Has Oyebanji done everything?

By Wale Ojo-Lanre, Esq.

Has Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji done everything that needs to be done in Ekiti State?

Certainly not.

And who can?

Nobody can do everything. Only God can.

The reasonable expectation of any human being entrusted with leadership is not perfection, but commitment, competence, sincerity of purpose, prudent deployment of resources and the determination to leave society better than one met it.

Measured against that standard, Governor Biodun Oyebanji has done well. Indeed, in several critical sectors, he has performed beyond reasonable expectations, while still acknowledging that much remains to be done.

“The beauty of criticism is not in how loudly it condemns, but in how honestly it confronts facts and helps society demand better.”

Criticism is indispensable to democracy. No government should be insulated from scrutiny, questioning or public interrogation. Responsible criticism strengthens governance because it compels leaders to explain themselves, correct mistakes and improve performance.

But criticism loses its value when it becomes allergic to facts.

“Criticism should be objective and factual; once facts are sacrificed for emotion, criticism becomes propaganda wearing the garment of accountability.”

Nobody is saying Ekiti has become Dubai. Nobody is claiming every road has been reconstructed, every tap is flowing, every household enjoys uninterrupted electricity, or that hunger, unemployment and poverty have disappeared.

There is still plenty of work to be done.

But there is a fundamental difference between saying “Oyebanji must do more” and pretending that “Oyebanji has done nothing.”

One is constructive criticism.

The other is a quarrel with evidence.

A leader who has done well deserves commendation, not blanket condemnation. A leader making measurable progress deserves encouragement and morale-boosting, not the deliberate relegation of every achievement simply because everything has not yet been accomplished.

As the Yoruba would say, “Yin ẹni, kí a sì ṣe ìmóràn” — commend what is worthy of commendation while offering counsel where improvement is required.

Praise does not abolish accountability. Commendation does not prohibit criticism. Acknowledging achievement does not surrender the right to demand more.

Perhaps one of the most difficult claims to reconcile with reality is the assertion that electricity development in Ekiti is at “zero level.”

Zero?

If there is one sector where the Oyebanji administration has recorded measurable intervention, it is electricity.

Several Ekiti communities had lived without public electricity for 10 years, 15 years and, in some cases, close to two decades. Under this administration, scores of such communities have been reconnected.

By December 2024, government reported that more than 30 communities which had endured prolonged darkness had been restored to electricity. The administration also reported that more than 40 towns had either been connected or reconnected to the national grid.

Communities around Erijiyan, Ikogosi, Gbonyin, Ayekire, Ekiti East, Egbe and other areas have benefited from electricity interventions.

These are real communities inhabited by real people.

The administration has also invested billions of naira in electricity infrastructure, pursued feeder and metering interventions, operates an Independent Power Project serving strategic facilities and has advanced reforms aimed at developing a more effective state electricity market.

Does that mean electricity supply is perfect? Certainly not.

Do we still need more transformers, feeders, meters, mini-grids and alternative sources of energy? Absolutely.

But acknowledging what remains undone should never require denying what has already been achieved.

So, a fair question remains:

Which previous Ekiti administration reconnected more communities that had been abandoned in darkness for one or two decades?

Let the records answer.

You cannot deliberately switch off the light and then announce that everywhere is dark.

Another criticism is that the state’s agribusiness programmes have produced nothing.

Agriculture is not a one-day enterprise.

You do not clear land in the morning, plant cassava in the afternoon and fry garri before sunset.

Agribusiness involves land preparation, planting, mechanisation, extension services, harvesting, aggregation, processing, storage, transportation and market access.

Under the Bring Back the Youth in Agriculture programme, thousands of young people have been brought into commercial farming. About 4,657 young farmers reportedly received a combined ₦1 billion in profits from the 2025 farming season.

Government-supported aggregation initiatives have also purchased substantial quantities of beans, rice paddy, maize and garri from Ekiti farmers.

Can the programme achieve more? Certainly.

Should agricultural investment translate into more food, higher productivity, stronger value chains and ultimately more affordable food? Of course.

But there is a world of difference between demanding better results and claiming there are no results whatsoever.

There are bad roads in Ekiti. That is undeniable.

There are township roads requiring urgent rehabilitation and communities still waiting for government intervention. Those communities deserve attention.

