By Steve Otaloro
As I reflect on the future of my beloved town, Idoani, I am reminded of the ancient proverb: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Our community, blessed with immense intellectual and entrepreneurial capital, is paradoxically hindered by individualistic tendencies that threaten to undermine our collective progress.
The development of Idoani demands a strategic recalibration of our approach. We must transcend the limitations of insular, republican ideals and instead, foster a culture of consensus, coalition, and bridge-building across our diverse quarters and language lines. True leadership demands the capacity to extend a hand of partnership beyond one’s immediate sphere, in pursuit of our collective goals.
Every politics is said to be local, and decision-making that will affect our town’s growth and development is made at the political deliberation table. Unfortunately, our people are not always adequately represented, mainly because most of our intellectuals are averse to politics. I find it intriguing that we have numerous capable individuals, yet few are willing to take on leadership roles or aspire to greater heights.
The few who are players in the political space have not been encouraged enough to aspire to critical positions that will impact the growth of our beloved town. Politics is also selfish, and it’s high time we realize this for the overall strategic growth of Idoani. We should not only aspire for greater positions and opportunities within the political space but also support ourselves towards attaining power that will benefit our people and community development.
A glance at our neighboring town, Idogun, reveals a people who have quickly realized their limitations in terms of population and collective strength within the Irekari axis. They have strategically positioned their indigenes for political advantage, ensuring their sons and daughters are well-planted for human capital enhancement and overall development of their town. Their sense of purpose towards this cause is ingenious and appalling for people to unite together for the same cause.
While our people are bickering with divisive politics to dethrone their own people in leadership positions, Idogun has gone far ahead of us in cooking a political master plan and dining with the powers that be in the state for the enhancement of their people. They have taken it upon themselves to produce the highest-ranking civil servant in the state and other influential political leaders. This capacity can also be increased if need be for more positions of power within this current administration.
The creation of the LCDA placed the leadership of the LCDA virtually in the hands of Idoani indigenes, but our people are the ones fighting against their own for the leadership of the LCDA, clamouring for equity as a disguise for their selfish reasons. They claim unfair distribution of political positions within the LCDA as largely in favor of Idoani to the detriment of other towns. But today, Idogun, one of the communities they claim to be protecting, has produced the current Chairman, the Secretary, councillors, and supervisory positions of the LCDA. Additionally, they have a daughter as the SSA to the Governor and the Commissioner for Information position allocated to the local government in comparison to Idoani with two wards and more population, which has been completely left out of the power-play dynamics in the LCDA.
What’s even more striking is that Idogun has only one ward, as against Idoani’s two wards and the headquarters of our new LCDA, yet they have been able to secure key positions in the LCDA.
The fundamental issue of love and unity for the common good of Idoani is lacking amongst our people. One of our sons from Omoge’s clan is pushing to establish a university in Idoani, and despite all its economic benefits that will benefit our people, he was instead met with opprobrium for his proposal. We are people of diverse culture and dialects under one kingdom and authority of the Alani of Idoani. This diversity should be a strength for growth and development when properly propelled and intentionally applied, but individualistic tendencies seem overbearing, hindering us from bringing this strength of purpose to bear on our development.
The good thing is that Idoani will one day eventually grow to become a great city in the future. All the metrics for growth are endowed with arable vast surface land ready for development, huge underground minerals storage yet to be processed, our people’s talent, boldness, and work ethics are God-given for the greatness of our community. It’s just a matter of time before they all align for Idoani’s greatness because our ancestors are crying and hoping we get it right to make “Idoani truly great indeed.”
I pray this generation to witness the development of Idoani during our lifetime, and for that to happen, the work must start now. We must learn to love our neighbors as ourselves and extend friendly handshakes across our six quarters, working in unison for the development of our beloved town. United we stand, divided we fall. Let us heed the call to unity and make Idoani truly great indeed.
