Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun has stated he is unbothered by recent criticism regarding the poor condition of some roads across the state. Earlier this month, social media, particularly X (formerly Twitter), was flooded with pictures and videos highlighting the state’s bad roads, making Abiodun a trending topic for about three days. Users criticized him for failing to provide ‘motorable’ roads, especially in communities bordering Lagos State like Yakoyo, Alagbole, Akute, Ajuwon, Lambe, and Oke Aro.
In response to what the government called a coordinated attack, officials listed several road projects completed under Abiodun’s administration, totaling about 600 kilometers in the last five years. Following the social media outcry, Abiodun visited some of the problematic areas and ordered contractors to expedite their work.
Speaking on Tuesday during a meeting with the coalition of youth organizations at the Governor’s Office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, Abiodun addressed the criticism and the upcoming #EndBadGovernance protest scheduled for August 1. According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Lekan Adeniran, Abiodun said he was not disturbed by attacks from “faceless people on social media.”
Abiodun remarked, “I normally don’t get disturbed by such things because one of my mentors in politics told me that in politics, you must make sure that you are mentioned either for the right or wrong reasons, but be continuously mentioned because if you are not mentioned, you are just part of the crowd.”
He continued, “For me, I am not bothered that I have been under attacks by faceless people on social media because I know what I am. I know who I am. I know what I did before I became governor. I know how long I have been in this journey. I became a senator before I was 35, the youngest at the time, and I have been in this space in the State contesting on different platforms from that time until God decided that He was going to make me a governor. Someone would imagine that after all that I had gone through to get to this position, all I will do is bite my fingernails. That person must be joking.”
“I became the governor under the most torturous and difficult circumstances. I can’t go through that baptism of fire to get to the office and become complacent. Our Internally Generated Revenue was around N50 billion a year before. But in four years, we have grown it to almost N200 billion, and someone says Dapo Abiodun is just sitting in Ogun State and doing nothing. That has to be a joke.”
Abiodun appealed to Nigerian youths to engage constructively with the government to find solutions to the country’s problems instead of organizing protests that could cause more harm. Reflecting on the 2020 EndSARS protests, he emphasized that such actions could aggravate issues without providing solutions.
He questioned, “Is protesting the way to present our case to the government? Is this the way to constructively and objectively engage with the government by advertising and planning mass protests? Is there something behind those who are calling for these protests? Is this another plan by those who have tried their luck and have lost? Is this their own way and shortcut to see how to frustrate the government?”
Addressing the youth, Abiodun said, “You have no other country than this country. Let me assure you that I have traveled far and wide. I am sure, like many of you, there is no country in the world where you can walk like your own; that country is Nigeria. There is no other place where nobody will accost you, and you would not challenge that person.”
He concluded with a Yoruba proverb, “Beheading is not the solution for a headache. If there are issues, let us discuss them, let us find a way around them, let us manage and correct them. Let us not cut off the head or attempt to cut off the head because of a headache. That will amount to decapitation.”
(DailyTrust)