A little Proposal for a New EDO State in Osunbor-Imasuen Era
By
Dr. John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D.
I want to say
from the onset that every Human Community is about
development. The primary basis of development is to
create a genuine system of meaningful growth,
wealth, solidarity, security and dignity across the
various parts of the community. The Edo environment
is a large community of various ethnicities as in Esan, Bini, Otuo, Igarra, Akoko, Afemai and Ora. The
Edo State will have to be guided by the understanding that emerging forces in form of
inter-dependent leadership is the least that is
needed to follow-up and built on eight years
experimental foundations currently in place. The
last eight-years of politically, economically,
socially and educationally administering the Edo
State was carried out through trial and errors and
conflicting demands in attempt to reconcile and
replace various elements of military disarrangements, military incompetence, and
institutional confusions. Regrettably, the
experiment ended up with few positive outcomes. The
seeking out of responsible political, economic and
social institutions in attempt to ensure civility
and restore sovereignty for the people of Edo State
is a collective form of developmental experiment
which began since 1999, and is now coming to a state
of conclusion.
The consolidation and management of series of
attempts, tasks and relations as well as the
resolution of weak projects and pursuit of undefined
programs stemming from Lucky Igbinedion’s democratic
and non military eight-year periods is about to
transit to a real watershed democratic moment and
rule under the leadership of a professional and
principled leader, Governor-Elect Oserheimen A.
Osunbor. For the purpose of development, growth and
stability in my capacity as an African-centered
Clinical/Forensic Psychologist with at least 20 plus
years of governmental experience and consultation in
America, I offer the following working and guiding
proposal for the new Edo Stat of the 21st century:
In the area of executive leadership, the designation
of an executive team and supportive administrators/specialized professionals/service
staff should be instituted in order to maintain a
positive government functioning thereby help promote
healthier work environment, responsive governmental programs and services on behalf of the people in
rural and township areas of Edo State. The
designation of government-friendly programs and
services in order to provide sensitive, flexible and
stable partnership with the Edo people.
Under the management of the Executive /Governorship
office, should be a select committee or commission for the screening of (personal Life Style,
personality characteristics, work ethics, financial
independence skills, public sensitivity skills,
public service commitment, security clearance
behavior, etc.) of potential ministry
commissioners/departmental heads.
The designations of programs and services with the
highest standards of care which will help reinforce individual and communities’ strengths. The
designation of programs and services with a system
in place to track all government workers and
departmental heads (commissioners/administrators)
performances and respond by provision of appropriate
rewards, benefits as well as consequences which will
help motivate management and staff and create
positive expectations among service providers.
The designation of Target programs and services in
various sections of the government in order to help identify specific needs within towns and rural
areas, and then prioritize appropriate and assistive
services in a cost-effective way. A system of target
programs and services will help reveal difficult
situations/problems and monitor valuable but
uncompleted projects. The designation of
programs/ministries and services in which various
departments develop and have in place a
Multi-Intervention Team (MIT) or Quality Improvement
Team (QIT) which could convene quarterly in order to
internally plan, assess, measure and effect the
delivery of direct and quality services in a timely
and cost effective manner. To make sure that the
staff team adequately monitor services or intervene
adequately a program committee made up of professionals and community constituencies which
could meet annually and generate an annual report reflecting the quality, integrity and performances
of service outcome by each Department/Ministry.
Within the System of Health Services, the
Agency/Department’s scope of services should have:
The promotion of healthy communities through out the
state should be a top agenda at all times. The Health Department should help to deliver public
health services unconditionally, without favor and
partiality. To protect the people from health
hazards in where they live, work and entertain. To
operate adequate system of preventative programs in
order to reduce sickness and prevent health
problems. Establish programs on healthy eating
through nutritional education for women, school
children and encourage washing among workers,
students and food sellers and others who use public
utilities, particularly to promote programs in
sexual abstinence among youths until marriage in
order to reduce sexually transmitted diseases.
Parents and community members should be exposed to
workshops in child abstinence education. Develop
prevention programs on youths and adults empowerment
skills over tobacco and cigarette use.
To encourage the development of immunization
services or practices for children and adults to
eliminate preventable diseases. To promote
responsible services and linkages with federal
health officials to protect our people from
counterfeit substances and drugs. To protect the
health of the people by licensing health professionals, practitioners and health facilities
as well as fully enforcing health rules on violators (practitioners and facilities), through
regulatory committees within the Department of
Health.
The Ministry of Education should have: the promotion
of educational environment for the enhancement of learning and diverse education. To create a
competitive educational culture that will attract private/independent schools from outside
countries this could strategically open economic
investments and financial sources for the state, and
employment opportunities for our people.