But presenting Ekiti as though no road construction or rehabilitation is taking place is equally inaccurate.

By July 2026, the state government reported the construction or rehabilitation of more than 285 kilometres of inter-city and intra-city roads, in addition to about 135 kilometres of rural roads under RAAMP.

Further projects have been approved, including the Ilawe-Erijiyan-Ikogosi axis and several other rural corridors.

Responsible criticism should therefore ask:

Which roads remain undone? Why have they not been done? When will they be done?

Those are legitimate questions.

Pretending that completed and ongoing interventions do not exist is not.

What of the ongoing 80-bed multipurpose medical complex at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital?

Does that count as nothing?

What about the electricity and water infrastructure being provided towards making the facility operational?

Healthcare infrastructure is surely part of working for the people.

The same applies to workers and pensioners.

Regular salary payment may now appear ordinary because people have become accustomed to it, but consistency is itself an important test of governance.

The administration has continued paying salaries and pensions while tackling inherited gratuity arrears. By May 2026, more than ₦10 billion had reportedly been committed to reducing state gratuity arrears, with further funds subsequently released to retirees.

Paying an elderly pensioner money legitimately earned after decades of public service is not political decoration.

It is governance.

On potable water, criticism is justified.

Many Ekiti communities still need better and more reliable water supply. Government must do more — and faster.

But again, “not enough” does not mean “nothing.”

Projects involving the Iyin Water Supply Scheme, the Ikogosi/Erijiyan Water Scheme, the Ijan Booster Station and associated transmission infrastructure have received interventions.

Citizens have every right to monitor these projects and insist that approvals, contracts and expenditure eventually translate into water flowing from people’s taps.

That is what responsible criticism should do.

The debate intensified following the celebration of the Ekiti Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport and its emerging economic possibilities.

But an airport beginning commercial operations and influencing travel and investment decisions is hardly an “undue thing.”

Interrogate the airport.

Ask how much has been invested. Ask about passenger traffic. Ask when cargo operations will deepen. Ask how farmers will benefit. Ask how tourism will leverage it. Ask about sustainability and long-term economic return.

Those are intelligent questions.

But when Ekiti people living abroad say the existence of the airport has influenced their decision to return home, visit more frequently or explore investment opportunities, there is nothing wrong in celebrating such a development.

That is part of what infrastructure is meant to achieve.

Infrastructure changes behaviour. It improves access. It reduces physical and psychological distance. It stimulates tourism, commerce, agriculture and investment.

An airport does not have to carry every Ekiti resident before its strategic importance can be recognised.

Major infrastructure is often built ahead of the economy it is expected to stimulate.

There have also been allegations that local government allocations are being wasted.

That is a serious accusation.

And serious accusations require serious evidence.

Which local government? How much was received? What was budgeted? What was spent? What was wasted? Who authorised it? Where are the records?

If there is evidence of wrongdoing, expose it. Investigate it. Demand accountability.

But allegations of financial impropriety should not become casual instruments of political argument.

Accountability must rest on facts.

Governor Biodun Oyebanji has not done everything.

He cannot.

No human being can.

There are roads awaiting attention. Communities still need potable water. Electricity remains inadequate despite significant reconnection efforts. Food prices remain painful. Unemployment remains a challenge. Poverty has not disappeared. Some projects should move faster. Some officials may need to work harder.

And citizens have every right to interrogate expenditure and performance.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with telling Governor Oyebanji:

“Sir, you must do more.”

That is democracy.

What democracy does not require is the deliberate erasure of visible achievements merely to sustain a predetermined narrative.

Criticise the Governor. Ask difficult questions. Demand better roads. Demand potable water. Demand more jobs. Demand better electricity. Demand cheaper food. Demand greater transparency. Demand stronger local governments.

Hold government accountable.

But kindly do it with facts.

Do not ignore communities reconnected to electricity and announce “zero power.”

Do not ignore hundreds of kilometres of road interventions and say nothing is happening.

Do not dismiss thousands of young farmers and claim there is no agribusiness.

Do not forget hospitals, workers and pensioners.

And do not condemn the celebration of an airport merely because its full economic potential is still unfolding.

The strongest criticism is the one that acknowledges what is working, identifies what is failing and demands that government close the gap between the two.

Stop blind criticism.

The longer one indulges in blind criticism, the greater the danger of becoming blind to reason itself.