Shina Abubakar, Osogbo

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke has been urged to take firm control of his administration with a view to perform beyond residents’ expectations.

This was stated by an elderly citizen of the state, Engr. Busuyi Ayowole, in a letter of appraisal, addressed the Governor, to gauge his performance after 100 days in office.

He added that though, the Governor has performed credibly within his short time in office but stressed that there is room for improvement if certain areas like security, health, education and digital economy are given deserved attention and expertise.

It reads partly; “Osun State has been relatively peaceful under your government so far. However, I recommend a systematic upgrade of the state’s security architecture so the security of lives and properties can be continuously guaranteed.

“There was a recent move by zealous members of your party to form a series of WhatsApp groups for data collection towards popularizing places in Osun State on Google Maps! Your Excellency, the state can do better through the deployment of superior techniques and technologies with the enormous potential of our state parastatals. With the aid of Satellite Navigation systems like GPS or GLONASS, the state government should consider digitalizing street naming and property locations such that exact positions, to a precision of a few centimeters, can be accessible to law enforcement or fire departments in times of distress calls.

“The Osun State Government should consider looking in the direction of giving the personnel of Amotekun an edge over counterparts from other states by equipping the state-owned security network with digital gadgets and security workstations that are compatible with satellite navigation systems. While we hope that the state’s 293 emergency line will soon graduate from being a vision to reality, I strongly advise an upgrade of Amotekun to a level where the outfit can effectively manage the 293 emergency line as intermediary operators.

“Embarking on a state-wide mass surgery project within the first few days of your government is a commendable one. However, it is important to note that the challenges facing the heath sector in Osun State are so huge right now that one could find it difficult to believe they can be convincingly resolved. Fortunately, the dilapidated state of our healthcare facilities is redeemable. I wish the government good luck with trying out different options towards positioning our health institutions for productive performance.

“It might be worth it if the government considers acquiring some modest credit facilities specifically for the development of a functional health insurance scheme as well as an upgrade of our health facilities to a worldclass status. With a functional government-backed health insurance scheme, the cost of treatment would not be a reason for unnecessary deaths in the state. Both the rich and the poor deserve proper medical attention. With a functional health insurance scheme in place, the Osun State government will be able to afford huge salaries and fees of a good number of leading top-notch consultant physicians and highly experienced surgeons across medical specialties.

“With respect to our primary and secondary schools in Osun State, I would like your government to pay more attention to the people and the learning resources than the buildings. It is the laboratories, libraries and seasoned instructors that matter most in the overall academic performance of pupils and students. The year of construction of a classroom does not really matter much. I consider it a productive idea if a modest renovation of existing classrooms in our schools can be considered in place of the usual fund-consuming demolition and rebuilding approach that many governors have subscribed to. Efforts need to be put in place for our tertiary institutions to be financially independent to a large extent; this is both tricky and risky but achievable and worthwhile if we are to own some of the finest tertiary educational institutions in the world.

“Looking in the direction of the digital economy within a few days in office was a smart move by your government. The foundation of focus on the digital economy ought to be laid from the official website of the state. My team did recently make attempts to review the website, and it seemed to be probably under reconstruction as of February 27, but some commendable improvements have been made as of the time of writing this letter on March 27. Frankly, though, the website is yet to be befitting of Osun State. Designers and administrators of the site need to be more meticulous with the management of the website. The website is yet to be equipped with e-commerce capabilities, implying that we are presently far from projecting our commitment to a regime of digital economy through the website.

“The recent flag-off of fiber optic cables installation in the state seemed to have been equated by your media aides with an activation of advanced digital economy, but Tech experts will certainly disagree with that. It is therefore important that the present administration considers a result-oriented approach while attempting to enhance the economy of our state through elements of digital economy.

“Finally, having made some suggestions on how to consolidate on meeting the people’s expectations and providing the state with what is needed for a 21st century viability amidst global digitalization, it cannot be overemphasized that training and retraining of the workforce in Osun State basically has a direct variation with economic advancements in the state.

“Retraining of public and civil servants should be considered a matter of emergency. By extension, as a matter of urgency, capacities need to be built as regards skill enhancements and ease of operation for artisans and technicians across the state in order to position Osun State for optimum economic performance through complementing a competent and productive public workforce with a private sector capable of creating goods and services that are exportable worldwide. This, no doubt, will have a lasting impact on the rapid growth of Internally Generated Revenues, thereby positioning Osun State for financial independence in the medium or long term”.