The Transportation Ministry should have: the
responsibility of establishing, expanding,
coordinating and maintaining a transportation system
for the safety of the people of Edo and people of
other adjoining states. The matter of transportation
to Edo State main entrance Benin City and within
Benin and other cities remain a daunting challenge
for the consumers. A strategic plan and management
of various transportation routes and the restoration
and improvements of various passages should be a
joint venture in form of true investments by the new
Edo government and the federal government. Active
participation in road, water and all improvements
should be encouraged and the burden of clean towns
should mostly rest on the people-the consumers.
The Ministry /Department of Children and Families
should have: to provide services for children and
families with a focus on prevention and early
intervention and help families develop the spirit
and act of resiliency and independence and
ultimately reduce the constant dependency for social
and economic needs. The mission of all families
programs is to initiate services to help the need
and protect vulnerable children and families and
subsequently use Strengthen Families Programs (SFP)
to create self help skills. To develop adequate
program service areas in matters involving
bused/neglected/homeless children, involving elderly and disable persons. Special needs programs for the
mentally ill, drug abusers, sexual abused children/victims of sexual violence should be
adequately developed. To enhance these services and
make them available across the state, cluster of the
aforementioned services should be denoted as rural
wide, neighborhood focused components. Best
practices of these services to be carried out by
first degree holders in any area of Human services
(e.g. psychological, education, counseling,
sociology) with in-service training in rural,
cultural and crisis response skills. The spirit and
act of cross-agency coordination and collaboration
(with other ministries like Health and Education)
will help eliminate duplication of services, wasteful use of resources. Retirees with human
services skills in the area of socialization,
emotional and caregiver skills should be utilized as
volunteers (registered) to children vulnerable and
uneducated children, adults and families’ basic
literacy skills. To develop rural alliance,
neighborhood alliance programs to help with drug
abuse, alcohol abuse, recreation-related education.
To adequately enhance services for mental health
treatment and counseling as well as providing
community-based programs to promote prevention services in such areas as delinquency, crime
victimization and environmental hazard awareness.
The Ministry of Court Administration should have:
the provision of judicial services recognize the
need for impartiality knowledge in family’s skills,
and the importance of developing educational
relationships with family, mental health and
educational service ministries in order to make way
for a non-clustered and productive court system. Law
related education and awareness should be made
available in primary and secondary schools in order
to develop skills in civil behaviors,
self-responsibility, confidence and respect for the
law and trust in the justice system. To promote the
need for policies which recognize psychological and developmental factors (especially with the mentally
and physically challenged children and adults) in
legal decision making? Adequate evaluation and
examination resources by way of psychological and
educational testing (and counseling) should be
created, implemented and practiced to ensure that
children/adults involved in court proceedings are
fully mentally developed thereby competent to
partake in court procedures.
The Ministry of Agricultural Services should have:
the promotion of the state’s natural and
agricultural resources as one-of-a-kind in Nigeria.
The tropical and vegetation environment of the
people of Edo gives way for adequate productivity of
rubber, oil palm, sugar cane, cotton, soy beans etc.
Animal husbandry and the river-based environment put
the Edo people along the line of becoming a center
for aquaculture in the world. The Edo aquaculture
needs to be promoted in the developed countries that
are eager to invest in aquatic forms and
plantations. The sugar cane crop a clear source of
ethanol and a future bio-fuel (an alternative to
gasoline) remain a significant economic potential
for the Edo people who need to gain full attraction
and investment from developed nations,
auto-motor/car industries. Ethanol technology-based industries in Euro-American or Western countries
need to be effectively linked for the purpose of
investing in facility buildings and expanding
Agricultural schools with a focus on aquatic,
sugar-cane, corn and other production source
economies.
The Executive Government should expand on: the
continued promotion of Edo land as a positive
economic climate for agricultural, industrial,
mineral resources development and trade. Edo state
economy should be aggressively promoted as a
possible global resource center with assurance and
demonstration of safety and security specific to
one’s individuality, property and investment. Given
that the Edo people are blessed and rich in cultural
history memories, territories and activities the
promotion of the Edo land as an ecological and
cultural tourism should be seen as a source of long
term economic boom provided that we are collectively
enhance and safe guard all transportation routes and
trail paths to Edo tourist centers. Every community
pays a price the development and stability of its
people and certainly government alone cannot pay the
price for its development growth and stability and
for this reason I have taking the position to make
this small, working and futuristic proposal in my
capacity as an Edo indigene who in the last thirteen years have developed and continue to manage
psychological corporate practice evaluating,
examining, creating and consulting with various
American governmental agencies for the purpose of
servicing persons in need of psychological,
education, health, psycho-forensic and vocational
evaluation and guidance. I am duly assured by my
faith in God and in the Edo people that the rule of
law, justice, development, prosperity and security
will prevail as we form an alliance into a new Edo
in the 21st century.
Dr. John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D., a practicing
clinical and forensic psychologist in Miami,
Florida, Email JOS5930458@aol.com
