Rural community engagement: Our efforts to take governance back to the grassroots –Oyetola

BLESSING AKOROWOSI, Osogbo

Governor of Osun State Adegboyega Oyetola has described the series of his engagements with the rural communities in the state as a strategic means of integrating the rural dwellers into his all-inclusive administration.

Oyetola said the effort is part of his resolve to take governance back to the people at the grassroots which is in tandem with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The Governor disclosed this through his Special Adviser on Civic Engagement, Hon. Olatunbosun during a Community Engagement with some rural communities of Ife South West Local Government area of the state.

He emphasised that his administration as one which is poised to the sustainable development of the state, could not afford to put all focus on the centre but maintain a new paradigm of touching all the rural communities for a desirable developmental result.

He said: “Our administration is aware of the fact that, a sustainable development is the one that emanates from the depth of grassroots and not the centre, as this has prompted the ongoing rural engagement drive.

“There’s no gainsaying the fact that strategic community engagement is a precondition for every development effort, as it gives people an active participation in the development engineering.

“This is because, an effective implementation of policies and projects that contribute to enhance sustainability in rural areas requires a strong engagement by reaching out to relevant stakeholders for data gathering related to the needs and yearnings of the people, and that would form a workable blueprint for government corresponding actions”, he concluded.

In their separate remarks, the Chairman Ife South Council of Bale, Chief Kasali Awowole and the Ologudu of Ogudu, Oba Jimoh Ajayi also underscored the importance of giving focus to the rural communities for sustainable development, saying true development could only manifest through the grassroots.

The traditional leaders also commended Governor Oyetola for his dynamic and unique leadership in the administration of the state which has placed premium on lives of rural community dwellers, noting that his focus on the grassroots is unprecedented in the history of the state.

They however, appreciated the governor for the ongoing construction of new 15kilometer 33KV electricity from Ile-Ife transmission station to Ifetedo/Garage-Olode and the environs, describing the gesture as one which brings an end to over ten years darkness of the area, as well as improves social welfarism and economic activities.

For a better society