By Olaniyi Ajibola
I have vehemently faulted some narratives of justification for the construction of Olaiya Flyover by some individuals; to me, the import of those narratives were mere miscarriage of concept and a bad omen for a landmark project of that nature.
The subsequent hullabaloo and smear campaign of those dissident elements within the All Progressives Congress, APC, led by one Alimi, questioning the cognitive rationale behind the project confused me the more, as I continued to ask a rhetorical question within me that: Can a meticulous, clear-headed, responsive and shrewd administrator like Governor Adegboyega Isiaka Oyetola embarks on frivolity at the peril of utmost interests of the people?
I later found salient answer to my question in the consistent and elaborative content dishing out from the office of the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor on the notion behind the project, with arrays of explicit and technical updates from the Ministry of Works and the Contractor handling the project.
Going forward, my visit to the construction site on Wednesday, which coincided with the day of ignominity for a gang of ‘TOP Dissidents’ at the Federal High Court in Osogbo, provided new facts and realities.
Succinctly put, the quality of job done at the project site, the structural arrangement and the inherent aesthetics are all pointer to the personality of Governor Oyetola.
The project eloquently asserts Originality of posture, Modernity of thinking, Priority of policy, Clarity of idea and Sincerity of purpose.
Also, the structural concept of the flyover indicates a systematic and strategic approach to genuine Urban Renewal and conscious move to provide a formidable bridge between the past and the future.
That the bridge in the last couples of weeks has become a tourist attraction centre for majority of residents in Osogbo metropolis and across the state is no more a news, the euphoria it’s presently generating among the citizenry is unprecedented.
Unlike the ecstatic Photoshop of the past, which more often ended in embarrassing reality and disillusionment, the iconic Olaiya bridge represents a new reality of developmental and inclusive governance in the state.
This project further speaks volume of the total departure from garullous and noisy political culture in leadership to moderate, steady and strategic political ideology.
Finally, I came to a logical conclusion that there is need to forgive those who had faulted the necessity for the flyover in the past, condemning it as misplaced priority. They were saying all that out of paucity of idea and exposure, coupled with primitive orientation.
Sincerely, the clearer interpretation of the developmental concept of the flyover requires soundness of mind and appreciable mental strength.
Meanwhile, Osun is a distinct geographical location with sophisticated populace, hence, the reason for the level of jubilation and appreciation the Olaiya Flyover is eliciting, making destructive criticism of the very few highly inconsequential.
Olaniyi Ajibola writes from Osogbo
