"I
hope that my achievements in life shall be these - that I will have fought for
what was right and fair, that I will have risked for that which mattered, and
that I will have given help to those who were in need that I will have left the
earth a better place for what I've done and who I've been."
- C. Hoppe
Everything in life starts with a
promise! To us in Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola represents a new generation of
leadership who believes he is accountable to the people he's elected by
providence to govern. Mentally sharp and
people-focused, he saw an opportunity
not only to provide leadership that inspired trust but also the need to leave an extraordinary legacy that
would no doubt outlast this generation. With his patriotic, imaginative and unselfish arrest
of the socio-economic root cause of infrastructure poverty which had limited
the state's ability to create wealth, it
is obvious that a revolution, which will, in the not too distant
future, change the state of the state, is in the offing and, when it blossoms forth,
its glory will shine to the ends of the world. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, his
modest performance has to a great degree shown that Nigeria's politics is not dirty as people
are wont to insinuate; only that we have
some people in politics whose minds are dirty and that's not unexpected!
To start with, Nigerians will
agree with me that the governor has excelled in the construction of mega
structures in most of the schools in the state, an indication that the future
of education in Osun State is taking shape.
Though, no one can change the past, one
can only advise old students who have hitherto cultivated the habit of leaving
without looking back at their alma mater
to have a rethink before it is too late, lest
they become strangers to institutions that opened
their ways of thinking and knowing, courtesy of Aregbesola's Mega Schools programme.
Another important area of
Aregbesola's intervention worth mentioning is the appointment of Yusuff Alli as
Chairman of the Governing Council of Osun State University. In my considered
opinion, this thoughtfully planned and skillfully processed step is aimed
at replicating what Afe Babalola and
Wole Olanipekun did as Chairman of the Governing Council of University
of Lagos and University of Ibadan respectively. No doubt a man of means and
contacts, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) is expected to use his wealth of experience and influence to
add value to the citadel of learning with a view to upgrading it to a world
class institution in line with the dreams
and aspirations of its founding fathers.
Of course, this is an innovative departure from the old, somewhat-traditional-yet-unproductive
'job for the boys' arrangement which had oftentimes ended up in
appointees needlessly drawing from the institution's avoidably-lean purse.
In a similar fashion, the
approval nod recently given to the state by the Transmission
Company of Nigeria (TCN) for the proposed construction of a power transmission
substation to be located at Dagbolu in Osun State is yet another
in the series of the administration's many efforts at strategically repositioning
the state as another commercial hub in the Southwest while the procurement of security
hardwares, which has led to a sharp reduction in crime rate recorded in the state since his
inauguration was an initiative which benefits should not be overlooked. As a matter of fact,
I doubt if the near-completion state of the Bisi
Akande Trumpet Bridge at Gbongan wouldn’t have by now shamed educated
derelicts and apathetic politicians who, over time, have acquired a notorious reputation for
developmental and ideological setbacks.
Personally, I see Aregbesola as an
achieving and engaging governor who is always in touch with his people. In my
candid opinion, his 'I will succeed' intervention
in the Agriculture sector is not only geared towards repositioning the
state as the food hub of the Southwest, it is also aimed at cushioning any
bitter or biting effects of the economic recession currently unleashed on
Nigeria, thanks to the global economic meltdown. In the same vein, the new
lease of life given to the hitherto moribund Cocoa Products Industry in Ede can be viewed as being in line with
his election promise of creating employment opportunities as well as attracting investors to the state.
The Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme
(OYES), through which thousands of youth have been engaged,
was another way of helping the people's lives connect to a cause while the
presentation of N1.8bn retirement bond certificates to 266 pensioners in the state was a demonstration of the depth of his love for the state's civil
servants.
Contrary to some erroneous
beliefs, great nations are where they are today because their leaders were
prepared to go above and beyond the call of duty to confront situations that at
one time or the other attempted to bribe, trick, threaten or suffocate their countries'
existence. For instance, available information reveal that United
States of America's debt is, as we speak, on the other side of $19tr. Still,
America is world's largest economy and greatest nation. In June, $10bn of Chicago's municipal debt was downgraded by Fitch to 'one level above junk' about the same time China's debt had
become so "fatal" that experts feared it could destroy the
country if some "timely
fashion" actions were not taken to remedy the situation. Notwithstanding,
China retains her enviable position as world's second largest economy while the Windy City is, at this very moment, America's third largest city, with the third largest
gross metropolitan product and the most balanced
economy in the United States.
Coming back to
Africa, South Africans were two years ago ranked world's biggest borrowers.
Today, South Africa has beaten Nigeria into second place as Africa's largest
economy. Apparently, had Aregbesola not
taken loans at the prevailing interest rates
at the time in question to turn
the fortunes of Osun from a blight of wrongs into a progressive and trailblazing
state, I doubt if the situation wouldn't
have been worse!
All things considered, even if
his actions are sometimes bound to be misconstrued and misinterpreted, this is not to say that the governor might not have
made mistakes in the course of
discharging his duties. After all, he is human, with all the emotions,
weaknesses and failings characteristic of the human nature! Seemingly, his
major mistakes are default in payment of workers' salaries and late delivery on
projects. Others are neither here nor there!
But these can be excused in that they have assumed a national outlook as
a result of current realities. All the same, that Aregbesola has, in spite of
his human frailty, remained focused and
progressive in his practices, attitudes and approaches is commendable.
To be fair to good governance, the change we voted for in Osun State was a divine platform for the radical
transformation of the state from the sleepers and the shadows of the past into
the present filled with joy and happiness
and a future of hope and
fulfillment.
In the words of Napoleon Hill, "the starting point of all achievement
is desire." According to him, "weak
desire" leads to "weak results." The late President John Kennedy
corroborated Hill's views when he averred that economic growth without social
progress is a magic formula for poverty.
Aregbesola's strides bring to memory
Obafemi Awolowo's introduction of Free Primary Education scheme in Western
Region in the 1950s. Controversial and at a considerable cost, Awolowo was initially derided for what would
eventually turn out to be an indelible imprint in the annals of education as
well as the focal definition of governance in Nigeria and beyond.
So, for us in Osun State, the
journey to socio-economic recovery has
just begun and how far the Aregbesola-led administration can go is a different
matter entirely. Again, whether or not the governor acts Moses or Joshua on this
all-important journey, it needs to be noted that he came at a time the state's political
space was engulfed in the
horrible and deadly danger of indescribable
grief and
paralyzed potentials.
May powers, assigned to rubbish
the legacy of our leaders, BACKFIRE!
*KOMOLAFE
writes in from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria (ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk)
abiodun KOMOLAFE,
020, Okenisa Street,
PO Box 153,
Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State.
No comments:
Post a Comment