Amofin Beulah Adeoye, through his Beulah Adeoye Foundation on Thursday executed a environmental project towards community development, at Sango Market in Ibadan North Local Government Area, Oyo State.

The project tagged #CleanUpOyoInitiatives, took place on February 13, 2025, was targeted to improved the market’s hygiene conditions and fostered a stronger sense of environmental responsibility among traders and community members.

“The transformation we’ve added to Sango Market demonstrates the power of collective action in creating sustainable change,” said Ridwan Fasasi , the Chief of Staff to the President of the Foundation.

“Our primary goal was to enhance public health through improved environmental sanitation, and the results have exceeded our expectations.” He added.

The project received commendations from market stakeholders, with many expressing gratitude for the Foundation’s intervention. Market leaders particularly praised the initiative’s positive impact on their daily operations and the overall trading environment.

While speaking with our representative, Miss Oyindamola Rahmon, who is the project coordinator gave the following remarks; “The #CleanUpOyoInitiatives sanitation project was born out of a passion to create a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable environment for everyone. The impact of this project goes beyond just the physical environment. At the Beulah Adeoye Foundation, we are excited to build on this momentum and continue to explore innovative solutions that will further enhance our environment sustainability.”

Looking ahead, the Beulah Adeoye Foundation plans to expand this successful model to other Local Government Areas across Oyo State. The Foundation is also exploring partnerships with local government authorities and waste management agencies to ensure the sustainability of these improvements.

In my last week’s column, I briefly explored Malcolm Gladwell’s best-selling book entitled: ‘David and Goliath’. Writing about the book, I contended that the author, Gladwell spoke about how to turn weaknesses to strengths and how an underdog or misfit can turn the tide and take over from the giants without realizing the enormity of their power and without changing much about their situations or predicaments. As an aside, I equally walked lovers, friends and readers through a brief history of Governor Seyi Makinde’s political rise in the state and how he turned obstacles into stepping stones instead of allowing challenges to stand in the ways of his progress and eventual electoral success.

In essence, I rounded up by noting that Amofin Beulah Adeoye has always demonstrated such resilience and strengths whenever confronted by obstacles and challenges planted in his way by fate or providence. For one, I enthused that Malcolm Gladwell, in his book argued that unconventional advantages – like nimbleness and adaptability – can overcome apparent challenges. I added that the book challenges notions of power and success, emphasizing resilience and innovative thinking”. This week, I want to pick another important part of Gladwell’s book that resonates deeply with Amofin Beulah Adeoye: The Big Pond, Small Fish hypothesis. To understand this better, let us digress a little. As a primary school pupil, I was exposed early to the biblical story of David and Goliath.

That a small boy could bring down a giant with a slingshot captured my imagination. Underlying that story though, was the power of faith and preparation when faced with oversize obstacles. In effect, I grew up with the conviction that any giant can be brought its knees with faith and work. In retrospect, I posited that for Amofin Beulah Adeoye, no story captures his rise from the staff quarters of the University of Ibadan to global rise than the David and Goliath. That he has mastered the art of turning weaknesses to strengths and continues to emerge stronger in the face of obstacles. “That he is reinventing the wheel of adaptive leadership in the state political landscape is not an accident.

Back to the Big Fish and Small Pond hypothesis. As part of Malcolm Gladwell’s postulation in David and Goliath, this hypothesis claims that individuals can appear more talented or exceptional when they are in a small, less competitive environment (small point) compared to when they are in a larger, more competitive setting (big pond). In a small pond, for instance, individuals may stand out more easily and receive more recognition for their skills or accomplishments, whereas in a big pond, the competition can be greater, brutal and fiercer, making it harder for individuals to distinguish themselves.

Perhaps, this position suggests that context and environment play crucial roles in how talent and success are perceived. As an exceptional and excellent player in the corporate world, Amofin Beulah Adeoye brings to the table a remarkable wealth of knowledge, experience and exposure that can only serve as a catalyst for the growth and development of Oyo State. That is not all. His ability to dare greatly regardless of his situations and circumstances indeed stand him out as one of a kind who disruptive and unconventional leader in the state and beyond. For someone that has played in the global arena as a corporate legal luminary, he’s undaunted about overcoming any challenges and obstacles that will come his way in any new task and assignment.

Olajide Hamzat writes about the various prospect and potential of Oyo state while projecting Amofin Beulah Adeoye as a solution provider, problem solver and creative, adaptive and innovative leader and thinker with compassion and empathy.

