A former Governor of Ogun State, Senator Gbenga Daniel, has revealed why he contested to be governor and made an impact in his eight years of two terms.
Daniel made this known in an interview with select Editors ahead of his 70th birthday at his Asoludero Court home, Sagamu, Ogun State.
Popularly known by the sobriquet, OGD, taken from his title, Otunba, preceding Gbenga Daniel, he said he was prepared for governance because he and his team were pained by the fact that the state was not progressing as fast as it should.
He said: “We didn’t see commensurate development, although many people making waves were from Ogun.
“It was a sleeping giant.
“Decades later, the situation has changed.
“The state has witnessed a turnaround.
“I laid a good foundation.
“There was no government before us that faced the challenges squarely.
“Across the sectors, we were in a hurry to develop.”
The representative of Ogun East Senatorial District said his government made an instant impact because he adopted the model of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, a former Premier of Western Region, who he met as a student.
Daniel said of his hero: “Awo was an enigma.
“Clear.
“Specific.
“Deliberate in action.
“Meticulous.
“Strategic in his intervention in education, agriculture, social services, infrastructural development.
“He was ahead of his time.
“Ideologically, I am quite in tune with Awo’s ‘life more abundant.’”
Asked if he has any regrets over some of his policies, Daniel said: “I came with progressive ideas into a setting that was conservative.”
