In a nation (Nigeria) where most politicians see politics as an avenue to defraud the people who elected them and whom they swore to represent conscientiously, there are still few who try every day with the interests of the generality of the public in their hearts to deliver the great dividends of democracy. Alltimepost.com has created a column: Good Governance to honor such distinguished public office holders. In the maiden edition of this column, the editorial board chose the Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola whose administration represents a beacon of hope, pragmatic leadership/ development, aspiration and inspiration to all. Our man, Igbotako Nowinta was recently dispatched to Osun State where he had a dialogue with the people’s governor. See details:
Interview, by Igbotako Nowinta
To say that Engr. Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, who took the humble title of Ogbeni (mister) when he became the State Governor of Osun on November 27, 2010, is absolutely sincere with power is to say nothing but the truth.
No doubt the experience he gathered as Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure in Lagos State adequately prepared him for the daunting job of number one citizen of Osun State.
It is clear without any ambiguity that Ogbeni Aregbesola excelled to the Zenith of politics of Lagos State, with his eight years naked achievements as Commissioner.
He had indeed become very popular and a factor to reckon with before he threw his hat into the sharks-infected politics of Osun State. This is what the Governor said about his successful sojourn in Lagos State:
“I am an Ijesha man. My people are traditionally economic sojourners. It is totally improbable for an Ijesha man not to go out for his own economic future. Traditionally the way to show your maturity in Ijesha land is to venture. The Yoruba pray that their children should succeed in their forays and bring home the fruits of their labor”
When Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola made his intension known to wrestle political power from those who felt they had pocketed the people of Osun State he was consciously courting trouble, and when the trouble started manifesting, it came out in torrents. Speaking about his political struggles, Ogbeni Aregbesola averred:
“The road to this freedom we are all enjoying today has not been easy… our only consolation is that we triumphed in the struggle”
Among the numerous terrible incidents that happened in his quest for the highest office of his state was the gruesome murder of the chief financier of his campaign, Alhaji Sulaimon Hassan-Olajoku, something he described as a ploy by his opponents to derail his gubernatorial ambition. As with every dynamic person he remained resilient in wading through one of the darkest moments of his life.
Aregbesola quoted from the paper he presented to The truth and reconciliation commission that he set up in Osun State following his election as governor of the state in which he referred to the murder of his Chief financier. And it goes like this:
“On Sunday May 16, 2005, a major financier of my campaign, Alhaji Sulaimon Hassan-Olajoku was brutally assassinated at Gbongan junction on his way back to Lagos, after attending a series of political events that we organised to mobilise support for my governorship ambition. Hassan-Olajoku was passionate and left no one in doubt as to his support for and loyalty to our cause. To demonstrate his total commitment, he fixed his turbanning as Baba Adeen of Ilobuland for April 16, 2005, the historic day on which ORANMIYAN was launched.
To underscore his belief in the effort of the democratic forces symbolized by me, Hassan-Olajoku again organised a ceremony in Ifon-Osun on Saturday May 14, 2005 to be able to market our governorship material to the people. Hassan-Olajoku personally redeemed all donations at the ceremony before everyone departed. This obviously was the reason he was, the following day, Sunday May 15, 2005, trailed to Gbongan junction where he was gunned down and murdered in the most gruesome manner in the presence of his teenage daughters and wife”.
Aregbesola also talked about the assassination attempt on his own life:
“On May 25, 2005, my friends organised a birthday rally inside an enclosed open ground opposite International Breweries, Ilesa, to commemorate my 48th birthday in Ilesa. As we were going to the venue of the ceremony in a convoy, one Wale Oni, a well known rough neck on the pay roll of Governor Oyinlola and his Deputy, Erelu Olusola Obada, led a gang of dare-devil men, wielding guns, pick axes and other deadly weapons and attacked our convoy. Using pick axes, the thugs ripped through a section of a bus that I was using for mobilisation activities exactly at the side where I used to sit. The clear intention of the murderous gang was to scythe me to death. When they discovered that I was not in the bus and that I had escaped their ploy to eliminate me, the thugs went berserk, pounced on everyone in the vehicle.
