The Peoples Manifesto: Our land, Our People, Our Wealth!!!

The Peoples Manifesto: Our land, Our People, Our Wealth!!!!!!!!!!!!

Author: Chief Daniel Bankole Afilaka 

Titled: Our Land, Our People, Our Wealth!! 

Contents 

1.0            Introduction……………………………………….……………………………... i

2.0            About Daniel Bankole Afilaka (Opa Kan, Ijesha Kan)…………………………..ii

3.0            Details of the Manifesto………………………………………………………….iii

4.0            Social contracts…………………………………..………………………………iv

5.0            The People and the Government…………………………………………...…….v

6.0            Ijesha South and the International Community………………………………..…vi

7.0            Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..vii

8.0            My Promise and My Pledge…………………………………………………..….viii

1.0            Introduction

This Manifesto is the first official and partisan document that attempts to document the visionary and leadership ideals of Chief Daniel Bankole Afilaka (aka DBA) into a concise brief that will define his lifelong political and altruistic ambitions for the people of Ijesha South Federal Constituency of Osun State and Nigeria at large. The Manifesto will categorize the areas that DBA gives priority as well as document a general roadmap for success of the sub-region based on their own available resources. DBA is a an aspirant to the position of House of Representatives member at the National Assembly to represent his people at the lower chambers of the Parliament, towards ensuring that effective representation is met with tenacity, vision, drive and a zeal for collective aspirations.

The theme of the Manifesto is a mantra for prosperity which he believes pervades every aspect of the lives of Nigerians at home and in Diaspora. He is a man for the people and as such is via this document making a solemn promise to always ensure that people oriented policies and Bills are introduced to the chambers of the National Assembly through robust research, collective intelligence and the ultimate power of the mastermind in achieving the vision of a greater Nigeria under the auspices of the new generation.

The ideals of DBA are encapsulated in the salient title of this Manifesto which is “Our land” as a representation of the mineral resources inherent in Ijesha South Federal Constituency will be harnessed by “Our People” through unhindered and structured development of the human capital towards generating “Our Wealth” which is a statement of prosperity targeted at a phenomenal increase in the Internally Generated Revenue of Ijesha South Federal Constituency and its contributions to the country as a whole. In effect the Manifesto aims to achieve an increase in the income of the peoples of Ijesha South Federal Constituency hence the mantra of the campaign which is Prosperity for all in the future of Ijeshaland and Nigeria in general.

“Prosperity for all!! This is the only language my people understand and as such we must deliver it to the people else we have failed as leaders. Prosperity is a universal language that cuts across all tribal and religious dichotomies”                                                                                 …..……….DBA

2.0             About Daniel Bankole Afilaka (aka DBA)

Daniel Bankole Afilaka was born on the 2nd of July 1976 to Mr Robert Olufemi Afilaka (Baba Adagbasewa) of the highly respected Afilaka family from Anaye and Mrs Victoria Abebi Afilaka (nee Famurewa) from the Royal household from Ibodi and the Kingmakers of the Risawe clan in Ilesha. His family originally hails from Atorin- Ijesha in the heart of Atakumosa local Government area of Osun State and he is currently the Bobagunwa of the same town which boasts the lineage of the likes of Ogedemgbe Agbogungboro of Ijesha land the reknowned warrior general of the Ijesha and Ekiti parapo wars in the late 19th century. He completed his primary and secondary school education in Lagos and Delta States respectively after which he went to Great Britain to complete his University education. While there in the United Kingdom he obtained his Diploma, Bachelors, Masters in Business Information Technology/ related disciplines and other prestigious professional qualifications while working for professional organizations of global repute. Here he learnt the virtue of a functional society where the aspirations of the younger generation are kept as priority of government. While staying in the United Kingdom he frequently visited Ijesha land as his entire family is currently resident there. He had the opportunity of comparing living standards in Ijeshaland to those of the average British and realized that his people needed an urgent upliftment out of poverty. In this spirit he engaged politics first as a youth leader and founder of the Nigerian Association of British University Students (NABUS) where he was advocating for the inclusion of the youth in matters of state. From this pedestal he was recruited by the Project 007 IBB campaign team as the secretary and Youth leader of the UK arm of this large organization. This was his first stint into real politicking and after this group was disbanded he founded the Nigerian Youth League in 2004 and was made the first substantive President after a grueling period of administrative and executive mishaps. He succeeded in this role till he handed over the reins of executive power in 2008.  He also founded the Obokun Progressive Alliance (O.P.A) which was an initiative focused on the socio-economic and political development of the Ijeshas in general. This is where the slogan for DBA i.e. OPA KAN IJESHA KAN was derived from in 2008.

