By Shola Adebowale
One Man’s Commitment to Change the Story We Tell About Nigeria
In a nation where public discourse has become dominated by criticisms of governance failures, a troubling cultural phenomenon has taken root across Nigeria. We have become masters at apportioning blame to public officeholders, yet remarkably silent when exemplary leaders emerge who are genuinely transforming lives and rewriting the narrative of non-performance, corruption, and apathy that has plagued our national story.
This imbalance in our collective consciousness means that the exceptional exploits of rare Nigerians like Senator Solomon Adeola, representing Ogun West Senatorial District, have gone largely unnoticed and uncelebrated. While we are quick to condemn failure, we have become hesitant to acknowledge and amplify success. This must change.
What makes Senator Adeola’s work particularly significant is that it provides a blueprint for transformative leadership that other public servants can follow. His approach is comprehensive, touching every critical sector that affects the daily lives of ordinary Nigerians, from the electricity that powers their homes and businesses, to the roads that connect their communities, to the economic empowerment that lifts families out of poverty.
Among his most impactful interventions has been his commitment to bringing light where darkness prevailed. Power supply remains one of Nigeria’s most persistent challenges, strangling economic productivity and diminishing quality of life. Rather than offering empty promises, Senator Adeola has initiated 12 major electricity projects designed to end the persistent power outages that have held back communities in Ogun West and Ogun Central for far too long.
These projects include the reactivation of critical 33KV overhead lines connecting Ilaro to Ibese, Ibese to Dangote, and Igbogila to Ayetoro. He has constructed dedicated 33KV feeders to Ilaro Township from Papalanto Transmission Station and to Owode from Ota Transmission Station. Beyond these major infrastructural interventions, he has supplied and installed 500KVA transformers at strategic locations including Onikoko and Kings Dominion Street in Abeokuta.
In a move that demonstrates understanding of grassroots needs, Senator Adeola donated 102 transformers to 435 Community Development Areas spread across all three senatorial districts of Ogun State, benefiting 17 local government areas. To illuminate the nights and enhance security, he has installed over 16,500 solar-powered streetlights across Ogun West senatorial district and beyond.
These are not mere statistics. They represent businesses that can now operate extended hours, students who can study at night, hospitals that can provide uninterrupted care, and communities that feel safer after dark.
But Senator Adeola understands that infrastructure alone cannot lift communities out of poverty. True development requires economic empowerment, moving people from handouts to hand-ups. His economic empowerment initiatives are designed to revive local economies, support small and medium-scale enterprises, and fundamentally improve living conditions.
Through his microfinance empowerment scheme, “Oloja Yayi,” he distributed N137 million to over 5,500 market men and women in Yewaland. This is not political largesse distributed for votes; it is strategic investment in the economic backbone of communities. The market traders whose prosperity ripples through entire local economies.
He has empowered over 50,000 farmers with farm inputs and cash grants, recognizing that food security begins with supporting those who till the soil. He has provided buses to market women, the Christian Association of Nigeria, the League of Imams, and the Council of Baales in Yewa, facilitating mobility and commerce.
These initiatives represent a philosophy of governance that sees citizens not as passive recipients of government benevolence, but as economic agents whose productivity, when properly supported, can transform entire communities.
Equally critical to his vision is his recognition that education represents an investment in tomorrow. Senator Adeola has constructed over 150 new classrooms in primary and secondary schools across 25 locations in Ogun State. He has established well-equipped Information, Communication, and Technology centers to enhance computer literacy, preparing young people for the digital economy. He has donated school furniture to 10 selected secondary schools across the five local government areas in Ogun West Senatorial District, improving learning conditions for over 1,500 students.
These investments recognize that education is the most powerful tool for breaking cycles of poverty and building a prosperous future.
Understanding that healthcare serves as the foundation of prosperity, Senator Adeola has made significant investments in the health sector. No society can thrive when its people are unwell. He has facilitated the construction of several Primary Healthcare Centers complete with ambulances, bringing quality healthcare closer to rural communities. He has established two Intensive Care Units at State Hospitals in Ilaro and Ota, ensuring that critical care is available when lives hang in the balance.
Recognizing that even the best services mean nothing if people cannot access them, Senator Adeola has prioritized infrastructure that connects communities to opportunity. He has undertaken maintenance works along numerous routes throughout Ogun West, including Idiroko, Ipokia, Akere, Yewa, Aferiku Town, Tube, Ode Pata, Agada, Igua, Agosasa, Bode Ase, Idosemo, Idosa, Ijofin, Oke-Odan, and many others. Good roads mean farmers can get produce to market, emergency services can reach those in need, and communities are no longer isolated from economic opportunities.
This comprehensive body of work represents more than just constituency service. It is a call to action demonstrating that individual leadership can change our national story. Senator Solomon Adeola’s work in Ogun State carries a powerful message that resonates far beyond the boundaries of his senatorial district. We do not need to wait for “the government” to change Nigeria’s story. Individuals in positions of responsibility can, through commitment and strategic action, transform the narrative.
To public officeholders across Nigeria, Senator Adeola’s example poses an uncomfortable question: What excuse do you have? He has demonstrated that with vision, commitment, and genuine concern for constituents’ welfare, transformative change is possible even within Nigeria’s challenging governance environment.
To citizens, his work reminds us that while holding leaders accountable is essential, we must also celebrate and amplify the examples of excellence among us. Our tendency to focus exclusively on failure while ignoring success creates a distorted picture of reality and discourages the very leadership we claim to desire.
From observing Senator Adeola’s approach, several important lessons emerge from this transformative leader. He has pursued comprehensive vision, not focusing on one sector while neglecting others, but addressing power, roads, education, healthcare, and economic empowerment simultaneously, understanding that development is holistic.
His projects reach into communities that are often overlooked, the rural areas, the market traders, the small-scale farmers. He understands that national transformation begins at the grassroots. Rather than creating dependency through handouts, he has invested in initiatives that empower citizens to become economically productive.
He has prioritized infrastructure that multiplies economic opportunities: electricity that powers businesses, roads that connect markets, ICT centers that prepare youth for modern economies. Perhaps most remarkably, Senator Adeola has pursued this transformative agenda without the fanfare and self-promotion that characterizes much of Nigerian politics. His focus has been on results, not recognition.
All of this demonstrates that we are indeed changing the narrative, one community at a time. Senator Solomon Adeola’s work in Ogun State is proof that the narrative of Nigerian governance need not be one of perpetual disappointment. There are public servants who are genuinely committed to transformation, who see their positions as opportunities for service rather than personal enrichment, and who are systematically addressing the poverty, unemployment, and underdevelopment that plague our communities.
As Nigeria continues its journey toward the future we all desire, we need more leaders who will follow Senator Adeola’s example, and we need citizens who will recognize, celebrate, and demand this standard of leadership.
The story of Nigeria is being written daily, not just in Abuja or in state capitals, but in the communities where electricity now flows because someone cared enough to fix the transformers, where children learn in comfort because someone built classrooms, where farmers prosper because someone provided inputs, and where market women build businesses because someone believed in their potential.
Senator Solomon Adeola is changing the story. The question for every other public officeholder is simple: Will you?
It is time we celebrate those who are getting it right, so that excellence, not mediocrity, becomes the standard we expect from all who serve.