The outcome of the Osun 2022 election till date remains a mystery to me because we had no reason not to consolidate on the gains we recorded in Osun from 2018 to 2022. Here was a man who took over the reins of the state at a time when all hopes were lost, when payment
of salaries and pensions were a challenge. Despite all odds, he was able to revive the economy of the state. Old men and women who sold uniforms and were sent out of business by the Aregbesola administration
were given a new lease of life by Oyetola. Let me add that the single uniform added to the challenges of the state. How do I mean? The sole maker of the uniform brought most of the materials from abroad, meaning once there was an increase in the dollar rate, she would come for variation of the contract from the State Government. Hence, it was a business that the State Government was
not benefitting from. The reversal of the single uniform policy helped to boost the local economy of the state.
We embarked on road infrastructure like never before.
The Alekuwodo network of roads project was never touched since the inception of the state. I remember
during the inauguration of the road, Kabiyesi Ataoja of Osogboland stated it clearly that he had lived in that community with leaders of the PDP for seven years when they were in government, but none of them influenced the fixing of the road; whereas Oyetola fixed
it just within first year in office. A two-term former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon Najeem Salam, is a native of Ejigbo, yet for over 30 years the Ejigbo to Osogbo road has been damaged, the road was never fixed for the eight years he and Aregbesola served the state. It was my principal who fixed the road.
Ada-Igbajo road which was in ruins for over 33 years was also fixed by my principal. A road in Ife North was last touched 44 years before our intervention. And it turned out to be the single largest project ever enjoyed by the people of that community since the advent of democracy in 1999. We fixed 332 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs), one per ward, fixed General Hospitals and built 120-bed ward in Asubiaro and Doctors’ Quarters, among other interventions.
We did most of these infrastructure through the ingenuity of Mr Governor and the support of a son of the soil, Engr Olanrewaju Abel Adeleke of Peculiar Consults, who was the first contractor to agree to the Osun State Government alternative financing model,
a model that has now been replicated in other states in the south-west. Asides infrastructure, my principal introduced the feeding of 30,000 vulnerable persons on a monthly basis. Just imagine the relief the project would have brought today if the state government had consolidate on the gains we recorded in Osun from 2018 to 2022. Here was a man who took over the reins of the state at a time when all hopes were lost, when payment of salaries and pensions were a challenge.
Despite all odds, he was able to revive the economy of the state. Old men and women who sold uniforms and were sent out of business by the Aregbesola administration were given a new lease of life by Oyetola. Let me add that the single uniform added to the challenges of the state. How do I mean? The sole maker of the uniform brought most of the materials from abroad, meaning once there was increase in dollar rate, she would come
for variation of the contract from the State Government. Hence, it was a business that the State Government was not benefitting from. The reversal of the single uniform policy helped to boost the local economy of the state. We embarked on road infrastructure like never before. The free train ride during festive
periods did not stop. We had taken these groundbreaking achievements for granted that the people of Osun would return us with ease. My principal, not being a typical Nigerian politician, did not show any sign of desperation to win the election. Like he told his team, “Go and allow people to vote. We did well for them”.
We did not prepare for the other things the opposition would throw at us, including unleashing gun men on APC members and their supporters. Let me say this – the result of that election was not a rejection of my
principal at the polls.
A combination of factors led to what transpired. There was complacency, overconfidence and internal sabotage on the part of some members of the APC and some of the leaders who managed the election process. Besides, the fact that some power brokers at the national stage did not like the idea of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu emerging as the presidential candidate of the party also played out in the Osun election. Even though APC was in power, major national institutions were very hostile to our people. The Police, Civil Defence and the Army treated us as if we were in the opposition as we hardly received cooperation from these agencies. Some of the governors
who came to assist in the management of the elections further compounded some of the already bad situation for us.
To show that something was fundamentally wrong with that election, Osogbo, the state capital, which also comprises Olorunda, had 98,029 accredited voters for the election, whereas Ede-North and Ede-South had
61,041 accredited voters, making the numbers of voters in Osogbo to be higher than that of Ede combined. However, by 4:00p.m. when voting ended on election day, voting had also ended in Osogbo and most parts of the state. Guess what? In Ede, voting continued till 11:00p.m.
(Excerpts from Persona Non Grata)
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