Visionary leadership is a type of leadership that focuses on creating a vision not for the present but for the future and inspiring others to make it a reality.
It involves setting clear goals, creating a sense of purpose, and motivating those around them to take action in order to achieve the desired outcome.
Visionary leaders have strong communication skills, act as mentors, and are able to look at the big picture while inspiring their teams to work together.
They are also creative problem solvers who can think outside the box and find innovative solutions to even the most difficult challenges.
At a time like this in Nigeria in our history as a country that is witnessing hard times, where poverty continues to stare at the masses in the face daily, where it becomes increasingly difficult for private car owners to buy a litre of Premium Motor Spirit otherwise known as fuel for as little as N800 per little.
Here in Oyo State, there is a visionary leader who might have seen our contemporary situation and quickly decided to tackle it before the situation gets worse.
In 2021, Oyo state Government approved the sum of N750,000 for the procurement of 60 bicycles for conveyance of civil servants at the state Secretariat to Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
The bicycles according to the Commissioner for Energy and Natural Resources, Hon. Seun Ashamu would be known as “Keke Seyi” and its pilot scheme would be within three months.
Ashamu noted that the Keke-Seyi initiative will cost the state N750, 000 for procurement of all the bicycles.
Ashamu said “At the Executive Council meeting held today (Tuesday), council approved the implementation of a Bicycle drive codenamed ‘Keke-Seyi’. The bicycles will be piloted in collaboration with Our Bike Nigeria, an indigenous company who has offered the state its services to come and pilot a Bike –Sharing Scheme within the secretariat initially. With this, there will be bicycles available for use by the members of the public and staff of the state.
“They will be providing us with 60 bicycles for the pilot which will last for a period of three months initially.”
Justifying the need for the bicycle scheme, Ashamu said “we have members of the public that come into the secretariat at the moment and they walk around. We also have members of the public who for one reason or the other will have to drive for a short journey within the secretariat.
“So the bicycles are there to promote a number of things, ease of mobility within the secretariat, they are there to promote healthy living. Particularly when you consider the interesting circumstances that we find ourselves in the world today and with people’s lives and livelihood.
“It is a bike-sharing scheme, what that means is that you can actually enter into the secretariat through any of the main entrances, pick up a bicycle and ride it to wherever it is that you are going. The bicycles will also be made available to the ministries, departments and agencies so that members of staff can also use the bicycles.
“There are protocols and procedures that guide the use of bicycles. It is a bike-sharing scheme that has been in Europe and North America long before we brought it to Africa and the company we partner with is already operating in about 16 locations in Nigeria.
Now, fast forward to 2023,July 27th precisely , the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Ministry of Transportation has called on Nigerians to consider bicycles as an alternative means of transportation.
The Director of Road Transport and Transit Administration, Musa Ibrahim, said this at a one-day stakeholders’ sensitisation meeting held in Abuja.
He said the goal is to increase the importance of cycling in Nigeria to cause a decrease in traffic and accidents.
It suffices to say without any ambiguity that the Federal government is on the verge of emulating another successful policy and programme initiated by Governor Seyi Makinde and executed by a young and vibrant Commissioner in his cabinet, Barrister Seun Ashamu TNA.
Ashamu’s re-appoitment as a Commissioner and returned to his previous portfolio held in Omituntun 1.0 tells the blind and the deaf that TNA as he is fondly has already keyed into the Sustainable Development Agenda of Governor Seyi Makinde in Omituntun 2.0 where all the lofty projects this administration through his Ministry in the first term will be accomplished in the second term.
Investigations revealed that the ‘Keke Seyi’ pilot scheme didn’t fail as statistics from data collated showed that thousands of Oyo State Civil Servants subscribed to the scheme.
The scheme will only be restricted to campuses like Secretariat and other government institutions but not on the roads since bicycle lanes have not yet been mapped out.
Ibrahim Adetola is a Public Affairs Analyst and a Unionist.
