It is true that the State of Osun has experienced tremendous changes that earned the state recognition nationally and internationally first as the best manager of the education ministry through the collaborative efforts of the governor Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola and his amiable deputy governor, Otunba Grace Titilayo Tomori – who double as the Commissioner for Education in the state.
The Federal Ministry of Environment did not fail to give kudos to the state for its proactive steps on the flood control by giving the state an award for its performance.In the poverty index of states in Nigeria, Osun comes second, thus positioning the state as the second best managed state in Nigeria.
Osun is also rated as the state with the lowest unemployment rate in Nigeria by the National Bureau of Statistics. Infrastructure development in the state is noticeable everywhere you turn to. Agriculture revolution is afoot.
The late American President Abraham Lincoln once said “nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character give him power” Why did he say so?
He said so because as a man who had power, he knew that power was the true test of character. Power in the hands of a person with integrity, is highly beneficial, whereas power in the hands of a tyrant is disastrous.
The people of the State of Osun are now in the best position to judge whether the Aregbesola administration has benefited them more than the previous administration. It is difficult to find a household in Osun that has not benefited directly from Aregbesola’s administration.
Chief Obafemi Awolowo on October 6th 1978 while accepting the presidential candidate nomination of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) stated “the office of the President carries with it enormous obligations and responsibilities. It is not at all an office of pleasure, nor is it one of unmixed pomp and pageantry.
On the contrary, having regard to the democratic setting in which the office will be held, having regard to our present economic, political and social circumstances, having regard to the legitimate yearnings, and the crying and pressings needs of our people…it is an office which, to make real success of it will, ipso facto demand, from its incumbent, a kind of industry, self-discipline, public probity, tolerance, vision and sagacity which have no precedence here in Nigeria.
So it is clear that the Executive Presidency of Nigeria is an office which should not be adventured, light-heartedly, recklessly or with one’s mind suffused and dominated with self-regarding, ethnocentric, or tribal prejudices, predilections, and partial affections”.
Awolowo’s philosophical statements are applicable to the office of the governor as well. The office of a governor is not a tea party, if much impact is to be made on the lives of the citizenry.
The message to our political opponents who want to wrestle power from the incumbent Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola of the State of Osun is a message of goodwill. It is also a message that encourages self-examination, for Aristotle that said life that is not examined is not worth living.
All political aspirants to the political offices have their rights guaranteed under the Nigerian constitution and it makes the political arena more interesting if it is conducted in accordance with the rules.
However the big question is this: do the aspirants possess the quality of good leadership? How many after getting a mandate will remain self-disciplined, prudent, tolerant and sagacious?
Aregbesola is unique and that explains why his administration is unusual. Given the funds at his disposal, and the level of the peasant economy of the state, the record of achievement so far recorded is amazing when compared with the immediate past administration.
It is not a fluke to be adjudged the second best managed state considering the position of the state on the federal allocation table and the position of the state in previous ratings.
Yomi Obaditan is a Media Aide to the Governor of State of Osun
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