Okanlawon Has Consistently Offered His Quota To The Development of Ibarapa, Oladele Kudus Feranmi

An illustrious son of Ibarapa has released an article to eulogize the Federal House of Representatives candidate of Accord Party in Ibarapa Central/North Federal Constituency, Engr. (Dr) David Olusegun Okanlawon ahead of the 2023 general election.

The article which reads in parts is underneath;

TOPIC: AS 2023 GENERAL ELECTIONS DRAW NEARER, PROJECT ANY POLITICAL CANDIDATE IN IBARAPA LAND, STATING HIS/HER REMARKABLE ACTIVITIES TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE REGION IN THE LAST 5 YEARS THAT DESERVES TO BE GIVEN MANDATE TO REPRESENT NEXT YEAR.

YOU ARE ALSO EXPECTED TO INCLUDE THE LEADERSHIP PROWESS SUCH CANDIDATE POSSESSES WHICH WILL BRING OVERALL DEVELOPMENT IF ELECTED NEXT YEAR.

Written by: Oladele Kudus Feranmi
Whatsapp name: AYOTOYOSI

MY PROJECTION
In this write up, I would be projecting Engr. David Olusegun Okanlawon, an indigene of Idere in Ibarapa Central Local Government and the Founder, Olusegun Okanlawon Foundation. Okanlawon presently vies for the position of member, Federal House of Representatives to represent Ibarapa Central/North Federal Constituency in the Green Chamber.

Some of His Remarkable Activities Towards The Development Of Ibarapa Region:
Engr. David Olusegun Okanlawon since 2018 has consistently offered his quota to the development of Ibarapa till date and a lot more plans and programs are underway. Some of his remarkable activities designed to enable development in Ibarapa are categorized below into various sections of community development which includes;

EDUCATION
As we plan to create an enabling environment where development strives, the youths who would uphold and build on what is on ground needs quality education. A society like Afghanistan recently announced their decision to allow education to strive. It is very obvious that the decay they have witnessed over years was due to their ban on education. Summarily, Engr. Okanlawon’s first approach towards the development of Ibarapa starts with Education. An indigent student of Igboora high school was served a free WAEC scholarship followed by a total of 120 free Jamb forms with mock exams in 2018. Till date, this plan is still in progress and the numbers have been increased over time.
Aside awarding the Jamb scholarships, he does set up CBT training for prospective Jamb Students. A pre to post examination/admission mentorship program with which he supports admission seekers into tertiary institutions.
In this same context, he has given out scholarships at different levels. At least 3 Ibarapa born students are still running on his full academic scholarship and many have gotten different grants. All these are to encourage students especially in periods when juvenile delinquency has set in and youths no longer see reasons or motivations to study.

SPORT
It is obvious that we all cannot make a living with education (career wise). Some Youths already excelled in Sports and they are making not just their regions proud globally, but the country. An example is the athlete Amusan, Asisat Oshola among others.
Okanlawon since 2019 introduced Ibarapa Sport Fiesta featuring all sorts of games both indoor and outdoor. Sometimes after the first sport fiesta, he sponsored some footballers for screening in Ibadan and due to the rigged system of governance, politics stole the show and there was no avenue for merit to display her prestige. Ever since, the sport activities have evolved and he already launched his second marathon programme the first of its kind in Ibarapa. Youths have been able to define and identify their talents and plans are in place to field the marathon winners in a morewider space where they can proof their worth beyond the four walls of Ibarapa.

HEALTHCARE
Okanlawon has facilitated a free eye test across Ibarapa and also subsidized fee necessary for the treatment of severe cases. Before then, he made a swift intervention during covid-19 era where he employed the service of an Ibarapa born professional who produced sanitizers in mass for distribution in Ibarapa.

TECHNOLOGY AND ICT
His earliest move towards bringing technology into play in Ibarapa arises as a counter measure to insecurity. Okanlawon argued that most of the kidnapping attempts would have failed if the network signals in Ibarapa is strong especially in remote and farm settlements. He wrote to all service providers and only MTN has visited to inspect and upgrade existing masts to 4g.
He also worked to slot in through registration and proper follow up Ibarapa indigenes into the NCC digital trainings one of which took place in Lagos last year.
He introduced VAR system to check irregularities in the football competitions.

