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Expectations were high when Rauf Aregbesola emerged governor in Osun State about five years ago. The hope was that the largely rural state would get a desired turn around. Aregbesola stated that the turn-around would be anchored mainly on agriculture. I remember clearly that he said he would turn the state into the food basket of not only the South-West region, but the nation as a whole. He said Osun intended to meet up with the estimated N3.5 billion worth of food in demand in the Lagos market alone. The plan was to edge out the northern states supplying the bulk of the food stuff in Lagos, by exploiting the proximity of Osun State to Lagos. Five years down the line, many are yet to see the impact of the huge money the Aregbesola government claimed to have invested in agriculture so as to actualize this dream. I can’t remember spotting a single trailer-load of farm produce entering the popular Mile-12 food market in Lagos from Osun State. So, Osun State should not even dream of exporting farm produce. Growers in the state remain largely subsistence farmers. Aregbesola’s talk about massive food production has remained chiefly a mirage.
Now, a state whose turn-around is supposed to be anchored on agriculture and agro-allied industries is in crisis. Osun State, like virtually all the states of the federation depends largely on the monthly handouts from Abuja. This has dwindled because of stumbling oil prices. Aregbesola, like many state governors have not shown ingenuity in terms of making their states viable. Osun State has great untapped agricultural potentials that could make the state viable, yet, it is struggling to survive. I am not sure if Aregbesola can point to just ten industries whose emergence he has motivated since he became governor. So, the industries are not there. Commercial agriculture is in comatose. How then does he intend to make the state viable? Aregbesola is attuned to just going to Abuja to collect the monthly handouts and sharing to ministries, department and agencies. Any bloody fool can do this. I doubt if the state’s IGR can cover 10% of its annual budget.
Now, because of dwindling revenue and subsequent fall in the monthly handouts from Abuja, Aregbesola, just like many governors, owes civil servants huge backlog of unpaid salaries. The case of Osun State is really very bad. Workers in some agencies in the state are being owed as much as five months. It was a big shame watching Osun civil servants on Tuesday on the streets of Osogbo protesting against the unpaid salary backlog and allowances. Many of them have died waiting for salaries. According to Osun TUC leaders, as at the last count, 98 of their colleagues had died due to irregular salaries.
Aregbesola spent most of last year pummeling the civil servants. The workers have never had it so bad. Those in the ministries went for 2014 Christmas with three-month unpaid salaries. Osun retired workers are waiting for four months unpaid pensions. Osun State civil servants are also worried about unremitted pension deductions. Aregbesola has not been remitting pensions deducted from salaries of civil servants to the appropriate pension fund administrators, so says the Council of Academic Staff Unions of Osun State-Owned Tertiary Institutions (CASUOSTI). The workers are threatening to take legal action against Ogbeni Rauf. In fact, the union recently organized at a mass rally in Ilesha to press home their demands. Smart Olugbeko, National Vice Chairman, Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) said the need to go to court for redress of the non- remittance of pension deductions was reached after all avenues to make Aregbesola see reason failed. The law is very clear on the issue of remitting deductions into pension fund accounts. Upon deduction of the percentage to be contributed by the employee, such deduction should be remitted within seven days. Just like other civil servants, workers of the state-owned higher institutions are at a loss about where their pension deductions are. The non-remittance of deductions also includes union dues, cooperative dues and individual loan repayments. Olugbeko said: “Naturally, these deductions are not supposed to be tampered with; so we are at a point of dragging the government and the governor to court for appropriate interpretation.” This is clearly not good for the image of Oranmiyan. Aregbesola has equally not lived up to expectations regarding the state government’s contributions to the workers’ pension. I hope governor Osun will respond swiftly to douse this apprehension.
Meanwhile, I saw the Osun State governor on television last week during the March for Change in Lagos by the APC, talking about the “maladministration” at the federal level and the “need for Change.” The truth be told; Aregbesola had no business joining that March for Change in Lagos. It was a typical case of a kettle calling pot black. I get more worried when I hear governor Osun blaming President Goodluck Jonathan for his inability to pay civil servants as at when due. Is Jonathan responsible for tumbling oil prices and dwindling monthly handouts? Let’s also look at it this way: If this country were to be implementing resource control, will Osun State be sharing in the oil revenue? It means non-oil producing states like Osun would have to run their states and pay their workers without oil money. Late Obafemi Awolowo successfully managed the defunct Western Region with funds from agriculture and industries. These days, governors are only interested in the monthly handouts from Abuja. It is so sad; so depressing. In the case of Aregbesola, he has allegedly even borrowed beyond the state’s capacity and had agreed that deductions be made at source for the lenders. So, his monthly handouts are depleted further. The Osun governor should come out clean on the state’s debt. How much exactly has Rauf Aregbesola borrowed in the last five years? How much is deducted monthly at source to service the debt? These are questions begging for answers.
