Sunday Dare: Can he up the ante in Ogbomoso?
Femi OGUNLANA
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The appointment of Chief Sunday Dare as Special Adviser on Public Communication and Orientation to President Bola Tinubu, sparked a massive excitement among the people of Ogbomoso, his hometown, and many including its monarch Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye have expressed congratulations to him and applauded the president for finding him worthy of the office.
But beyond the frenzy and ecstasy is the serious question of how can he leverage on the advantage the appointment offers to engender and facilitate growth and development in Ogbomosoland. That’s more important than the glamour the office will attract. What legacy would he bequeath whenever the term ends?
Ogbomoso like many other communities needs development in quantum, and in a country where government is the major repository and patron of development, it behooves each community to strive to get their people in government to have better chances of securing such.
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It is partly why the excitement that greeted the announcement of the appointment of Chief Sunday Dare was strident in Ogbomoso. People’s hope was bolstered that this is another opportunity to bolster the streams of opportunities that may bolster the status of the town. He is seen as likely to bolster the battlefront to achieve the expectations hoped for.
Though the position may be limited in scope but then it affords him unfettered opportunities to the president the ultimate power holder in the land, and this presents an opportunity to clamour for the good of his birthplace.
How he is able to leverage on this remains to be seen. As Sports Minister under former President Muhammadu Buhari, he made some significant contributions like facilitating the take-off of The Federal Polytechnic, Ayede, by seeing to the release of the temporary site being occupied presently and causing huge fund to be released for its upgrade; also, Dare pushed and secured release of funds for further construction of the hitherto abandoned Ogbomoso-Oyo section of the Ibadan-Ilorin new highway, which has taken the road to within 5km of completion; in addition, he facilitated the building of a federal hospital in Ogbomoso, completed but yet to be commissioned. The Agbaakin similarly got approval for a multi-skill acquisition centre for Ogbomoso, but it never saw the light of the day. Not only that he secured employment for tens of youths in federal establishments. This is as he made strenuous efforts to get the abandoned 132kv power substation in Ogbomoso completed by bringing Ministry of Power officials to the site.
Thus this presents another opportunity to better his ratings among the people of Ogbomoso. A person only makes lasting impact in a positive way only through the contributions he is able to make and which resonates well with his people, it is these that crystalizes into an enduring legacy. Late Chiefs Samuel Ladoke Akintola and Adebayo Alao-Akala remain idols in Ogbomoso today because of the legacies they created in the community and more by their charismatic connect with the grassroots. When a politician identifies and connects robustly and passionately with the grassroots he will be driven by fervour and interest to touch lives and will be consumed by obsession to invest in terms of developments to the community and add real values.
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The Agbaakin is on the cusp of history; with a foot in the corridor of national government, can he up the ante of development in his community? Getting (working with others) to get abandoned projects completed is one. There is also the Federal Fire Service approved for the town that also never took off. The abandoned police secondary school. The lying fallow federal hospital he brought. The abandoned new highway and several others.
He needs to exert his influence with the President and others in government to get things done, and there is need to synergize with others from the town who are likewise in government to extract the best for the community.
Can he upend the status quo and up the ante?
