Abuja, Nigeria — The Group Chief Executive Officer of FOAN Group, Idris-Etanami Usman, has expressed deep disappointment over what he described as the “collapse of leadership and intellectual direction” in Ondo State under Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Monday, Usman lamented that Ondo State has “slipped into one of its darkest political seasons” due to a government that, in his words, “lacks literacy, preparedness, and a clear understanding of governance.” He described the administration as one that “thrives on impulsive decision-making and self-gratification while the state’s economy and infrastructure crumble.”
“What we are witnessing in Ondo State today is not leadership, but the decay of intellect and accountability,” Usman said. “The government’s poor grasp of policy and governance has reduced a once vibrant state to a shadow of itself. Leadership should be about purpose, not privilege and what we have today shows none of that.”
The media executive and civic advocate, who hails from Ondo State, condemned what he termed “a visible collapse of institutional discipline, policy continuity, and fiscal prudence.” According to him, the administration’s detachment from development priorities has left the state “directionless, unproductive, and invisible in national conversation.”
He further accused the state government of abandoning strategic projects and diverting public attention through “theatrics and photo-op governance,” saying that “public office has been redefined as a platform for indulgence rather than stewardship.”
“Ondo people have a history of intellectual leadership,” he said. “From Dr. Olusegun Mimiko’s administration that gave Ondo national recognition in healthcare and urban development, to the early years of institutional reform, this state once had purpose. But today, the absence of direction, the absence of reading, research, and planning have turned governance into improvisation.”
Usman emphasized that the crisis of leadership in Ondo State was no longer just administrative but moral. He alleged that the current political culture around the governor has been consumed by “sycophancy and greed,” replacing merit with flattery and silencing voices of conscience within government.
“The treasury has become a playground for appetite,” he said. “And the tragedy is that those who should speak have chosen comfort over courage. It is time the people reject this cycle of ignorance and demand competent, literate, and visionary governance.”
He urged the citizens of Ondo State, civil society organizations, and youth groups to rise in defense of accountability, insisting that silence in the face of incompetence is complicity. “The people must now decide if they want to remain spectators or participants in shaping their own destiny,” he added.
Usman, who leads FOAN Group a pan-African media and digital conglomerate said his statement was not political but “a civic duty born from love for Ondo State and frustration at watching it deteriorate.”
“Leadership is not an entitlement; it is a test of character,” he said. “The failure of one administration should never define the identity of a people. Ondo must rise again, and that begins with the courage to confront the truth.”
He concluded by calling on the political class to rebuild integrity in governance, restore intellectual credibility to leadership, and place the welfare of the people above self-interest.