Following his relinquishment of power within the political Youth organization NYL, he was contracted as a Consultant to the Central Bank of Nigeria on the issues of Payments System Vision 2020 which was an integral part of the Vision 2020 as instituted by the Obasanjo administration. He excelled in this position till the supreme call to public service as an aspirant was foisted upon him by the good people of the Ijesha South Federal Constituency to which he rose to the occasion in his usual Driven, Brave and Articulate manner as expected from a true leader of a new generation Nigeria.

“I am a very simple man from Ilesha  in Osun State. I do not claim to have all the answers to the problems of our people however I can guarantee you that I have the people that have the answers to all the problems”                  …..… DBA

3.0             Details of the Manifesto

The Manifesto has been divided into 3 sub sections with an appendage called Synergies of Government. This is categorically stated in the title of the Manifesto in itself as earlier explained in the Introduction section.

1.    Our Land

Ijesha South Federal Constituency boasts of the largest local government in both land mass and population in Osun State. This is the Atakumosa local government council where DBA himself hails from.  Ijesha South Federal Constituency is a collection of over 200 villages and hamlets and a few towns with no Cities. The majority of Ijesha South Federal Constituency which comprise of Ilesha East, Ilesha West, Atakumosa East and West respectively is predominantly made up of pristine jungles. Few of the arable lands are cultivated on a commercial scale and as such the main resource of the people are laid to waste as there is no concerted Governmental effort towards developing the lands for optimal agricultural production. The Manifesto proposes to achieve the following in the quickest possible time in conjunction and partnership with the government of the day:

• Optimal development of arable lands by promoting partnership between Government and the traditional authorities that claim ancestral ownership of the lands
• Collaborative subsidies for Fertilizer and the introduction of genetically modified crops that can grow year round without the usual seasonal hindrances caused by weather fluctuations
• Provision of farm implements using technologically advanced techniques as may be available in partner countries
• Pharmacological development of the medicinal attributes of the diverse plants that exists in the Jungles. This could be achieved by partnering with the Trado-medical institutes to develop commercially viable medicinal value in the land.
• Commercial farming where the farmers that currently carry out menial labor for subsistence farming are coordinated to provide a large scale workforce for the commercial farms that are created as a product of partnership with foreign governments using Public Private Partnerships
• Aquaculture will be developed based on the large amount of streams and rivers that currently exists in the land
• Standardization and optimization of the Mineral Resources in the land to resuscitate a resource allocation for commercialization of the activities of foreign firms that are eking out a profit from the lands in Ijesha South Federal Constituency
• Standardization and Optimization of all cash crops in the area to meet international best practice in processing, packaging and storage of the produce from the land thereby creating jobs and urbanization of the villages and towns that act as commercial hubs for activities in Ijesha South federal constituency.

ii.                  Our People

The entire population of Ijesha South Federal Constituency is an estimated 2.2 million inhabitants comprising predominantly indigenous Ijeshas, Oyos, Igedes (settlers from Benue State), Ibos and a few Hausa fulanis that the Ijeshas refer to as Gambaris (rightfully of wrongfully). This demographic spread attests to the fact that the people are mainly homogenous in their ethnicity with a few divers spread amongst the settlers in the land. Since it is scientific to adjudge that the people are willing to work together for collective growth and development, it is necessity that the Government empowers the people via the provision of adequate human capital development initiatives that will benefit the people and create the wealth required for the people to excel.

This manifesto is designed to achieve the following in entrenching a spirit of mutual development and dependence by attempting to revive the days of the Ijesha Improvement Society of the early 20th century where the people joined resources together to achieve collective wealth. DBA aims to develop the traditional values and businesses of the people of Ijesha South Federal Constituency into viable training programmes for the populace so as to empower them to harness the resources in their locality to generate the much needed income streams to alleviate poverty. We will resort back to our self help initiatives which are what the Ijesha doggedness is built upon! The following will be areas of priority for DBA once elected into the House:

