I have been tagged among the social media circle and even by close friends and associates to be an enemy of my amiable governor, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola. Some see me as PDP apologist. They said I have seen nothing good in the administration of Ogbeni. They said I do capitalise on his little flop and never appreciate most of his 'giant strides' in the state. Some even said my problem is with the APC as a party. I have received different strokes of words on social media and even physically. They said I am just an 'enemy' of progress.
Like I use to say, most time we allow our political affiliation to affect our right sense of judgement. This is one of the very reason I find it difficult to identify myself with any political party. I don't care about the party you belong provided you have all it takes to be a good leader. I believe so much in personality rather than your political party. I have little respect for party.
Aregbesola is a person I so much respect in the political arena. Even before he came into power, he was just like a semi god before many Osun indigenes including myself. I love him passionately. I adore him. He was received by everybody with an open heart. He was believed to be the Messiah the state has been longing for. He was just like a king before the masses. He brought his Oranmiyan group and we all embraced it. He came into the state with sophisticated innovations. His campaign started as early as 2004. We all believed he meant business in turning around Osun state for good.
His political approach is second to know. He spent little time to register his name in the heart of everybody in the state. Everybody became his vanguard. He is loved by all.
I personally fall a victim of his abracadabra. And how did it start?!
An educational programme for those that have failed WAEC more than one time was launched by a body called FoRA (Friends of Rauf Aregbesola) in 2005. The programme was simultaneously being done throughout the local governments in the state. I was in SS2 that year. I picked the form as a person that have left secondary school. I filled and submitted it. An examination was conducted and I passed. FoRA later picked GCE WAEC forms for more than hundreds of us. I wrote the exam and passed all my subjects excluding geography. I have three distinctions in that result. I fell in love with Aregbe from that year. I followed up all his activities till the 2007 general elections. I campaigned for him in my little capacity. His election was the first election I will ever participated at just age18. I could remember my dad doing everything to discourage me from taking part in the election due to the volatility of election that time. I went against his instructions simply to vote for my hero, Aregbesola. It was glaring that he won the election but he was denied. INEC returned Prince Oyinlola Olagunsoye as the winner of the election. We knew we were cheated. Legal action began and we followed it up. I was so optimistic that Aregbesola will win the case in the court. After more than three years, he reclaimed his mandate and we were all happy. It was a victory for democracy, a victory for the masses. Our Messiah has come. All hail Engr Rauf Aregbesola. His love know no boundary. He was loved across religion and ethnic line. Engr Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola was humble enough to drop all titles. He said we should address him as Ogbeni. He started on a very good note. He fulfilled his promise of employing 20,000 youths in his first 100 days in office. He started a whole lot of developmental project. He launched his six integral actions plan. They were all wonderful programmes. The idea of starting his programmes with letter 'O' was laudable. Everyone likes the initiative in the first place. I could remember he started with dredging of major rivers and channels in the state. The issue of flooding was reduced to the barest minimum throughout the state.
Where Aregbesola began to get it wrong.
He decided to spend millions of naira in changing Osun state to State of Osun. He designed a new flag and anthem for the state. Of what economic importance are these to the state?! He spent the first six months or thereabouts of his administration without a commissioner. He claimed he's saving money for the state. He continued in his show of not understanding the atmosphere of the state by engaging in projects that are frivolous in nature.
On education, he launched a new school system. He merged schools together in an unceremonious way. Chief Obafemi Awolowo' dream was to a have a school 1km away from one another. Students now need to track between 3-5km to the nearest 🏫school. He spent billions in erecting more class rooms when what most of the school in the state needed are renovation, standard laboratories and libraries, more teachers, class room electrification and the likes. He spent close to 8 billions in procuring computer tablets to just SS3 students. No provision of textbooks for primary schools and SS2-JS1 students.
Urban planning, development and beautification projects has remained a sham outside Osogbo the state capital . The project has killed many businesses in the state and yet there's no hope it will be completed in the nearest future.
Aregbesola has continued to run the state like a one man business.
I see no justification for any government to owe his workers Six months salaries. The salary issue is just the epitome of his lackadaisical attitude towards governance. How would a responsible government continue to hold his workers to ransom. Whatever reasons it maybe, there's no justification for it. Leadership is all about solving problems. We elected Aregbesola to give us dividend of democracy. The masses are crying. We can't continue in Osun state in this present condition. No one hate Aregbesola, he simply play upon the intelligence of the masses and they simply revolt. The response the government is receiving is long overdue. The patient is over. We need a swift action from the government. We want to go back to our glorious day. We don't hate our governor, we simply want the best for our people.
Yusuff Ola-Gold Mutalub is a graduate of Geology and Exploration Geophysics from Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. He is a social crusader, community developer and social commentator. He writes from Ibadan, Nigeria.
Email: yusuffmutalub@gmail.com
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