The leader of the gang, Wale Oni, was arrested and handed over to the police. He was soon released into freedom shortly after the incident was reported to the police on a direct order of the Deputy Governor, Erelu Olusola Obada. Needless to say, Wale Oni has since then become the lord of the manor at his Irojo Quarters residence in Ilesa – untouchable, feared, loathed, ruthless and above the law. Not a whimper of this dastardly act was heard again.”
On those that met their deaths on his way to power, Mr. Governor was quick to say:
“They were the heroes of the freedom that all of us enjoy today. But let nobody take this freedom for granted. It is the duty of the state of Osun to ensure that these people did not die in vain’’
As a man who said he met empty treasury and high debts on assumption of office, he has allowed endurance, courage and pragmatic leadership to be his watch word.
One of the areas where Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has met staunch opposition in his fanatical determination to reposition Osun State is in the educational sector.
The Governor’s concept of promoting functional education, which has been hailed globally because of its revolutionary components of sanitizing, purifying and presenting education to all and sundry in Osun State, met a stiff protest from the opposition, in the re-classification of schools, popularly known as ‘merger of schools’.
Ogbeni Aregbesola bares his mind on this controversial issue:
“The re-classification exercise was aimed at offering a complete education system that will produce a sound and all round mind in the present generation of children in the state”
Like a rock of Gibraltar, Ogbeni Aregbesola, a man of infinite conviction said that re-classification exercise as a policy has come to stay. The merger of schools in Osun State means co-educational for both Christians and Muslims and there is one brand of uniform for all schools at various categories i.e. one brand for primary; another uniform for middle school etc. A garment factory already put in place is making uniform available for students free of charge.
“Our administration has treated the various political districts equally without sentiment… What we have done in less than 40 months, surpassed what they did in seven years both in quantity and quality.”
With ‘Opon Imo’ (Tablet of knowledge) which is an electronic e-learning tablet that assists the senior secondary school students in Osun to prepare for public and school examination, Ogbeni Aregbesola is simply asking that the children of the poor people should have a right to free quality education.
The tablet contains all textbooks required by students to prepare for NECO, WASC and JAMB. Here is the comment of Mr. Governor when asked about criticism from the opposition parties:
“Instead of being praised for God’s endowed ingenuity and wisdom, which gave birth to the Opon Imo initiative, some people prefer to demonstrate their ignorance. They are grand standing and claiming what are not”
Aregbesola proudly said that he was greatly inspired by the legendary anti-apartheid icon, Dr Nelson Mandela.
The development of the Freedom Park in Oshobgo, the state capital which is a testament to this fact has been renamed Nelson Mandela Freedom Park.
Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the late sage and former premier of western region of Nigeria is also one of the icons from whom Ogbeni derives his inspiration.
It is no surprise therefore that the Osun lodge in Abuja, Nigeria has also been renamed Awolowo House, with the unveiling ceremony of the statue of chief Awolowo at Abuja on December 14, 2013.
Governor Aregbesola bares his mind on the situation in Nigeria, proffering ideas towards solutions to the nation’s multifarious problems:
“The situation is very pathetic. If we must get out of the mess, Nigeria must invest in infrastructure, power, communications, education, with proceeds from crude oil; failure to do so this country will continue to be miserable”
As a progressive Nigerian, who believes in religious tolerance and harmonious relationship among ethnic nationalities in Nigeria, Ogbeni Aregbesola tasks Nigerians on religious harmony in this way:
“There should be no crisis among Muslims and Christians as they worship the same God. All religions preach good deeds, good character and good neighborliness”
As a leader of enormous energy and magnetism, with the potential for great statesmanship, Ogbeni Aregbesola has indeed sown the seed of democratic prosperity in Osun state.
By any standard, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has shown that he is one of Nigeria’s most dedicated leaders since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.
When a comprehensive history of Osun State will be written, Aregbesola will be portrayed as a man of vision who achieved enormously over a very short time. This is a realistic appraisal of his almost four years old regime.
Ogbeni Aregbesola did not mince words when he said that his Six Points Integral Agenda of: Banish Poverty, Banish Hunger, Banish Unemployment, Enhance Communal Peace and Progress is well articulated: In his words:
“I am giving them hope for the transformation of the environment, society, to the elimination of poverty, unemployment and poor living conditions. I am offering sound functional and quality education, and environmental renewal. I am bringing an issue-oriented program, program-oriented and service-oriented government that would be a model”
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