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Opinion

Oloriegbe: The Glorious Exit of an Indispensable Asset from the Senate

By Is'haq Oluwashina Elepo

 

Motivated by his enduring conviction and confidence in his ability to propel developmental drive, the outgone Senator of Kwara Central Senatorial District, Dr. Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe has in the last four years availed himself of the instrumentality of the legislature to advance legislation that strengthens the social and economic fortune of his constituents. He has by his sterling records of performance categorized himself as a cerebral leader who has a blueprint of his destination even before the journey commences

To him, public office is an avenue to deliver impact to humanity, working his butt off to chart the path to sustainable greatness that places his community on the developmental pedestal. His style of representation symbolizes the essence of representative democracy given the practice of consistent engagements from which he draws feedback from the constituents to advance people-focused representation.

Having served as the majority leader of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Oloriegbe approached the Senate with appreciable knowledge of the legislative business and acquitted himself brilliantly on the assignment. This is impressively demonstrated in the productivity index of his legislative proposals and the quality of the resolutions initiated and supported by him.

A cerebral legislator whose contributions to national discourse always evince the highest standards of patriotism, rigour, maturity, sobriety, and restraint while being scathing and unsparing in his excoriation of iniquities that constitute impediments to collective growth. He is principled, determined, courageous and inspired by the vision to uphold progressive ideals to elevate the living standards of the people

Oloriegbe leveraged his professional pedigree as a seasoned medical practitioner to initiate legislations that strengthen the health sector and stamp out the challenges that hinder access to qualitative and affordable healthcare services. The milestones recorded to his credit in this highly important endeavour have brought honour to his name and further enriched his enviable resume. A quiet, unrivalled achiever of immense gifts and outstanding ethos.

With his performance, he has restored confidence in the merits of the legislature and proven the possibility of making indelible impacts in a very short period of leadership. In a space of four years, he sponsored 15 legislative proposals among which 11 scaled through the legislative processes, four of which were assented to by the President. The uniqueness of this legislative stride lies in its numerical and productivity index which underscore the vigour, resoluteness and devotion exerted on the processing of the bills.

The bills were products of thoughtful ideas conceived to lay the foundation for sustainable development that elevates the quality of life. The most prominent of these bills culminated in the unprecedented facilitation of the federal establishment nt, the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Budo-Egba, Asa LGEA, the first of which to be founded in the whole of North Central Zone. Achieving the objectives for its establishment, the health facility has begun to deepen access to specialized healthcare services and expand economic opportunities to stem the tide of unemployment and bring people closer to prosperity. This feat represents an outstanding legacy whose impacts would outlive its facilitator and extend to future generations.

Given the compelling need to abolish the outrageous health expenditure that deprives under-privileged sections of society of access to quality healthcare services, Oloriegbe initiated the National Health Insurance Authority Bill, which equally has been signed into law, to provide for sustainable financial mechanisms for health, boost healthcare delivery and strengthen the health insurance scheme which would ultimately accelerate the drive towards the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

In the quest to strengthen the health system in a manner that accommodates the innovative measure to improve the standard of healthcare delivery, He advanced the legislation that paves the way for the integration of traditional and alternative medicine which he said was imperative in the research into various remedies that could cure diseases and as well give legislative backing to the establishment of Federal College of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine for the important medical input.

It leaves one pleasantly surprised how his legislative acumen was deployed to achieve what hitherto seemed to be a pipedream, through his legislation the outdated and archaic Lunacy Act of 1958 was repealed and enacted a new law that guarantees the protection of people with mental health needs from being subjected to gross human rights violations, including degrading treatment, destitute living conditions and discrimination in housing, employment, medical, and other social services. The legislative efforts made in this direction in the past proved futile. In 2003, the bill was put forward but couldn’t scale through and was withdrawn in April 2009. When presented again for consideration in 2013, it couldn’t secure passage.

With the zeal to take healthcare to the doorsteps of the people, Oloriegbe has facilitated interventions to remodel and substantially equip several Primary Healthcare Centers to promote community-focused care, reduce the burden on hospitals and limit the extent of the social disparities in access to quality health services. This public-spirited intervention is equally replicated in the education sector with the distribution of instructional materials, construction of blocks of classrooms, and provision of ICT equipment all of which are intended to enhance the quality of teaching and improve the learning outcomes.

He has added value to the socio-economic well-being of a sizeable number of constituents by propelling them into the realm of financial independence through the self-sustaining empowerment with which they pursue a livelihood and earn a decent living. This is as he facilitated employment opportunities to improve the quality of life.

Ordinarily, one would have expected his return to the Senate to consolidate upon all these remarkable accomplishments but the undesirable political system and undemocratic formula brought this outstanding representation to a halt. Despite the machinations against him, he remained undaunted, steadfast and committed to the electoral fortune of his party in the last election.

With his head held high, he is bowing out of the Senate, fulfilled by the deluge of commendations affirming the unprecedented nature of his representation from the constituents. Surely, he has earned an enviable place for himself in the history of the development of his community.

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