Kayode Babayomi, the chairman of the African Action Congress (AAC) in Oyo state, has strongly condemned the government’s plan to regulate public gatherings, including protests and rallies, following a recent stampede in Ibadan.

SaharaReporters learned that the Oyo State House of Assembly has urged the executive arm of Government to regulate large public gatherings, particularly those with 500 or more attendees.

This decision comes in the wake of the tragic stampede at a private children’s funfair in Ibadan on December 18, 2024, which claimed multiple lives, most of them children.

The motion, titled “Need for the Executive Arm of Government to Regulate Large Public Gatherings to Ensure Safety and Prevent Tragic Incidents,” was moved by Hon. A.O. Babalola (Ibadan North-East 1) and co-sponsored by Rt. Hon. E.A. Ogundoyin (Ibarapa East), Speaker; Hons. S.A. Onaolapo (Ogbomoso South), Leader of the House and four other lawmakers.

During its legislative deliberation on Tuesday, the House expressed deep sorrow over the Ibadan tragedy and commended the state government for its prompt medical intervention for the victims.

In response, the AAC chairman accused the government of trying to silence the people through “useless bills and policies” in the state assembly in his recent post on X.

Babayomi described the proposed regulation, which mandates government permission for gatherings of over 500 people, as “repressive and despotic.”

He argued that this regulation would grant the sitting government excessive control over which gatherings can occur, effectively silencing opposition voices.

He wrote: “Cowards like @Adebo_ogund (Speaker, Adebo Ogundoyin) will look for every opportunity to silence the people through their useless bills and policies in the Oyo state assembly, the idea of regulating public gatherings above 500 is repressive and despotic, so political campaigns, advocacy rallies, protests will now require the political will or order by the sitting government, this will not be accepted by the people, it’s the duty of the government to provide security at every point, not looking for every possible reason to silence the people and tag them names.”

About 10 students of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, are receiving treatment in government hospitals after inhaling a poisonous gas and collapsing on Tuesday.

The Oyo State Government responded swiftly to the emergency at the tertiary institution after receiving a distress call.

Upon hearing about the incident, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, led an immediate emergency response.

The affected students were quickly evacuated and taken to Ring Road State Hospital and the University College Hospital for treatment.

Eyewitnesses said the students, from the Science Laboratory and Technology Department, were seated in their lecture hall after a course test when a fight broke out between two students.

“While others tried to stop the fight, an unknown choking substance was released into the air, allegedly sprayed by one of the students. This caused several students to collapse, while some lost consciousness. About 10 students were affected,” an eyewitness said.

Following the intervention, Ajetunmobi confirmed that they had been stabilised and were receiving proper medical care.

She urged the management of the institution to conduct a thorough investigation to find those responsible and ensure they face justice.

She also stressed the importance of sensitisation programmes for students to discourage violence and harmful behaviour that could put lives at risk.

“The Ministry of Health remains committed to ensuring the well-being of all Oyo State residents and will continue to respond promptly to health-related emergencies,” she reassured.

The Rector of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Dr. Taiwo, appreciated the state government’s swift response, promising to identify and punish those responsible.

It is unfortunate that the APC is so shameless that it is thumping its chest on the issue of UCH-IBEDC imbroglio instead of covering its face in shame.

But we are not surprised because APC will play politics with anything, even the agony and pains of the people they were elected to serve.
The fact is that the problem at UCH was not caused by the Oyo State Government. Rather, it was due to the failure of the Federal Government to live up to its promise of subsidizing cost of electricity to hospitals.

Last year August, the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, publicly declared that the Federal Government would subsidise electricity in teaching hospitals following the categorization of electricity users into bands.

That was six months ago. The question to ask is, has the Federal Government fulfilled its promise? So, why should the APC now choose to blame Oyo State Government for a problem created by the insensitivity of the Federal Government? Had the Federal Government fulfilled its promise of subsidizing its own institution as it promised would the UCH be in this state?

Now, shall we ask the APC that after the Minister has intervened in the UCH-IBEDC face off, will he also go to Lagos to resolve the issue between LUTH and Eko Disco should there be a problem, or go to Maiduguri to plead with the electricity distribution company not to disconnect University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital?
Come on, governance is a much more serious business than that. Governance is for serious-minded people, not clowns. Nigeria surely deserves better than these jesters who are just junketing all over the place glamorizing common problems instead of thinking out of the box to get permanent solutions to them.
In Oyo State, we don’t paper over the cracks; we go to the roots of issues to get permanent solutions.

Dr Sulaimon Olanrewaju,
Special Adviser on Media to Oyo State Governor
February 11, 2025