“From Oranmiyan to Oranmiran:” The dillema of Osun State voters

A few days ago, I received a post on my WhatsApp in which the administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in Osun State was taken to the cleaners. It is the responsibility of the governor to respond to the allegations therein, which are already in the public domain.

However, the area I want to comment on is the insinuation that his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, who is now the gubernatorial candidate of the Progressives Congress (APC), adversely contributed to the alleged policy somersaults of the administration. Such an insinuation is borne out of ignorance of the actual workings of government in Nigeria.

Fundamentally, the buck stops at the table of a Chief Executive and he should be held responsible for the actions/inactions of his administration. Also, all those working directly with the Chief Executive, apart from the career public servants, are his appointees on whom he wields the power to hire or fire as the case may be. Such appointees merely carry out the directives of the Chief Executive if they have to retain their positions.

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It is even instructive that a former president of this country openly declared that he was not duty bound to accept the advice of his advisers to buttress this stance. Also, the statement of a political leader on this issue as reported in some newspapers, is also germane and I quote it verbally, hereafter “if there is any inadequacy or shortcoming, it should be that of the president, not an aide. After all, they can only advise. They can’t force his hand.” We can substitute ‘governor’ for president in this instance.

I do not know much about the contestants in the coming Osun State gubernatorial election. However, some enquiries on them reveal that Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola is said to be a gentleman and workaholic. He is even said to be a good listener which is a topmost attribute of a leader. With the situation on the ground, it appears that the voters will have to gamble on this man instead of any of his other co-contestants. Many of them are neophytes in governance and politics while others are disgruntled elements who failed to win their parties’ nominations. The well-known ones have been tried before and they failed, or are tainted with corruption while one comes across more as a clown or jester.

The final decision rests with the voters in Osun State to decide who will govern them in the next four years. Shine your eyes Osun State voters.