• Modernizing “Oshomaalos”: The creation of a credit based system that will aid the financial capital of the traders of Ijeshaland to ensure that cash generation is not hindered by lack of funding. This will be done by the strategic introduction of Micro finance banks to the region backed by a substantial amount of capital funded by Government allocations, foreign aid and donor agencies.
• Commercial Farming Training schemes: Global food insecurity as a strategic opportunity for Ijeshaland to become a food basket in the region. Using his influence in the House of Reps, DBA will introduce strategic partnerships between communities and the BRIC countries to assist in the training of farmers and the Ijesha workforce in optimizing the farming for commercial export and foreign exchange.
• Commodities trading training: DBA aims to use his influence garnered from his membership of the National Assembly to ensure that the Ijesha people are trained en masse in the sale of all the cash crops that are produced from the region. Cocoa, kolanuts, maize, cassava (ethanol), palm oil and kennels etc all have intrinsic value at the international commodities trading and as such we will train our people in the trading of these commodities on International commodities markets.  
• Homeopathic training Guides: This centers on the use of herbal medicine to create a viable industry for plants that have medicinal value. All naturally grown medicinal plants as prescribed by the herbalists and trado-medical practitioners will be planted on a commercial scale to bring in the much needed foreign exchange from the international markets.
• Food processing Training: The training in food storage and processing using semi manual and automated methods could easily be seen as a measure of knowledge transfer from more developed countries to the heartland of Ijeshaland. This will be pursued vigorously with the implementation of bio-genetics to assist crop growth in record time.
• Resurgence of Cooperative societies: This objective will ensure that the collaborative efforts of the productive populace with ensure that Ijesha South Fed Constituency will regain its credence as a viable market economy driven by co-opetition as opposed to cooperation for market development.

      iii.                Our Wealth

The aim of this Manifesto is to increase the per capita income of the average member of society in Ijesha South Federal Constituency, and if applied to the whole country, to Nigeria in general. All the strategies stated above are high level details of ways that this lofty ideal of “prosperity for all” will be achieved. The following are the rationale behind this project for the increase of wealth to the great peoples of Ijesha South:

• Our land and all its riches form the basis of the raw material needed for the creation of wealth in the constituency 
• Our people are the bedrock with which these resources will be harnessed and processed to create value. 
• Our Wealth will be created from the revival of the local industry, the market development and the earning power of the artisans that will ensure the urbanization of the rural areas through the strategic increment in the Internally Generated Revenue created from the tax and other levies imposed on the people by the government of the day. This in turn will create the much needed FDI needed for growth and also give the Government enough leverage to invest in mandatory infrastructure required for a full blown emancipation from the thorny hands of poverty in Ijesha South Federal Constituency. 

“Our people are suffering from poverty, this is the great disease that is currently ravaging our lands due to the neglect of the leaders. If our people are poverty stricken they cannot think constructively. Let us give them opportunities for wealth creation and they will be healed of a number of other ailments”…..DBA

4.0             Social Contracts

The idea of a social contract is a contract between DBA and the electorate which will stipulate the minimum expectation of the electorate so as to ensure that once elected he doesn’t forget his obligations to the people.

This strategy will be followed doggedly throughout the campaign trail to ensure that the hopes and wishes of the people are encapsulated in a visionary document called “The Peoples Mandate”.

The Peoples mandate will be signed by all the community leaders in the constituency and countersigned by DBA as this document will be used as a yardstick for measuring the success of DBA’s representation at the National Assembly during and after his tenure in the House.

Once the communities tabulate their needs and aspirations DBA will go and fashion out the best way to achieve these lofty ideals using his position as a member of the House to leverage in attaining the needed resources to achieve these imperative objectives as stated by the people.

This shows that DBA is focused mainly on people oriented policies that echo the ideals of Chief Obafemi Awolowo and all the progressive leaders of the last 5 decades in Nigeria. His ideals are not socialist but a full espousal of the idiom that democracy is a government of the people, for the people, by the people. The social contract is a tripartite agreement between the people, their community leader and the aspirant for the House of Representatives Chief Daniel Bankole Afilaka.

“If all aspirants believe in their own promises they should be held accountable for their promises to the electorate in the courts of law! This is the essence of the social contract”                                                                             …. DBA

5.0             The People and the Government

This section is clearly to show that the aspirant DBA is in touch with the reality of the situation in Nigeria as a whole. It need not be overstated that the Representative is supposed to be a voice for his people at the National Assembly where laws are made for the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In this regard DBA is writing to define his perception of Government and its responsibility to the people. This will in turn be reflected in the kind of Bills that he will introduce to the House of Representative as well as a reflection of the kinds of votes that should be expected from him. DBA as a consistent politician with a very developed sense of social responsibility aims to put these thoughts into writing so that he can be judged according to the dictates of his own words as copiously provided herein.

