How Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in two years revolutionized Kwara State

The achievements of the ‘Oto ge’ administration of Governor Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq in Kwara is understandably under watch by supporters and opposition alike; after an unsuccessful attempt in 2003, 2007 and 2011 respectively under the Congress for Progressive Change(CPC) political party, Gov. AbdulRazaq came victorious in 2019.

Remarkably, just wo years on, unique things have happened to Kwara; a new course for the frontline state despite the harsh economic realities.

From the health sector, basic education, human capital development, a safety net for the poor, water, to general infrastructural development, Kwara has verifiably turned the page.

Health Sector

Without a doubt, since its founding in 1967, Kwara is now having a general hospital that is worth that name in facilities and in accreditations. Until now, the premier general hospital had no functional intensive care unit (ICU) facility.

Today, the AbdulRazaq administration has delivered a 12-bed ICU that is not just the largest in central Nigeria but is equipped with modern gadgets that include ventilators, patient monitors, defibrillators, syringe pump, suction machines, infusion pumps, and appropriate ICU beds, among other medical tools required to manage patients in critical condition.

Before now, ICU equipment was available only at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital in Oke Oyi, a federal government facility.

More so, the administration has brought back primary health care facilities to life, with over 23 of them hitherto abandoned to rot already fixed across the state.

Many more — in the north, south, and central — are primed for rehabilitative works. Add all of those to the commitment fee of N100m that has enrolled Kwara into a federal government-supported one PHC-per-ward primary healthcare gateway.

Educational Sector

Meanwhile, in the educational sector, the governor set a bridge that is the talk of other states, he breathed life back to the withering educational sector in the state.

Developments as this made, the secretariat of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), declared Kwara State as the leading state among the APC-held states in developmental initiatives for the month of August 2020.

At least 4,701 teachers were recently employed through a process that considered only competence and qualification, shutting a heavy door against favouritism.

It was the first time in the recent history of the state that applicants for government jobs needed not to know anyone, politicians, thought leaders, or any social influencers; all they needed was competence, right qualification, and an ability to convince the panel comprising top educationists that they merit the job.

In that exercise, children of the rich and influential players on the same field as their counterparts from poor homes.

Youth Inclusive Government

You will recall that the Governor at age 30 became the first Nigerian to won and operate the first fully indigenous firm to trade in crude oil when he was the CEO of First Fuels Limited making him a national figure.

We can outright say his success in youthful days inspired his passion for youth empowerment possibly; recently, the administration rolled out the Kwapreneurs, an ambitious plan to invest in and raise a new generation of successful young people.

Under the scheme, 35-year-olds or younger people with viable business ideas or existing one will be supported with interest-free loans ranging from N350, 000 to N3m.

With 1,200 young people designed to benefit over the next four years, the Kwapreneurs is Kwara’s most significant economic programme yet for the youths.

The recruitment into the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), in which at least 2,000 teachers were engaged, had exclusively targeted youths as persons above 35 were not considered for the jobs.

However, been a focused and committed leader, the 7th executive Governor of Kwara State in the less than two years on the saddle, has changed the narrative of governance in the state.

A tremendous development that has endeared him to the people in the 16 local government areas of the state. Not even his political detractors and the opposition can deny the fact that the 61-year-old Governor has turned the face of governance, delivered the dividend of democracy, given purposeful leadership to the state and written his name on the hearts of Kwarans with indelible ink.

Concluding with the words of Ambassador Nurudeen Mohammed, a Chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress and Nigeria’s immediate past Ambassador to Malaysia, “Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq is a modest and humble personality, the Governor who has driven his own private car since day one of his administration to date.

“Here is a Governor who lives in his own house to date. Here is a Governor who is not taking a salary. Here is a Governor who is willingly opening up his government for accountability through the phenomenal social audit process. Here is a Governor who just wants to deliver his campaign promises to the people, despite the biting economic realities.

“Here is a Governor who gives every part of the state a fair sense of belonging by always identifying with them in times of cultural celebration or mourning, and extending the government’s patronage to every segment of the state. Today, Kwara is a model state on the continent in youths and women inclusion in government.”