While he served as a public office holder in Lagos State
under the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a commissioner, he was touted as the
brain behind the innovations that rocked the state. He was part of the team
that saw the creation of new local developmental centers since the 20 LGA’s
were just not enough to properly integrate the rapidly growing population of
the mega city.
He changed the road map, alongside maestros like Jide Idris,
Fashola and Bamidele but to mention a few with different blueprints for
infrastructure, transportation, health, and a germane holistic approach such
that changed the destiny of Lagos forever (I know many would argue; it’s my
point of view anyways, we are all free to hold one).
And while Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was tipped to be the next
governor in Lagos State after Bola Tinubu, he had better view of what he wants;
to be governor of Osun State. He wasn’t selfish at all. His own people, either
directly by blood or creed also deserves the innocuously innovative and
scintillating ideas and development deeply deposited in his brain.
So he fought hard and tortuously in his first term to win
back his mandate stolen by Obasanjo’s INEC, setup with deeply frail and solid loopholes
intended for easy manipulations to achieve personal gains. General Oyinlola stole
that mandate and for three years ruled the state till 2010 when Ogbeni Rauf,
then of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, assumed office after Oyinlola was
sacked by the Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan. The court ruled that ACN
candidate won the 2007 governorship election. He was the first to convince a
court in Nigeria with forensic data of election absurdities.
He was the
governor the state wanted.
So while he stood for re-election,
nobody came close to the candidacy of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in Osun State for
2014, not even the crooked Iyiola Omisore. Rauf’s steadfast development of Osun
State is glaring for eyes to see, minds to wander and hands to touch. Unlike the
hoax of a poultry project in Ekiti some 8 years ago by the now re-elected
governor in waiting Peter Ayo Fayose, the Osun poultry actually serves the
state and being served by the on-hands farmers. No wonder even in the PDP, they
were absolutely sure there was no way Omisore could win the elections in Osun
State. It was a case of MENE MENE TEKE URPHASIN, the hand written on the wall.
As for the incumbent
who has another four years to serve the state, his case was that of Veni Vidi
Vici He came, He saw and He Conquered.
He understood the politics of the people, the relationship his people craved,
his humane and yet positively strict stance the mass wants for a society that
intends to be upwardly mobile. These hinterlands don’t breed literate minds
like Lagos would for example but this doesn’t make them fools. They know what
they want and if they have the freedom to choose, they always choose right. The
intimidations came, the use of super military forces and the canny imposition
of candidature was by no means a little feat but as the incumbency kept the
playing field level, he used the media (especially her sister, social media)
much to their advantage and liberation of the people.
Today Osun has chosen
who should (keep) lead(ing) them but if we are all sensitive, we knew all along
that it was always going to be the same man whose mandate was stolen in 2007
yet wittingly took it back in 2010. Today, we salute the courage of everyone
that stood by their votes and didn’t allow intimidation to scare them off. We are
proud of the Osun electorate who didn’t sacrifice their future for free half a
quarter bag of rice and some change. The Yoruba race may never forget that
incidence in a while and we hope they won’t be seen as the ‘osus’ of the ethnic group.
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