By Oyo Amebo
Good governance is not a performance of power; it is a partnership of purpose. In Oyo State, Governor Seyi Makinde has redefined that partnership by placing young leaders at the helm of change.
Among the most striking examples is Wasilat Adegoke, Commissioner for Youth and Sports, a dynamic reformer whose work embodies Makinde’s belief that the youth are not the leaders of tomorrow, but of today.
Her style is open, creative, and driven by empathy. She has turned forgotten youth centres into bustling spaces of innovation where skill becomes enterprise.
Under her watch, tailoring programmes have evolved into fashion businesses, ICT training has birthed digital entrepreneurs, and agricultural initiatives have produced a new generation of agri-entrepreneurs. Her mantra is simple: empowerment must move people from “learning to earning”.
Adegoke has also revitalised sports as a tool for unity and opportunity. Community tournaments, school leagues, and local coaching have turned playing fields into grounds of progress.
Her leadership bridges government and grassroots, she listens, adapts, and acts.
Governor Makinde’s decision to empower young people like Adegoke was never cosmetic. His government blends youth energy with experience, measuring success not by seniority but by results.
The effect has been cultural as much as political, an administration that sees age as asset, not barrier.
Through this generational renewal, Oyo is proving that the surest way to prepare the future is to let it lead.
And in Adegoke’s steady example, countless young women now see public service not as a privilege deferred, but as a duty embraced.