• Transparency and Accountability

This is a responsibility of government to ensure that its activities are beyond ridicule and public outcry and as such that all its activities be open to public scrutiny as and when requested by the electorate.

• Constructive criticism

The legislative arm of government should be a check to the Executive arm to ensure that the Executive arm is executing its public policies in line with the best interest of the country and its citizens via constructive criticism devoid of personality praise worship and selfish construct

• People oriented policies

All policies enacted by the legislature and passed by Government must first be favorable to the socio-economic and political well being of the Government and general populace else it should be jettisoned and dumped for more altruistic motives.

• National Security and Integrity

The most important aspect of nation building is our integrity as a nation and the security of our borders and national interests. It is hereby inferred that all policies that appear to negate or undermine public safety and thus national security be given a zero tolerance response.

• Nation building

Nigeria is more important than any of its constituent parts and as such DBA makes it very clear that he is true nationalist and will use his position if elected to promote such lofty ideals that support the nation building process over other less commendable endeavors.

• Regional expansion and control

Nigeria is a great country with great potential; however the potential will only be achieved once we consolidate on our role as a regional giant in the socio-political sphere in West Africa and Africa in general.

• True independence

All policies that appear to negate the philosophy of self help will not be acquiesced to as this will be inimical to growth and development of the real sector in Nigeria. Nigeria is supposedly an independent country and still it is dependent on its colonial benefactors for most of its finished products. This situation is unacceptable.

• Globalization as a tool for success

Nigeria needs to position itself as a competitive partner in the globalized world. We need to define the rules of engagement with our foreign counterparts that will be beneficial to the common man as well as the corporate giants that exploit our national resources for global financial stability.

• Enterprise versus Government

DBA is a proponent of Public Private Partnerships with Government in less than critical aspects of our national existence however all critical infrastructure that could impact our integrity as a nation or that has the potential to cripple the economic activities of our country should be nationalized and adequately monitored for efficiency and effectiveness.

6.0             Ijesha South Federal Constituency and the International Community

The world in the 21st century is a global village and as such every part of the globe is connected to International commerce and politics. It should not be a surprise as proven by the recent global economic recession that financial crisis in the developed nations has a peculiar way of affecting the price of food in these shores.

In this regard it is necessary that a proper research be commissioned that will carry out the following activities:

• Role of Ijeshaland in global commerce
• Ijesha Commodities as an avenue for enterprise building
•  Ijesha South, the Internet and Poverty alleviation
• Global aid for the poor from donor agencies
• Global food insecurity and the Ijesha heartland
• The role of the Free Trade Zone in poverty alleviation

Once these researches are commissioned the results will be published for the community and the younger generation in particular to tap into the wealth of information that will be made available for all. This information if used properly will give the basis for positioning our people as players in global finance and commodities trading. This will immediately see an Ijesha boy potentially trading commodities or FOREX on international platforms thereby creating the much needed income stream which will further bolster the economic activities in the Ijesha South Federal Constituency.

7.0             Conclusion

DBA is truly humbled at the fact that you the reader took your time in reading this my humble submission on my own thoughts and hopes for the Ijesha South Federal constituency. The essence of all the submissions is to identify cogent strategies for wealth creation in the Ijesha South Federal Constituency aimed at bringing Prosperity to all those hardworking peoples of the constituency. I believe in these strategies while I am fully self-aware of the fact that my thoughts on paper will generate criticism from my detractors. This I am ready and willing to address, as I know that nothing is etched in stone in leadership and governance. It is worthy of note that the great sages of old advised that a leader must be like a fluid substance that is ready to negotiate a different turn anytime the obstacle of superior argument obstructs his path. I am ready to listen to all views on this Manifesto so as to perfect the content herein for the benefit of our peoples and without prejudice to any one or group of people.

8.0             My Promise and My Pledge

I, Daniel Bankole Afilaka hereby and herein due solemnly promise to carry out the dictates of this manifesto as a sublime pledge to the good people of Ijesha South Federal Constituency and Nigeria at large in truth and with utmost fidelity to the God of my heart conscientiously, dedicatedly and doggedly so help me God!!

  

Chief Daniel Bankole Afilaka

"Opa Kan.. Ijesha kan"

House of Rep Aspirant

Ijesha South Federal Constituency!!

Labour Party.. Forward Ever!!

(c) Dec 2010