I was one of the people who, out of sheer ignorance, applauded Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on his first term as Governor of Osun State. Ogbeni’s actions at that time had a shiny outlook, and it was easy to convince anyone without a deep understanding of governance to get lost in the glitter that was not gold.
While we applauded him, Ogbeni Aregbesola laid the groundwork for the hardship that the State ran into in his second term, and the insolvency that followed, until the Tinubu administration came on board and increased statutory allocations to States. Over-ambition, badly planned policies, outrageous contract sums, and general fiscal recklessness were the undoing of the man who could easily have been the symbol of a new Osun.
Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was a man of great vision. He was an ambitious man who was in a haste to develop Osun and leave a lasting legacy. However, his eagerness was not tempered with critical administrative acumen. He had great ideas, but he forgot to add the important elements of sustainable planning that would not only guarantee the longevity of his policies but also ensure the sustainability of development efforts long after his government.
Drawing from the lessons we all must have learned from the Aregbesola Government, Osun people have a very important task of ensuring the incumbent Governor, Ademola Adeleke, does not get a second term in office. This first term has laid the unfortunate groundwork for a disaster that will happen if he gets a second term in office.
At this time of plenty, much like the first term of Rauf Aregbesola, the Adeleke Government has refused to build sustainable development models that will shock-proof our State if revenue plummets. The take-and-disburse government of Adeleke is ‘spending to stupor’, building needless bridges at over-inflated costs, and enriching cronies at the detriment of sustainable development.
In the history of our dear State, no government has appointed the humongous population of idle aides as the Adeleke government has done. Thousands of people, many without clear titles and job descriptions, are today drawing hundreds of thousands from the government’s purse because, of course, we currently have resources that can fund a wasteful lifestyle. This was how Ogbeni Aregbesola started.
Procurement costs in our dear State today are some of the highest in the country, yet we are seeing poor quality of projects littered around the State. In the name of local content, the Adeleke administration is awarding critical projects to incompetent individuals who are diverting project funds and delivering sub-standard projects.
Critical institutions in Osun State have become crippled, and the results will soon begin to show. Because of petty politics, and against the promises he made to strengthen the third tier of government, our Local Governments are today unable to perform their critical functions, hence crippling the State’s Internally-Generated Revenue, and putting further pressure on the State’s federal allocations. This is a poor decision that will soon begin yielding negative fruits.
The capital flight under this government is also unprecedented. The Governor is known to spend most of his weekends away from Osun, traveling about with a large number of aides, and expending the State’s resources on Duty Tour Allowances that bring us no good. People who are openly non-indigenes of Osun State are holding critical positions of government, ploughing resources from here to their respective States. We even have a climate change consultant, shopped from far-away South Africa, and a native of a South-East State! Such is the level of profligacy under this government.
What is more? The people who surrounded Ogbeni Aregbesola and pushed into many erroneous decisions are today milling around Governor Adeleke. A certain Wale Bolorunduro who masterminded reckless borrowing as Commissioner for Finance in the Aregbesola government, is today an appointee of the Adeleke Government. The likes of Kolapo Alimi are all there, helping the Governor formulate and implement policies that are sure to run Osun into trouble.
The profligacy and bad decisions that we see in Osun today are emboldened by the availability of resources, more than any predecessor of Adeleke enjoyed. However, successful States are governed in a manner that guarantees long-term prosperity through carefully structured policies, frugal management of resources, and strict commitment to development plans.
Osun needs a prolific administrator and strategist who understands both short and long-term implications of government policies, and will thus pursue only policies that protect our short-term welfare and long-term survival. This is lacking in Sen. Ademola Adeleke, and we should not wait till his shortsightedness brings us to our knees.
We must look beyond Governor Ademola Adeleke in 2026, lest we run Osun into a second round of afflictions.
