June 12 is proof that Nigeria can rise from rubble of failures ― Oyetola

Osun state governor, Mr Gboyega Oyetola on Sunday reminisced that the struggle of June 12 is a proof that “our nation can rise from the rubble of failures and missteps of yesterday and reach its greatest heights.

The governor made the remark at the June 12 Democracy Day themed “June 12: Twenty-Nine Years After, Interrogating Nigeria’s Democracy in the 4th Republic: Osun State in Perspective,” held at Aurora event centre in Osogbo.

He said: “Today, looking back at that struggle, appropriately personified by the indomitable spirit of the winner of the 1993 election, Chief MKO Abiola, and the subsequent quest for enforcing the mandate by men of goodwill from across the length and breadth of our nation, you cannot but be comforted that our nation can rise from the rubble of failures and missteps of yesterday and reach its greatest heights.

“Doing so would necessarily require that we jettison the age-old primordial sentiments that continue to threaten our unity, peace, and progress. We must galvanize ourselves for the transformation of our land. We must rely on our shared values and the things that bind us together to build a nation and a democracy that will deliver values and the good life to our people and make us take our place in the comity of nations.

“More than our acclaimed endowments in natural resources, our people constitute our greatest asset. Therefore, our quest to build a strong, virile, and resilient democracy must be anchored on harnessing their diverse potential and voices for delivering sustainable trans-generational value.

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“For us as a State, we continue to be inspired by the collective will of our people to drive our developmental aspirations. This accounts for why we have consistently anchored our administration on an inclusive and participatory governance model which is deliberately receptive to the inputs of the Osun people.

“As an administration, we have demonstrated through adequate, equitable, and quality service delivery to our people in all sectors that good governance is the only reason we are in government.

“We came into office a little over three years ago on the shoulders of your mandate cheerfully given in exchange for our Development Agenda designed to deliver qualitative service.

“Aside from our preliminary consultation tours since the inception of the administration, we have consistently run a participatory model in a manner that enhances the quality of governance in our State; for we believe that no government can be deeper and more meaningful than being an expression of the collective will of the people.

“In delivering our electoral promises, we have built institutions and placed the state on the path of sustainable development. We have continued to place the people at the centre of all that we do. This innovation puts the delivery of good governance on a solid footing and ensures that only people and development-oriented leaders are elected and sustained in office.

“We are grateful today that despite being a State widely noted for its present financial limitations, we have done far more with little resources than most of our contemporaries.”

Also, a university lecturer, Prof Sola Akinrinade, on Sunday noted that excessive cost of governance and level of corruption is affecting Nigeria’s capacity for national development.

He made the remark at Aurora Event Centre, Osogbo, during a democracy lecture organized by the state government in conjunction with the civil society coalition.

Prof Akinrinade posited also that myriads of vices are signs of a sick society.

According to him, “the excessive number of legislators, failure to restructure the civil and public service, massive corruption at every level of governance, the monumental corruption in the oil industry corruption, etc. are all pointers to a sick society.”

He however argued that “the selection of constituency projects should not be left to the whims of the legislator but should be an inclusive process involving town hall meetings and consultations with the people.

“When people are involved in determining what comes to them, it would be easier to assume ownership and a legislator cannot then parade publicly funded projects as their contributions to the community.”