Talk is free — and the marketplace of foolishness is ever busy. Anyone can talk: the idle, the half-mad, the senseless, and the totally irresponsible. But thinking — that sacred, disciplined exercise of the mind — is not for everyone. For while sense is common, reasonable sense is rare. So when an empty skull vibrates with noise, wisdom cannot pour out. You simply cannot give what you do not have.
And that is why only a complete buffoon and a certified dark fool could have uttered this absurdity of a headline:
“Oyebanji’s Three Years of Waste.”
What a tragedy of ignorance! Pity the blind talkers of Ekiti — those who walk through a land under reconstruction, yet groan “nothing is happening.” They drive daily through Ado-Ekiti’s ring roads — now free of the gridlock that once mocked commuters — yet claim they see no progress. They pass the majestic Ekiti Bus Terminal which he completed in the spirit of continuity , a model of civic beauty and order in the South-West, yet dismiss it as “photo trick.” They hear the hum of aircraft at the Ekiti Agro-Allied Cargo Airport, connecting our produce and pride to the skies, yet swear “it’s fake.” They stroll past the reborn Ikogosi Warm Springs Resort, now gleaming again under the touch of BAO’s vision; they see the unpolluted ecotourism wonders of Arinta Waterfalls, the celebration and refreshing of Abanijorin Rock, Iyin Ekiti the Oke Sagbonke Mount of Clouds,in Efon and the revived Source of Osun River Heritage Site in Igede Ekiti — yet remain unmoved, imprisoned in the tomb of ignorance.
These talkers cannot comprehend transformation because transformation requires intelligence — a resource dangerously scarce among the members of what I call the Idiots’ Conference.
If waste now means constructing township roads in every local government;
if waste means paying gratuities and pensions that were long abandoned;
if waste means rehabilitating hundreds of rural roads to link farms to markets;
if waste means bringing electricity to darkened communities and pipe-borne water to long-thirsty households;
if waste means recruiting teachers, upgrading schools, and restoring dignity to education;
if waste means empowering over 15,000 youths, artisans, and women through grants, tools, and skill programmes;
if waste means running the most peaceful, transparent, and accountable administration in Ekiti’s history;
then let us pray for more of such waste — for truly, it is Work, Action, Order, and Honour.
Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji has rewritten the concept of governance. He has shown that power is not theatre, and that leadership is not a circus. He works silently and steadily, letting results speak louder than rhetoric. Under his watch, Ekiti has witnessed a social and infrastructural rebirth unseen since its creation — from the Ado – Ifaki dualisated road, Omisanjana – Ajebandele road in Ado, Ikere – Ise Road, Ido-Ipere Road, Ikole, to the construction, digitization of governance, and promotion of agriculture and youth innovation hubs.
He has raised the banner of gender inclusion higher than any other governor in Nigeria’s recent history — with women occupying key commanding heights: Deputy Governor, Deputy Speaker, SSG, Head of Service, Accountant General, and more. He has restored peace among communities, bridged the civil service and government, and made transparency the soul of leadership.
This is BAOism — not a slogan, but a movement; a creed rooted in Building, Accountability, and Order. It is the quiet revolution of sustainable transformation — governance that speaks through results, not noise. BAOism is what happens when humility meets competence, and when vision is wedded to action.
He does not dance on podiums; he builds institutions.
He does not seek applause; he delivers impact.
He does not promise heaven; he cultivates prosperity on earth — in Ekiti.
From infrastructure to agriculture, education to health, creative economy to tourism, BAO’s governance is a tapestry of progress. Through his leadership, Ekiti now stands tall in the comity of Nigerian states — peaceful, productive, and purpose-driven.
Let the fools bark, as fools must. Let the noise merchants and idle critics continue their chorus of ignorance. But when the pages of Ekiti’s history are opened, their words will be written in footnotes of shame, while Oyebanji’s chapter will be titled “The Renaissance of Sense.”
Only the ungrateful call light darkness. Only the blind call vision a mirage. And only fools call progress waste.
For in just three years, Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji has turned Ekiti into a living workshop of purposeful governance — a model of humility, humanity, and sustainability.
Ekiti is working. Ekiti is rising.
And the talkers? They are still talking from the sidelines of irrelevance.
Congratulations!
BAO! Third Year of Grace! Surely. 4+4= 8. Well done. Let them say.
*Amb. Ojo-Lanre, Esq. is the Director-General, Ekiti State Bureau of Tourism Development
