Oyebanji: Three Years Of Focused Leadership, Service Delivery

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By Wole Olujobi

When he started exhibiting leadership traits as a young graduate with uncanny crusading force to participate in the planning for the creation of Ekiti State in order to attain the heights of her glory in the Nigerian federation, he was probably dismissed as an ambitious Don Quixote, a fictional character in Spanish literature, who demonstrates honesty, dignity and pride in his heritage but was seen as just idealistic in his mission to create a happy world for his people.

That is Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of Ekiti State, who was cut in the image of Don Quixote when in his shrill voice of a wistful cherub joined the conference of the greys in the task to create a world for Ekiti people to attain their heights in the context of Nigeria’s development process. For the pessimists who scorned the energies of young people, Oyebanji’s thrust at the time was not only inconceivable, but a mere stray into the world of fantasy.

But he trudged on to see the reality of that dream like Quixote, who said: “To dream the impossible dream, that is my quest.”

Oyebanji therefore dreamed impossible dreams but was also guided by the same Don Quixote, who said: “I’ve always heard the old folks say that if you don’t know how to enjoy good luck when it comes, you shouldn’t complain if it passes you by.”

But Oyebanji, who loves to illuminate his world with the warmth and riches of his endowments, didn’t just dream the impossible dream; he also grabbed the good luck provided by the plan to create new states in Nigeria at the time to enjoy the benefits of creating Ekiti State for the accelerated development of the Fountain of Knowledge and Land of Honour.

And so instead of succumbing as an absurd and isolated figure that would end up as a pitiable dreamer incapable of achieving his dreams, he quixoted, soldiering on with courage in the company of the older, eminent Ekiti people, which culminated in his current stardom that has the trappings of a hero set to fulfill his destiny. Or like a lowly soldier David, who felled the Goliath, which Ekiti had become as a pitiable backwaters of development in Nigeria! Eventually, Ekiti State was born and Oyebanji’s efforts were never in vain as destiny positioned him to participate in the affairs of the state shortly after it was created.
Rapidly, he climbed the rung of the Ekiti State leadership ladder to serve variously as Chief of Staff, Special Adviser, Commissioner, Secretary to the State Government and at present the Governor of Ekiti State.

Ekiti people didn’t just opt for Oyebanji as a rule for emotional succession gambit, but as a result of his humane dispositions to Ekiti people while he served in those capacities managing the affairs of Ekiti, including a clear enunciation of his development agenda encapsulated in a Six-point Agenda to grow Ekiti State as a development model in Nigeria.

His method transcends the frontiers of social class to connect with the people at the intuitive, sincere level, to reinforce his energy of the spirit that is always on a quest for knowledge and conquests and commitment to his vision.

Three years after, Ekiti people now wake up daily to tell stories of peace and progress in a state once notoriously renowned as a state of one day, one trouble.

In a state where adversarial politics is the norm, Oyebanji, who is firmly rooted in the ideological nuances of Ekiti ‘omoluabi’ credo, has put his hands in the plough, building coalitions and erecting a mase of relationships never witnessed in the state to achieve unprecedented peace, as old animosities among diverse political gladiators, for the first time, gave way to a mutual amity for development purposes in the state.

His development agenda includes: governance, youth development, agriculture and job creation through micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) financing and support and digital skills, vocational skills, Ekiti Knowledge Zone and sports development; education; healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and social investment sectors, including heavy investments in the power sector and reconnection to the national grids several communities that were in darkness for over 10 years.
So far, the governor has performed creditably well in all the sectors, so much so that he had received laurels from both inside and outside the state, which grabbed the headlines in a blaze of glory that has added feathers to his years of glorious service to Ekiti State.

It is on that basis that various segments of the society are rooting for him for second term.
For, example, the recently released crop productivity figures for 2023–2024 reaffirms Ekiti State’s steady progress in the agriculture sector under the leadership of Governor Oyebanji. From rice and maize to yam, cassava and other staples, production outputs have continued to rise despite the realities of climate change that affected the 2024 farming season. Prices of commodities have also fallen drastically.

For instance, cassava production rose from 2,030,388 MT in 2023 to 2,077,087 MT in 2024, yam from 1,502,150 MT to 1,536,699 MT, while maize output increased from 257,635 MT to 268,971 MT. Surplus yields have forced down commodities prices across the markets.

Of note in Oyebanji’s agricultural production scheme is the outstanding success in the once-neglected animal husbandry in rural setting. His World Bank-assisted Livestock Productivity and Resilience Enhancement Scheme (L-PRE) has since become a model of rural wealth creation and food security success.

For his development strides in these sectors, Oyebanji (BAO) won two national newspapers awards, “Vanguard Newspaper Personality of the Year for Good Governance” and “Energy Times Energy Governor of the Year Award” in a single day in recognition of his leadership virtues that shape his vision-driven administration, including winning the Marketing Edge magazine’s “Leadership and Open Governance” award.
𝐈𝐧 inf𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, Ekiti International Airport received its six-month NCAA approval for non-scheduled flights starting June 15, 2025, positioning Ekiti as a future agro-allied export hub. There is massive roads construction, including expansions and repairs across the state, especially linking farmsteads to markets, while the governor declared 2025 the “Year of Accelerated Growth in Shared Prosperity”, with a focus on tripartite food production, infrastructure and service delivery.

Apart from his life-lifting scores in agriculture, there is a heavy investment in education, particularly in scholarships, grants and facilities upgrade in schools; massive upgrades of health facilities and institutions, rural development, roads, social infrastructure and social investments. The latest honour is the award in transparency in government, which drew Ekiti people’s applause, including workers’ endorsement calling him to contest for second term in office.

Ekiti workers have never had it so good like they are experiencing under Oyebanji, as he ensures regular promotions, salary and allowances payment, gratuity, pensions and deductions payments.

Oyebanji, a brand rootsman, whose journey is rooted in community spirit and evidently guided by his uncommon focus, has joined the list of legends who success stories fuel their life journeys; the journey rooted in community spirit and filled with missions and focus to make a fundamental difference in his personal life and the lives of those he leads.

And as a man who always has his mission set before him, he declared at his endorsement rally on July 28, 2025, that he was encouraged by Ekiti people’s call to continue to serve, stressing that he will work in humility to ensure that Ekiti people do not know poverty again.

It is on the strength of that the Ekiti workers, including primary and secondary teachers, local governments workers and state civil servants, recently endorsed him for a second term in a massive rally that drew all the segments of the society.
As the second term election beckons, more balm to the arms of the hard-working governor in his mission to fulfil his dreams for Ekiti people.

*Olujobi writes from Ado-Ekiti