Ogun West Shines Better Under Sen Adeola’s Leadership

Olanrewaju Fatunmbi

The reconstruction of the long-abandoned Ilara-Ilashe road in Ogun West Senatorial District has been an age-long expectation for the concerned communities along that corridor.  Thankfully, the long-awaited rehabilitation work has commenced in earnest and rapidly progressing. When completed, the 103-kilometre road encompassing 26 towns and villages will serve as another standing signature for road infrastructure project facilitated by Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (aka Yayi) under the renew hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu .
Some couple of weeks ago, the distinguished Senator had expressed his commitment to delivering this project which would significantly benefit the people of Yewaland and Ogun West as a whole. In keeping with his promise, he has ensured that the road is included among the projects being spearheaded by President Tinubu under the banner of his renewed hope agenda. It is now receiving attention. 
This is, indeed, a comforting relief for the benefitting communities spanning across four local government areas (LGAs) in the Ogun West. These include Ilara and Ata in Imeko-Afon LGA; Daramola, Tobolo, Aworo, Iyana Agbede, Ijale ketu, Ibiyan, Ijoun, Tata, Imoto,Igan Alade, Egua, Iselu, Ile Igbooro, Oja Odan in Yewa North LGA; Odan, Itoro, Ibola, Fagbohun, Abode in Yewa South LGA; Ifonyintedo, Alaari, Koko and Ilashe, among  other villages.
By facilitating the project, Senator Adeola has written his name in gold in the annal of Ogun West development. It is worth noting that former Governor Ibikunle Amosun had conceived the idea of the project during his tenure, but failed to achieve the full implementation, as he tarred only five kilometres of a section of the road from Ilara in Imeko-Afon LGA and subsequently abandoned the remaining portion.
The reconstruction of Ilara-Ilashe road facilitated by Adeola is not an isolated case. It only adds to the list of projects in which he has intervened. Long before now, he has been actively working on various other projects in Ogun West, including the 17-kilometre road from Kekebi, Imeko General Hospital linking Okeagbede/Okuta-Wasinmi/Iwoye-Ketu/Jabata road. 
Until his recent intervention, this road had suffered reckless abandon under the past successive administrations in the state. The best they had ever done was seasonal grading as palliative measure for temporary relief for commuters, vehicle owners and Okada riders.
Adeola’s intervention in this long-abandoned project is another testament to his grassroots connection and tireless efforts to improve the lives of his constituents. It is, therefore, not surprising that he has become a household name in Ogun West and beyond, towering above his predecessors in all performance indicators of good representation. A good representative of the people can be evaluated based on several key performance indicators, including legislative productivity, number of bills sponsored or co-sponsored that benefit the constituents, constituent engagement, frequency of town hall meetings or public forums, commitment to constituents’ concerns, responsiveness to people’s inquiries, oversight and accountability, advocacy for constituent interests, budgetary performance, effective allocation of funds, transparency in budgetary decisions as well as clear and timely intervention.
In all of these performance indicators, Adeola has demonstrated capacity, focused leadership and responsiveness to the yearnings and aspiration of his people. As the Senate Chairman, Appropriation Committee, he has proved his mettle as a professional accountant with an unblemished track-record.  
In terms of commitment to effective presentation of his constituents, he has left no one in doubt that his people mean a lot to him. Since his election into the Senate, his focus has been on improving the lives of the people and promoting development in the region. In demonstration of his concern for the welfare of his people, he has organized several mega empowerment programmes, providing economic, social, and other amenities. These initiatives have been designed to detach the less privileged in the society from the current hardships and promote plans to mitigate future occurrences.
Apart from infrastructure, Senator Adeola’s initiatives have also focused on educational support and development, as well as health interventions. His commitment to capacity building, poverty reduction, training, and development has transformed various areas of human endeavor in Ogun West. His commitment to human capital development is evident in the construction of over 150 new classrooms in primary and secondary schools across 25 locations, as well as the building of well-equipped Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) centres to enhance computer literacy.
The latest in the series of empowerment programmes he has sponsored or facilitated is the recent provision of farm inputs and cash grants to over 50,000 farmers, and empowerment of over 40,000 drawn across the 20 local governments in the state through skills acquisition, vocational training, and entrepreneurship development programmes.
His distinctiveness from his predecessors can be attributed to several factors; including proactive approach to governance and development, his strong connection with the grassroots and understanding of their needs, his willingness to explore innovative solutions to address the challenges facing his constituents, regular constituency engagement through town hall meetings and feedback mechanisms that ensure that people’s voices are heard.
The numerous road projects facilitated by Senator Adeola under the Renewed Hope agenda of President Tinubu have changed the infrastructure landscape of Ogun West.  These include Ilashe-Okere Township Road in Ipokia Local Government, Sabo-Babalawo Road in Imeko-Afon Local Government, Idogo-Ipaja Road in Yewa South Local Government, Abeokuta-Iboro-Ilaro Road, construction of Kemta-Idi Aba Estate inner road in Abeokuta South LGA (Ogun Central), and the ongoing construction work on Ilara-Ilashe Road (103km) spanning across 4 Local Government Areas (Imeko Afon, Yewa North, Ipokia, and Yewa South) to mention but a few.
These road projects demonstrate Senator Adeola’s commitment to improving infrastructure and transportation in Ogun West Senatorial District. His infrastructure development initiatives have brought significant attention to the district with many appreciating his efforts to improving the quality of life for his constituents.
Beyond the ease of movement of goods and persons, the development has given a lifeline for commerce, education, agriculture, and community connection in Ogun West. The combined effects of these have positively impacted the lives of the people of his constituent, boosting the socio-economic activities in the region.
Concerned residents within the benefitting communities have expressed gratitude to Senator Adeola for his tireless efforts to improving the economic activities for their better living conditions.
In particular, Segun Sowunmi, a PDP chieftain from Ogun Central, noted that the people’s Senator had earned the reputation and the rising popularity above his other contenders ahead of the 2027 governorship contest in the state. He dismissed as an idle talk the insinuation questioning his paternal link with the Yewa people. “If Yewa, his father’s house refuses him, we will welcome him in Egbaland his mother’s place. “Ko si Omo ale ni Ile iya re”! I think this nonsense has to be rested now.
“Senator Adeola’s relationship with Ogun is now a settled issue. Anyone still talking about doubt about the ancestral relationship with Ogun is idle. It is unnecessary, malicious and condemnable.
“If you can beat him in the primaries of his party, beat him. And if he emerges as his party flagbearer, rivals should meet him on election day, where eligible voters will decide his fate. “E ye da Omo olomo la mu”.
“People should get busy with their plans to achieve whatever ambition they may have including the inordinate and legitimate” Sowunmi posited.
On his part, Senator Adeola has expressed appreciation to President Tinubu for his support for Ogun West infrastructure development. He thanked the Federal Government for providing funds for the rehabilitation of the ongoing road projects within the district.
Highlighting the importance of infrastructure development to Ogun West economy and the positive impact it will have on the lives of the people, he applauded the Renewed Hope agenda of the present administration aimed at improving the lives of Nigerians through infrastructure development and other initiatives. He said the agenda had improved connectivity and facilitated economic activities in the region.
Specifically, Senator Adeola thanked the president for approving the total rehabilitation of the Abeokuta-Iboro-Ilaro road, among others.
Back home in his constitutency, the general consensus among the stakeholders is that Ogun West has fared better under Senator Adeola than any other time in recent past due to effective representation. Even those who are not so comfortable with his political trajectory know that Ogun West shines better the current dispensation.

*Fatunmbi writes from Okeagbede, Imeko-Afon LGA of Ogun State