GENERAL WELFARISM
Due to drudgery, the NIMC Enrollment center was initially grounded in Igboora making it difficult for people from other far distances and village settlements to benefit. Okanlawon unleashed his leadership trait and devised a strategy to rotate the enrollment exercise across Ibarapa. When that system was sabotaged, he moved to bring in private enrollment centres thereby easing the whole process for indigenes ahead of the later compulsion from the Federal Government.
He visited some farm settlements and repaired some boreholes until recently when he decides to erect nine motorized borehole systems across Ibarapa, at least 5 are already drilled.
Last year December, he distributed Christmas hampers and Ramadan package. He introduced graduate soft loan program, and a host of others this space would not allow me to list.

HIS LEADERSHIP PROWESS
I would like to categorize his leadership prowess into the following sections with scenarios as I have witnessed:

Problem Solving: The NIMC enrollment drudgery I have mentioned above is an example and the provision of alternatives when the rotation method was forcefully grounded.

Humility and Active Listening: Okanlawon accommodates everyone without questioning age, intentions and reasons. He also has a habit of always returning calls. This may sound a little unnecessary, but for a leader to give listening ears is worth mentioning.

Innovation and Creativity: Apart from introducing marathon programs, he once wrote the honorable member representing Ibarapa Central/North Federal Constituency on ‘Constituency Delimitation’. The letter dated as far back as 14th of May, 2019 and garnished with needed constitutional quotes to support. The letter argues that Ibarapa Central and North are ripe to exist as Ibarapa Central constituency and Ibarapa North constituency as this further makes transparency easier and ensures proper distribution of dividends of democracy to the communities. Recently, I learnt the
Honorable already mentioned it as a bill after he strongly rejected such proposition.
On this sub topic, I have listened to Okanlawon many a times explain his innovative plans to restructuring Ibarapa through development, industrialization and others, a plan that could be well written in paper and also realistic in real life.
One of such worth mentioning is the j troduction of VAR system to check football irregularities during his sport fiesta.

Positive psychology and Decisiveness: During the days when insecurity was gradually creeping into our communities, he wrote letters to the State Governor, House of Representative members on the need to clear the bush parts in arrears leading to farm settlements and roadsides where kidnapping and assassination to some meaningful meters as this means demolishing the hideouts of criminals who may want to hijack vehicles and stage kidnapping activities.

Integrity, Honesty and Trust: Ever since the inception of the foundation, Okanlawon has chosen integrity as his watchword and honesty as his password. There are a hundred and one examples where he already proved that. I have seen people advised him to always add to or improvise in activities he is bringing to space but he always declined. Some adviced that the number of Jamb scholarship which is 150 annually be announced as 1000, while others also advised that the officiating of sport activities be rigged to favor a town and a whole lot more. Okanlawon use to say that he is very happy with himself for not listening to those weird advices and that is why he had the opportunity to always defend himself whenever controversial issues arrive. Recently, one of those who joined his political course rose to decapitate Okanlawon by publishing that the 150 jamb scholarship was a lie and it is usually around 50. However, another person who as at that moment already renounces his membership in the foundation rose to write a rebuttal to the previous claim with enough evidence and proof. Integrity is not better defined.

Courage, Patience and Resilience: In the political space, there are situations where trusted allies tend to become strong oppositions. He managed to maintain his integrity amidst all bogus claims.

Focus and a Passionate Goal getter: Passion driven individuals tends to accomplish their goals. Many a times, most of the projects and plans to develop Ibarapa do face some setbacks but at the end he tends to ensure they are all achieved against all odds. Many do assume that Okanlawon is filthy rich which is not true but he was able to surmount many financial hurdles that have come in his way during many of these landmarks because of his passion for Ibarapa and his generosity hence, people do assume that he is ‘extravagantly’ wealthy.

I would love to write more, but my efforts to make this a very short one proved abortive and that is simply because OKANLAWON is more than a content.