Opinions

Oyetola, 2018 and a promise kept

An American college football player and coach, Paul Bryant, said: “When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it: admit it, learn from it, and don’t repeat it.” By some of the actions of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party appears to have admitted it made some mistakes ahead of the 2018 governorship poll and in the way it approached the election. And it almost paid dearly for it. But thankfully, the party under Oyetola has learnt its lesson and has turned the failings to testimonies.

Every political observer and citizen of the state alike has testified to the fact that all the issues that almost made it impossible for the party to coast to victory convincingly at the first ballot in that election appear to have been addressed by the governor and candidate of the party. Since Oyetola became governor, salaries and pensions are paid as and when due and contributory remittances are done regularly. In fact, only recently, Osun was listed by the National Pension Commission as one of the five states that are up to date in the remittance of the pension. Oyetola is also reducing the backlog that was inherited. Interestingly, the single uniform policy that has been abolished by the governor revived the local economy as school uniform sellers and tailors are back in business.

So, he has kept faith with the vision of the founding fathers of the state to sustainably build Ipinle Omoluabi – state of the virtuous. Despite the hiccups of the Covid-19 pandemic, this initiative attracted investments to the state, including the Polythene Pipe and Tractor Assemblage factory located at Free Trade Zone; Topsell Nigeria Limited, makers of perm kernel oil, located at Aisu, Ede; the International Trade Centre/Industrial Hub and Inland Port at Dagbolu, where some factories are already springing up. Other investment efforts are at various stages of MoU completion.

As part of efforts to further stimulate the Osun economy, the government, in collaboration with the Bank of Industries, BOI, assisted five moribund industries to return to operations, including Argo Multi-Ventures – bottlers of Global products, Moye Oil Petro-chemical Company and Honesty CICS Aluminium Company, located at Aisu, Ede. Governor Oyetola introduced the Alternative Project Funding Approach to finance road infrastructure and other projects. This is in addition to plugging wastes and cutting down excesses to mop up funds for governance. The government also disbursed well over N5 billion through the Osun Micro-Credit Agency to support entrepreneurs, farmers, petty traders and businessmen and women. His decision to construct, renovate and revitalised 332 Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) at a go is unprecedented in the history of governance in the country. Oyetola in just three days inaugurated 25 PHCs that had been completed, a project other leaders would probably spend four years to complete.

The governor has demonstrated that he not only understands and appreciates the peculiar needs of an average Osun person, he has also proven that he is passionately interested in growing the state from where his predecessor left off. From fixing the Igbajo road which was last touched 33 years ago, to renovating the Atakumosa Market, which got burnt in 2015, Oyetola has proven to be a people-oriented and needs-inclined leader.

Oyetola is steadily delivering social services and innovative strategies, including but not limited to revitalisation of general hospitals in the three senatorial districts; effective management of Covid-19 pandemic; provision of infrastructure; reconstruction/rehabilitation of hundreds of rural and urban roads across the state for socioeconomic development; construction of the iconic Olaiya Flyover; renovation of schools across the State; provision of educational materials for students and training and re-training of teachers to enhance their capacity; recruitment of teachers; provision of affordable, adequate and functional education to students; provision of loans and credit facilities for women and youths; and cultivation of youths as the face of government’s sustainable development efforts. His strategies, wrapped with a large dose of political will, have given birth to a new Osun and transformed Osun’s economy in the last three and half years.

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This perhaps may be responsible for the widespread and unprecedented endorsements he received from the traditional institution, the labour unions, artisans, students and other categories of groups and associations in the state.

Endorsements, experts say, act as a ‘mental shortcut’ that “help voters make sense of a candidate’s policies and positions.” Undoubtedly, the various endorsements enjoyed by Oyetola would go a long way in helping the Osun electorates decide in his favour, this Saturday.

Ahead of Saturday’s Osun governorship election, the APC held its mega rally on Tuesday this week, where all its 21 governors stormed Osogbo, describing Oyetola as an excellent performer who has brought purpose to governance.

They said those who have a fair mind devoid of prejudices and biases would testify to the developmental strides Oyetola has registered since becoming governor of the state in 2018. The progressive governors, therefore, reaffirmed their unalloyed support for Governor Oyetola just as they declared their readiness to do all that is necessary within the law to ensure his re-election.

While addressing a mammoth crowd at the mega rally held at the Osogbo Township Stadium, national leaders of the APC expressed confidence that the party would coast home to victory in overwhelming fashion come Saturday. The Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan, lauded Oyetola’s prudence and efficiency in managing the state’s meagre resources, calling on citizens to look beyond political sentiments in their choice of who to elect, and to vote massively for Oyetola.

On his part, the presidential standard-bearer of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, urged the people of Osun to replicate the victory recorded last month in Ekiti State. In his remarks, the National Chairman of the Party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, said the mega rally was an indication that the APC was not taking any chance with the affairs of Osun, saying the State deserves a leader like Oyetola in its quest for development.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, the chairman of the Nigeria Progressives Governors’ Forum, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, assured that Oyetola has the backing of all APC governors in the coming election, saying he had earned it with his outstanding performance. Earlier, the chairman of the National Campaign Council for Osun governorship election and Lagos State Governor, Babajide SanwoOlu, described Oyetola as deserving of another term based on his personal encounters with the people of the State. Receiving members of the National Campaign Council to the State, the Director-General of Oyetola’s re-election Campaign Council, Senator Ajibola Basiru, described the grand rally as a celebration of excellence. In his short remarks, Governor Oyetola, said Osun is on the path of consolidating on the gains of the last three and a half years. He urged the people of Osun, especially workers, to shun political traducers who are peddling falsehood that his administration will renege on its commitment to their welfare if re-elected, saying he remains strongly committed to their welfare.

Oyetola also declared his readiness to do beyond what he has done in his first term, saying the welfare of workers and citizens and the overall development of Osun remain his priority. The next four years is for building bricks on this foundation to deliver the Osun of the citizens’ collective dream. The builder of this envisioned economic edifice can only be the initiator. The uninitiated can only look on or learn.

Olufemi sent in this piece from Osun

Banjo Olufemi