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The Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Mallam Rafiu Ajakaye has said the present administration has put an end to the “enclave development” it inherited from the past.
Ajakaye disclosed this while playing host to the Kwara Online Publishers Association of Nigeria (KOPAN) in his office on Tuesday 16th of November.
The CPS described ‘enclave development’ as a phenomenon whereby development is concentrated only at the centre resulting in collapse of or absence of basic amenities in other areas of the state.
He said the new administration has changed the narrative by steadily extending development to every nooks and crannies of the state, such rehabilitation of schools, basic health facilities, water, and rural access roads and river crossings.
He said for many years in the state, the meaning of good governance changed from “government fixing basic amenities and human capital development to government sharing money and other pecuniary things”, pointing out that now, the Abdulrazaq administration is interested in empowering and making the people self reliant while providing basic amenities.
He said there are verifiable facts and figures on ground to show that the Governor has achieved a lot since he assumed office.
“As the spokeperson of the Governor, we are only interested in giving facts and figures on where we were and where we are now, leaving it for the public to judge.
“The facts and figures are available to show that we are miles away from where we were”
“Kwara has left where it was in 2019. For instance, there is no local government where we don’t have interventions in the education sector, be it remodeling or construction of new blocks, there is also no local government where we don’t have basic healthcare interventions or water intervention, road projects, among other things.
“In all of 2019, attendance in public hospitals was below 50,000, today we have recorded over 300 percent increase in the number of people now patronizing public health facilities due to the wonderful turnaround in health sector especially because of the services and programmes that are now available to the public.
“It’s a shame that the past administration in the state, left basic education to rot; when you kill basic education, you kill development and the future of the people, but when u give them quality basic education, people will definitely develop on their own.
“By next year, because of the “KwaraLEARN” we are introducing along with the infrastructural renewal, public schools will be far better than many private ones and we will only work harder to cope with the surge that will come with the ongoing reforms. The kind of technology, child-focused learning environment, intensive teaching and seriousness we are going to see will be so hard to get in any private school. To get what we are prepared to offer to our children at no cost in public schools going forward, you will have to enrol your child in private schools where they pay hundreds of thousands of naira.
“The teachers we have recruited are the best available. So the only challenge now is how to cope with the influx of pupils and students to public schools. That is a function of the investments this administration has made.
“We are not perfect and we do not claim anything like that but we are acting in good fate so that this state can reclaim its past glory. Kwara was leading the old northern Nigeria in education sector because we had some of the best schools in term of quality teaching and attention to public good before Independence and after,” he said.
Speaking further, the Governor’s aide said apart from investing in basic amenities, this government is also putting in place massive projects which would soon be completed and unveiled to the public.
He said the Dolby Studio-fitted Visual Art Center under construction will be the second of its kind in Nigeria after the one in Lagos, adding that the Innovation Hub is also about the biggest of its kind in Nigeria.
He also listed the ongoing Garment Factory, Ilesha Baruba Road Project, Osi and Ilesha Baruba Campuses of KWASU as some of the massive projects being done by the administration.
He therefore thanked the KOPAN whose members are professional and non-partisan, saying no democratic government can do without free press, adding “you can only underrate them at your own peril.”
Earlier, the Chairman of the association, Ogbeni Hammed Adedayo, who highlighted aptness and balanced reportage as part of the qualities of the association said KOPAN is a non-partisan association and set to take online journalism to the next level.
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