Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has received commendation from Usen Community in Ovia South Local Government over his landmark infrastructural development of their community.
His Royal Highness Olu-ogbe II, the Elawure of Usen eulogized Governor Oshiomhole when he led members of his community to pay the Governor a courtesy visit in the Government House, Benin City on Friday.
The Elawure of Usen said, “Mr. Governor sir, on behalf of the people of Usen in Ovia South West, North East and Egor local government areas, I want to thank you most sincerely for the wonderful work done on Upper Siluko Road which gave us a link between Ovia South West and North whose people had found it difficult over the years to transport their farm produce to Benin City. Sir, with the construction of Siluko Road, the transportation of goods and services has been reduced tremendously for the advantage of the common man.
“We are highly delighted and honoured as a community to be your guest today, which will forever remain in history of your administration in Edo State as we are gradually moving towards the end of your wonderful and godly performance and go-getter reign. It is not possible to vote you for the third time.
“Mr. Governor sir, you would recall when you visited the local government during your campaign in 2012, we drew your attention to the poor situation of Osasuyi Primary School, Usen as one of the primary schools in the area without a red roof. You directed the relevant ministry or agency to do something about it immediately. In 2013, Osasuyi Primary School which now habours two schools was given a holistic renovation with modern seats.
“We are grateful to you for this wonderful gesture. We are appealing to you that there is a block of three classrooms in the compound that has not been renovated which is giving ugly look to the beautiful job done there. The joy of the community knows no bounds. We extend happiness and appreciation to you.
The traditional ruler appealed for more infrastructural development of his community.
Responding, Governor Adams Oshiomhole said, “I want to thank you for your support and prayers and I ask you to continue to support us because this remaining last mile is extremely important. How we started is important, what we do having started is important but even more important is how we finish. Our prayer is that we finish well, and finish even stronger.
“Finishing well, the Siluko road that you mentioned is one of the flagship projects that we will affects three local governments; Egor, Ovia North East and Ovia South West, it also create positive impact on the people who have abandoned their houses around Teachers House. last week as I was passing, I saw a new building coming up and I felt very excited because in our tradition, it is usually something as devastating as war that can make a man and his family to pack his loads and abandon a house that he had labored to build. When you stand around Teachers House, you see so many houses that have been abandoned by people who sweat so hard to build those houses.
“My joy is that like I promised during the electioneering campaigns in 2007 when Edo people had given up hope because PDP made us to believe that Edo State is not viable, it is a civil service state, therefore there is nothing anybody can do. In the case of Siluko, I think the people were told that the place had been taken over by evil forces called mammy water and so, there was nothing government could do and it was beyond the capacity of government.”
He said, “But I did say in my campaigns that if elected, we will do everything that PDP said is not possible because governance and government is act of what is possible, not an act of what is impossible. There is nothing, no problem that cannot be solved. All you need is to have a good heart, a clear commitment and above all, capacity to harness your resources and deploy those resources creatively.
“So, I am very proud of that road and I am happy that you have come even before we finish it fully to appreciate what we have done so far. Between now and April, obviously before the rains start, the 6 lane road will be fully completed. We are already erecting street light poles on it because the people have suffered for so long and we think they deserve, not just a 6 lane road but also one that is well lit, so that at night, people can have fun driving on that road without fear.
“Let me also thank you for recalling your Royal Highness request that we should work on the Primary school and my promise that we will do it. I am happy that in your words, we have done it and done it very well. i believe that education is the only way we can guarantee the future. If we impact knowledge on people, even when you are angry with them, you cannot take the knowledge back. Experience has also shown that the best way to secure the future for a child is not necessary to build a house for him because there are children who upon the passage of their parents put up the house for sale. But if the child has education, he will have the brain even to manage the assets of the parents.
“So education for me is the way of the future. The way to start is to have quality primary and secondary schools. I am a believer that the Nigeria of the future that I can see is one in which what you become will depend on what you know, not who you know. There are too many young people who think Nigeria is about who you know. But Nigeria of the future must be based on what you know, and how much you know and how well you are able to apply what you know to create and to generate wealth.”
According to him, “I am convinced that we need to do roads in rural communities. That is the only way we can properly reintegrate them into the economy of the state. the problem we had is that we started from zero-zero-zero. Now the next governor is not going to start on zero-zero-zero, he is going to build on where we stop and diversify to ore areas, refocus the economy, attract businesses to rural areas. So once the access road is provided, the infrastructure is there, businesses will come, young people will have job and when they have jobs, they don’t need to lean on their parents.
“I want to thank you for the support you have been giving me and I trust that when we produce our candidate who understands how we have managed so far and doesn’t therefore need to go back to school to discover what pour secret is.
He already know the secret and so, he just continue and even improve on it. He will avoid y own mistakes because if w were building a house together, he knows where the pillars are, he knows where the concrete is but if it is a new person coming into the house, he has to excavate to find out where the columns are that is sustaining the roofs.
“I am sure God will help us to get a candidate and a governor that recognizes that Edo State is about the people, and not about individual or family interest and I am sure with your prayers, your royal highness, we will arrive there and I trust that you will extend to the person, the same support that you have extended to me.”
