Untold story of the former Executive Secretary of Osun state Primary Health Care Development Authority Osun state Osogbo

Our attention was drawn to a pathetic attempt by a group of faceless persons (who must have been benefitting from the corrupt regime of Dr Fabiyi), to call black white and turn truth on its head.

In the baseless, unsubstanciated write up, which was irritatingly tagged “Breaking News”, It was suggested that Governor Oyetola got Dr. Fabiyi removed from the position of Executive Secretary, Osun State Primary Health Care Board and replaced him with Dr I.K.Subair solely for the purpose of paving way for one Dr Olujide.

This allegation would have been laughable if it wasn’t so irritating, and a complete opposite of the truth.

Dr Fabiyi has enjoyed the benevolence of Governor Oyetola, a godly Governor who gets easily entreated and tends to give erring persons many chances to mend their ways, giving them very long ropes to pull. Dr Fabiyi has exhausted the patience of the Gatekeepers of the Health Sector, and by extension, Mr Governor. The Governor had called Dr. Fabiyi to order up to three times within the past 1 year, warning him and giving him directives on necessary measures to take to stem the tide of failure in the outcomes from the activities of the Primary Health Care Board, under the leadership of Dr Fabiyi. The latter is quoted to have said that Mr Governor told him to be going out on random visits to the Health Facilities in order to keep the health workers on their toes. He however told his hearers that he had no intention of doing this, and he made sure he didn’t. This led to health workers displaying various acts of indiscipline like absenteeism and unpunctuality. Dr Fabiyi presented himself as a weak leader (with a laissez-faire style of leadership), who finds it difficult to enshrine discipline, leading to state of near chaos in the State Primary Health Care Board.

He failed to curb the excesses and inadequacies of the BHCPF Desk Officer, leading eventually to gross inefficiency in the operations of the Board.

An example of his undue tolerance of misdemeanour was an occasion in which the BHCPF Desk Officer shouted on him and insulted him publicly (on account of being told to allow the driver attached to the BHCPF Vehicle to be the one driving the vehicle). He failed to take any action on this, including issuing of a Query to the officer concerned.

He only supported programmes with pecuniary benefits, thus neglecting programmes like Family Planning.

He had at various times been at loggerheads with the representatives of WHO and UNICEF, the two major Donor Partners in the State over self centred issues.

The cause of his quarrel with one of these aforementioned was the fact that he and the former were dating a corps-member posted to the State Primary Health Care Board,Miss Joy Joan Benson. It was on account of this ‘fight’ that the State was made to record an abysmal 10% score in the assessment of an Immunisation Exercise conducted by the SPHCDB in 2021,reported to be the worst score in the history of such exercise in the whole of Africa.

He lacked the spine to take decisive action whenever necessary.

The fact however is that Dr Fabiyi was on a mission to sabotage Governor Oyetola whose administration’s flagship is Health, specifically Primary Health Care. Mr Governor would have probably continued to tolerate his ineptitude,but wouldn’t want to sacrifice the good health of the people of Osun State on the altar of popularity with Dr Fabiyi and his cohorts.In other words,contrary to the impression being given by the supporters of the ousted ES,his removal is an act of benevolence to the people of Osun State, leaving him in that office would have spelled doom for Health at the grassroots as he was an unrepentant despoiler intent on wrecking Healthcare delivery at PHC Level.

The health Indices of the State had pummelled from the beginning of Fabiyi’s tenure.He put so much belief in spiritual marabouts who kept assuring him that he would never be removed before the end of his tenure, no matter how outrageous his misdemeanours might be.The Ward Development Committee Chairman of Atiba Facility,situated very close to Dr Fabiyi's residence, complained about his unconcerned attitude towards that facility. Rather than find ways of fostering cordial relationship with the WDC Chairmen in the state, he had supported Dr Akintayo (the BHCPF Desk Officer) in committing infraction by instructing banks to accept the Signatories of OIC s and 2ICs, instead of OICs/2ics and either WDC Chairman or the alternate.He had refused to carry out a thorough redistribution of staff across the Local Government Health Authorities, and utilisation of redundant officers. He had direct dealings with Programme Officers like the State Immunisation Officer, rather than complying with the demands of the Board Organogram, ostensibly for reasons of pecuniary benefits, giving room for mediocrity, fraudulent practices and inefficiency.There have been reports of development partners stating that Dr Fabiyi told them that delay in payments of counterpart funds were as a result of negligence on Mr Governor's part, whereas the reverse is the case, and lapses are in fact as a result of Dr Fabiyi's ineptitude, negligence and gross incompetence.There was a proposal by a Consulting Firm to help in Resource Mobilisation for the Primary Health Care Board at no cost to the State – he didn’t allow it to see the light of the day.All these would not help in the improvement of the Health Indices of the State.

The Routine Immunisation Coverage of the State was at an all low level of 53% for several months as against the National expectation of 80%.

He had refused to do the needful in stemming the ugly tide.

He has been employing gainsayers to be spreading the untruth that it was because of Dr Olujide that Mr Governor wanted to remove him, even with the realities of his various atrocities.

This is definitely an attempt to sell a dummy to the public; after all, Dr Olujide was qualified to occupy the position of Executive Secretary at the time Governor Oyetola made Dr Fabiyi a substantive Secretary, and an Executive Governor has exclusive rights to put anyone he deems fit in positions of responsibility.Dr Fabiyi himself had been a Director of Medical Services prior to his appointment as Executive Secretary, so such a feat would not be unusual at all.

Dr Fabiyi has health challenges, probably the aftermath of the major medical problem he had 2 years ago, he tends to be forgetful and extremely slow in cognitive function.

He was unconcerned with the high morbidity and mortality of PHC Staff across the State- up to 12 members of Staff have been reported dead over a period of 1 year. He failed to heed the entreaties of the late Sola Faturoti, a Local Immunisation Officer, to be posted somewhere closer to his Obokun LGA base, on account of ill health, eventually leading to the untimely death of the young man at the unripe age of 46 years, on Easter Sunday this year.

If Dr Fabiyi is really fit (in every sense of the word, as a Consultant Community Physician), should he not have been concerned about the spate of deaths within the last one year among health workers, and taken measures to find out about the causes and necessary preventive and precautionary measures to stem the tide?

Governor Oyetola has actually been magnanimous by deploying Fabiyi to Uniosun Teaching Hospital in the capacity of a Consultant. He could have been made to retire, given the magnitude and enormity of his avalanche of his offences, but the ‘Omoluabi’, ‘Oniberu Olorun’ Governor would not do this.

The undisputable truth is that Dr Fabiyi is unfit to continue heading a sensitive organisation like the State Primary Health Care Board, and Mr Governor should not allow the wailings of some faceless mischief makers to stop him from putting the right peg (in the person of Dr I.K. Subair, an accomplished, brilliant and highly skilled Physician, an erudite scholar and a seasoned Administrator) in the right hole. In conclusion,there is nothing in the ludicrous "Breaking Story" on the removal of Dr Fabiyi for even Osun State to be watching,not to talk of the "whole world"...

Finally 4 +4 =8 is always a Constant.
In sha Allahu, by the Grace of GOD.No shaking.
Oyetola leekansiIlerioluwa is a Goal.