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By Elvis Ezeani
Osun state is on the verge of economic collapse and blames are still being traded about who caused the quagmire there. Workers of Osun state are almost dying of hunger and other related causes and young Nigerians who should champion real change are finding it convenient to still take sides for or against Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola. The most irritating aspect of this blame game is that persons who still engage in it do so knowing well that the man in the centre of it all – the executive of governor of Osun State have publicly disclosed his inability to further manage the situation his state is faced with. Why still hold brief for him when he’s humbly accepted his failure?
Rauf Aregbesola started out as governor on a fair note. Truth be told; he raised the bar of governance beyond where a combination of Bisi Akande and Olagunsoye Oyinlola left it. He introduced a couple of innovations in his state notable among which were the Opon Imo education module and the free meal incentive offered to a couple of primary school students in Osun State. Three days to the just concluded presidential elections, the Bola Tinubu colloquium held; Rauf Aregbesola was the first speaker; he talked about a certain social welfare scheme his government put in place that sought to cater for the medical needs of vulnerably old citizens of his state. I watched his speech in company of my biological father who though is yet 60 years appeared impressed with the small achievements of governor Rauf.
Before this time, the All Progressives’ Congress seized every chance that presented itself to project an Osun story of economic prosperity and viability. Osun state was projected as a model state of the All Progressives’ Congress and Nigerians were advised to look towards for a classic instance of how well that party will lead Nigerians should it emerge government at the centre but today, we are faced with an entirely different situation which points to a different direction.
Fellow Nigerians, there is not a mild word with which the situation in Osun State can be described thus I wish to state in very clear terms that Osun State is stone broke and Governor Rauf Aregbesola have run out of ideas with which to conceal the mess that have been made of the finances of that state. Already, the Christian Association of Nigerian has commenced mobilization of aid to that state. The Peoples’ Democratic Party has called on the National Emergency Management Agency to tame an impending emergency in that state. Peter Fayose of Ekiti State has given his opinion on the matter and the Nigerian Labor Congress has made an SOS call to Femi Otedola and Aliko Dangote begging that they move in and save Osun residents from avoidable death.
I have a background in the private sector and we have our methods of handling situations. When things go wrong or milestones are not accomplished, two things are normally involved – wrong people or wrong procedures. In Osun’s case, I have doubts if Rauf Aregbesola is the problem. In fact, I consider Rauf as honest and a man of modest means. I have never discussed him with Semiu Okanlawon, the spokesperson of the government in Oshogbo to whom I have access but a look into the eyeballs of Rauf would tell instantly that he would not hurt to prove a point; not even is he willing to go an extra mile to justify a line of action. Simply put, Rauf is a Mai Gaskiya of some sorts.
This leaves us with the second and last option – the adopted procedure of governance. The APC left no stone unturned in its quest to wrest power from the PDP. In this process, Osun State which admittedly made some small small progress was sold to the Lagos/Ibadan media czars for marketing. The state was hyped and over hyped. A common garment factory built by Sam & Sara – a cottage Chinese company was made to stand at par with the Innoson motor assembly plant of Chief Innocent Chukwuma in Nnewi. The implication of this was that Rauf Aregbesola was put under a psychological pressure to meet up with the lies so his party isn’t disgraced. He was constrained to embark on projects upon projects in a state where human capacity is remarkably low. Imagine the Yobe state government proposing to build an international airport with hanger facilities. Such was the case of Rauf Aregbesola. Even when it was clear the free meal incentive could not be sustained, Rauf kept feeding the pupils.
Beyond anything else, Rauf reduced politics to a personality contest between the PDP and the APC when it should ordinarily be a contest of ideas and initiative. The danger inherent in this brand of politics is that it wins more enemies than friends. This was the brand of politics Rauf championed when he insultingly insisted that ex-president Goodluck Jonathan was responsible for his inability to pay salaries to the delight of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his wife who danced to a dirge he sang as he gave a speech at the Bola Tinubu Colloquium. Rauf went on to describe ex-president Goodluck Jonathan in very strong terms making it appear the problem of Osun State was a product of Jonathan’s presidency when in fact Nigerians are aware of how heavily the APC taxed states under its control to donate to its flamboyant campaigns during the last election.
Osun state is in a very precarious situation and I am of the view that the government of Rauf Aregbesola may have lost legitimacy. Rauf Aregbesola should learn from Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, and start by radically reducing the running costs of his government. The fat cats – commissioners, special assistants and advisers alongside other hangers on must go on indefinite leave without pay. Wards schooling in Europe must return to Ibadan, Benin, Akoka, Awka etc for completion of studies. Long motorcades must disappear and corporate organizations must perform corporate social responsibility in either cash or food items. The era of planting flowers and painting bridges must end. Rauf Aregbesola should spend a week in government house, Amawbia receiving intensive lectures and coaching from Dr. Willie Obiano as no sacrifice is too much to be made for a change to occur in Osun state.
Where these solutions fail to turn the tide in Osun State, President Muhammadu Buhari should as a matter of national security declare a state of emergency in Osun state in a way that will cause there to be a new manager of its affairs. Granted, revenue to states has reduced across Nigeria; what then did Rauf Aregbesola do with his reduced share after donating to the APC?
Ezeani, Chukwunonso Elvis is an avid thinker, reader and researcher. He tweets @NonsoEzeani1
