Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering.
  • Setup an Agri-Mechanization Production Department that would design, innovate and produce affordable agricultural tools, equipment, and new technology for farmers.
  • Offer farmers mentor programs to create a targeted approach that ensures resources are in place for a young and entrepreneurial citizen to enter and thrive in the agriculture industry.
  • Charged a department to look into the interests and livelihood of our hard-working fishermen along the coastal line
  • Expand and improve cultured seafood and fisheries farming with improved training and methodology.

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  • Revamp and redevelop abandoned and underused government and private properties and industrial facilities, landfills, abandoned farms, and other idle community assets.
  • The state will make funding in building roads connecting local and regional communities to prevent a lack of transportation options in urban, rural, and underserved areas.
  • Construct affordable and sustainable housing and it would be made readily available for any citizen regardless of race, tribe, or class and at an affordable rate.
  • Set up Infrastructure Development Centre which will administer and steward innovation to improve building infrastructure, new building technology, repurpose, and recycled materials.
  • We will revitalize every community by getting everyone involved in cleaning up their environment, recycling, and repurposing trash, and greening their communities

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  • Invest and build a network of decentralizing power options made available to rural and underserved communities and also to improve the capacity of power to all local areas.
  • Invest in Solar Minigrid and Wind Renewable Energy
  • Invest in Micro Hydropower by harnessing the energy that flows through rivers and our coastline area for electrification.
  • Studies will be done to ascertain the feasibility of installing wind power as well as Hydropower to the coastal area.
  • Make available small-scale biogas anaerobic systems at the community level by innovating and designing affordable and sustainable biogas systems.
  • Make investments to improve powering efficiency by installing solar-powered street lamp and promoting the use of LED light bulbs.
  • Attract foreign direct investment in the area of renewable energies, and not limited to technology transfer to speed up the process of powering up the State.

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  • Ensure that all communities will get borehole facilities and trained local communities to maintain and service the water sanitation system. We will also install an affordable filtration system for boreholes.
  • Create a special loan to collaborate citizens who are entrepreneurial in providing water borehole services. This will help speed up the process of providing borehole sources across many communities.
  • Rehabilitation treatment plants, repairs of water pipelines, and sewer system gradually over phases.
  • Construct wastewater treatment plants to recycle greywater as part of the broader vision of

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  • Fostered economic development and job creation through skill-building and enterprise promotion.
  • Promote and realize standards and fundamental principles and rights of youth and women at work through the regulatory framework.
  • Create greater opportunities for youth and women to secure decent employment and income based on different employment strategies.
  • Ensure that women occupy a minimum of 35 cabinet members.
  • Strengthen social dialogue with youth and women.
  • Empower youth to become social innovators and social entrepreneurs.
  • Creating an enabling environment for NGOs

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  • Partner with private organizations to retrain teachers to equip them with more current and updated knowledge to further impart to the students.
  • Equip schools with high configuration computers coupled with stable internet access.
  • Set up tens of IT hubs throughout the eighteen local governments of our state. We will provide every family with access to information technology via free to air Wi-Fi.
  • Put in place, a well-packaged program that will allow all secondary school students to have subsidized laptops or tablets; for better performance and to give room for adequate research and e-learning in the state.
  • Providing stable electricity supplies to schools to prevent frequent power outages.

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  1. Farmer-Herder Violence
    • Every state in Nigeria must find inclusive and creative ways of addressing and de-escalating this complex conflict. This has revived my instincts to arriving at the skeptical modality which will proffer a long-lasting peace in our state as I assumed the office. Several security measures have been designed which will unfold as soon as I attain the helm of the state.
  2. Kidnapping
    • The rate of kidnapping is now on the increase, not only in Ondo State but also in some other states of the South-west. Continuous perpetration of this evil baffles me a lot. Imagine a state with the rule of law and governed by leaders yet there are manifestations of conduct daily in our society. This problem among others is what I and my entire team would devise a long-lasting solution to curb the propagation of mischievous attitudes in our communities.

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Identify tourism potential in different localities within the state and fully develop and market them to bring tourist attractions that benefit the economy as a whole.

  1. Oyemekun Rocks (Akure South LGA)
  2. Victory Gardens (Akure South LGA)

My great people of Ondo State, I want to use this avenue to tell you that I am more of a performer than a talker. Numerous plans have been made available that are still in incubation.

We are determined to make sure this state becomes the epitome of commerce and industry. And we will ensure that the level of growth of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) becomes rigorously fast and progressive.

We will ensure that we listen to the people as they have every bit of their needs accompanied by a scale of preference.  I am a child of an ordinary member indigene and have seen these mishaps for too long. I have come to say I cannot continue to stay put and watch in silence when I know I have every bit of right to attain this position in government and I am extremely confident that I will perform more than perceived.

I just wish to desist from lots of mouth-watering illusions and make my people know that there are better and creative ways of doing things. Let us do this differently.

It is enough; let us stop voting for these men without the interest of people at heart. Support me, Samuel Tope Omotoso. And you would not regret this simple liberation action.

Let us come together and make the sunshine over Ondo state again. Let us desist from selling our votes and bring in the right person by the use of the vote.

Let us not fight but remain peaceful and guided lawfully.

It is our sole responsibility to break free from this long-lasting bondage and captivity of the wicked. Let us make sure we secure a better and great future for our children and children’s children.

If we fail to choose wisely now, we stand the risk of waiting for another four, eight, or twelve years. And time awaits no man. The time to retrieve our mandate is now. We need to make it count.

Remember – Leadership is not about the next election. It is about the next generation.

Best Regards,

Samuel Tope Omotoso

AAC Governorship candidate, 2020

www.omotoso.org