Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed was treated to a luncheon and an interactive session by his kinsmen in Lagos under the aegis of the Kwara Professionals. Rather than being a mere ritual of dance, eating and merry making, it became an intellectual business meeting where stakeholders advised the governor on what he needs to do and add to his programmes.

Rather than being a one way discuss, the governor eruditely obliged the audience with valuable  information that they were not hitherto aware of especially in the areas of agro economic plans of the state, issues of road networks and the need to develop human capital among others.

From his submissions, Ahmed, undoubtedly is a man who sees beyond what is obvious. He is insightful. The audience were thrilled when he revealed the short and long term plans he has for the people. He asserts that the problem that has limited the nation's development has been the fact that government is detached from the people. According to him, government is about the peopl and they must know what government is doing.  'They must know what we are doing with their resources because it is meant for them.

He also bemoaned the lack of maintenance culture among the governed and the government making it difficult for continuity. In his words, : "We inherited so many things from the colonial masters but we did not inherit maintenance culture. Once there is a new government, he believes he has a better broom that will sweeps better than others. So rather than consolidating on the projects of their predecessor, they starts with theirs and when another government comes on board, same thing happens.

"But we in Kwara, because I was an integral part of the last administration, we are continuing from where we stopped. That is how government should be run.  Government has to be run with special planning, articulate, methodologically designed proper planning. That is what we are doing in Kwara. Expectations are very high and obviously we cant meet all these expectations but we have prioritised critical areas that needs urgent attention.

"We decided that nobody will go beyond 500 meters to  get access to health facilities. We have the primary, secondary and tertiary levels in the health sector. The secondary level provides that at least, every local government must have a functional general hospital and to achieve that they are implementing this policy in fives.  Among the local councils that have enjoyed this well equipped hospitals are Offa, Omu Aran, Kaiama, Ilorin among others."

Governor Ahmed was not just keen at making all these institutions available, he emphasised on quality  assurance. The state concerns itself with qualified Nurses, Doctors and other paramedics.

Stakeholders at the meeting also raised issues on the horrendous state of roads in the state arguing that it hinders investors or meaningful development. Ahmed made specific references to some roads and the audience were aghast at hearing that they were federal roads. He reminded them that as a responsive government, they are keen at maintaining both because it is being used by their people. He, however regretted the fact that some federal roads repaired by the previous administration, the monies were not refunded by the federal government but added that the state and the federal are working out modalities on how to complement each other especially with regards to refund.

His words: " Many of these roads are federal roads. Inspite of this, we are keen at maintaining all the roads because our people use them. We have repaired some federal roads in the past but we didn't get refunds, albeit, modalities are being worked on by both the state and the federal. But we should recognise that state roads too that are in disrepair are begging for attention and it will be very unreasonable to ignore them ahead of the federal ones. Farming communities must be linked because Agric is the principal driver of Kwara economy.

"Nothing seems to be working in this country. There is no electricity, no roads, no infrastructure. But in Kwara, we have decided that we wont stop, we will keep on moving because time is against us. To ensure good road networks, we have developed an attitude of zero tolerance for potholes in order to sustain our roads. It is better to maintain them than to reconstruct a new one. With a determined public private partnership, we shall transform Kwara into a model state."

Ahmed, in all, submitted that the greatest challenge to development in the nation is that everything revolves around structured policies prepared by the federal government and unless such are reviewed, there will continue to be constraints. " Unless there is a structural change in the working relationship/ policies between state and federal governments, there may be difficulties. Rail transport, power and other essential items are exclusive to the federal government. Recently, my Rivers State counterpart told me that they have been able to generate power but they cant distribute. These are few among the challenges we are facing. But in all, we shall develop a strong agro economy that will translate into all other developments.

Ahmed added that his administration among other projects is resuscitating the three technical colleges in the state so as to cater for artisans or those who do not have the knowledge or wherewithal to attend university or other tertiary institutions.

Corroborating the vision of the governor, Mr. Raheem Adedoyin, Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy revealed to the Nigerian Compass that the governor is determined to impact positively on the ordinary man on the streets in Kwara with his people oriented programmes.  He asserts that Ahmed is consulting and bringing his experience to bare in the transformation agenda of his administration.

His words: " Governor Ahmed does not believe in doing things the way it used to be done. He is a dynamic leader, dedicated and very resourceful. He is keen at developing the state and making it a model that will be envied nation wide. His programmes are well known and he pursues them religiously. He is a good planner and a manager of both human and material resources"

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Kwara Professionals Lagos,  Victor Kolade was full of praises for the past administration expressing optimism in governor Ahmed that he will take the state to a new height with his policies. He argued that his agenda are in tandem with what the group believes in, hence they will support him in all standards.

His words: "We start by hailing the achievements of the past administration which you were a part of and your government particularly which has stayed true to the responsibility of carrying out developmental goals via your discoveries of the needs of Kwarans during your electioneering campaign.

"We watch with keen interest as well as having supported in our little way and have seen your administration riding on the strength of the confidence reposed in you by the mandate that the Kwara people have given you.

"Our proud association with this has brought us to where we are presently and the full thrust is to effectively partner with your administration to see your avowed agenda come to realization. As you are already aware, Maigida, we are a group of progressive and upwardly mobile Kwarans who have distinguished themselves in both the public and private sectors.

"As you said in your in your agenda for our beloved state: I am not unfamiliar with the good hands within the system and outside the system….. so we ensure we engage professionals who can deliver results." We are here for you, Maigada.

"Kwara State has all it takes to get to her El dorado in your time. Her unique climatic location between the forest to the south and the savannah to the north gives potentialsfor an array of both cash and food crops to trigger export earnings, susstain local people and indeed position Kwara as the food basket of the nation. And what about fishery and forestry?

"Our rich deposits of solid minerals could be exploited to form the base for industrial development for the growth of the Kwara people. The huge tourism potentials of our beloved state are not in question and it is our prayer that the right investors be diligently sought for a private-public sector venture. Our dear big dudes in the industries, we are hereby appealing to you especially those of you that are almost getting to the age of retirement to come and invest in our dear state of harmony.

"You have well articulated at inception your administration deep-seated desires for human capital development (health care & education) and infrastructural development(roads, water & energy). With the attainment of these, your name shall be written in gold in the hearts of Kwarans.