Socrates, a great philosopher once said: “an unexamined life is not worth living.” This simply mean that, it is important to use our highly developed thinking faculty to raise our existence above that of mere creatures. Eating, sleeping, working and procreating can’t distinguish us from animals. Without thinking, life is not worth living. This thought was completed by Benjamin Franklin, a political philosopher and founding father of the United States who said: “he who fails to plan, plans to fail.” In other words, there should be metrics to measure one’s performance within a specific period of time to know what is being achieved and area to work harder on for the all round success.

Relating these philosophical cliches to the art of governance in Osun, particularly since the return to democracy in 1999, there is no doubt that the past administrations have genuinely done their bits at setting the enduring pace and place Osun on a sure footing of socioeconomic advancement, political emancipation and corporate growth and development.

The administration of Chief Abdul-Kareem Adebisi Akande began on socioeconomic and political overhauling strictly committed to lifting the state out of her excruciating situation occasioned by the long military presence in the state. Akande’s curiosity for a modern Osun knew no bound as he built a concrete foundation for Osun as manifested in several kilometers of roads constructed within the first twelve months of his administration. There was a saying during Akande’s regime that says “Ijoba sogbo dile, sogbe digboro, sakitan doja” meaning “the government that is irrevocably committed to socioeconomic development; infrastructural advancement – turning bushes to housing estates and markets to enhance commercial activities, encourage industrialization and investments through rural-urban renewal and migration for the all round success of the state. The Osun State Government Secretariat Complex is a testament to Chief Akande’s legacies.

Similarly, the administration of former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola of seven and a half years witnessed different developmental strides but the peak of it was the successful establishment of the state owned tertiary institution known today as Osun State University (Uniosun) with its campuses spread across the zones in the state.

As a bridge-builder whose tenure gave Osun a facelift of development, the eight years of former Governor Rauf Aregbesola didn’t only build on the past gains but equally opened up Osun to the world map, especially in infrastructural renaissance. Though loans were taken to execute some of those projects, no effort was spared to set the state on the pedestal of sustainable infrastructural development purposely designed to guarantee her future population explosion.

In the same vein, the immediate past administration of former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola consolidated on the past gains as he recorded tremendous improvement across sectors of the economy despite the inherent challenges caused by the huge debts profile and lean purse of the state as at the time he assumed Office.

Oyetola’s administration, in four years, reconstructed, renovated and revitalized 332 Primary Healthcare Centres – one per political Ward across the nooks and crannies of the state – an enduring legacy and feat never attained by any state government, safe for Lagos, in the history Nigeria.

Among several other infrastructural projects completed, the administration also built many historical roads that had been practically abandoned for ages by successive governments and which had become death traps not only for the dwellers of those affected communities but also for the people plying through the ancient roads for one reason or the other.

Above all, the four years administration of former Governor Oyetola now Minister of Marine and Blue Economy built the state-of-the-art Olaiya iconic flyover bridge despite the palpable meagre resources that accrued to the state among other challenges that bedeviled the administration, chiefly the COVID-19 and EndSARS protest.

However, the current administration under the leadership of Senator Ademola Adeleke appears to have been revolving the orbit in search of reality, as it is not clear to anyone, the direction the government is tilting towards in the last 15 months.

The citizens were promised of a drastic change in the art of governance within six months of coming into office. Osogbo residents were promised to a total turnaround of infrastructural development capable of turning the ancient town to ‘Small London and Small Dubai’ – all within six months. Dollars, Euros and Pounds ( from the thriving family business) were promised to complement the resources of the state for greater development. He also promised to reform Local Government Administration by returning governance to the grassroots. Youths were promised to be fully engaged into civil service, public service, agriculture, commerce and industry – through massive investments capable of generating jobs and profits for the state and her citizens. Mining, education, health, agriculture, commerce and industry among other sectors were promised to be revamped within the possible shortest time. But lo and behold, none of the aforementioned have come to pass in the last fifteen months of being at the helms of affairs of the state.

It is disheartening that the first and ever project reeled out for execution, that is, the borehole project, failed fantastically. The borehole drilling which was conceptualized by the Adeleke’s government few months after taken the mantle of leadership of the state, was to complement the existing ones dug in many of the primary health centres revitalized by his predecessor across the state. It turned out that many of the acclaimed boreholes of the government of the day were imaginary. They only existed only on paper, but not in reality. Where handful were constructed, many of those boreholes are not functional, so are not serving the purpose for which they were constructed.

Aside this, nothing spectacular has been witnessed as development since the inception of the present administration other than Executive Order that has taken the state back to the primitive era. A lot of infractions have been committed leading to the: sack of many workers including the Rector of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree; demotion of top bureaucrats including Permanent Secretaries appointed by Oyetola’s administration; removal of the traditional rulers, express dissolution of Statutory and Non-Statutory Commissions, dismissal of the elected Council Chairmen and a heinous attempt to oust the incumbent Chief Judge of the state, Justice Adepele Ojo.

If the incumbent government had been faithful to promises made, it would have made an impact at least in the lives of a fraction or segment of the populace if not all. Hadn’t been there is sincerity of purpose within the ruling class, the state would have achieved far better and it wouldn’t have remained stagnant as it is. Hadn’t been it was a government that prioritizes the welfare and general wellbeing of the masses, a lot of life-changing policies would have been formulated and implemented to impact meaningfully in the lives of the people judging from the crazy funds and accrued revenues received thus far. Hadn’t been there is a serious government in place, effort would have been intensified to cushion the effect of subsidy removal on the lives of the people of the state, at least to complement frantic effort of the federal government in that regard. If it was to be a truly people-oriented government, accountability, transparency and probity would have been its watchword and there would not have been any reason for hiding the identity of the contractors handling public projects let alone the contract costs.

It is regrettable that profligacy has become the order of the day in the state as its stems of cancerous tumor has resorted into bloated political appointments, among other frivolities, taking away the larger chunks of the state’s resources and leaving many in avoidable hopelessness, hunger and poverty. The sleepless public lens of adjudication is watching day and night.

May God heal our land!

Lie they say; runs faster and more contagious than the truth. And there is a Yoruba Adage that says ‘two people can’t be fooled with lies; if the person lied to doesn’t know he’s being fooled, the person lying knows he is lying’.

Lie, in whatever coloration, be it white or black, is always sarcastic.

This is a perfect aphorism to describe the blatant lies that characterized the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government in Osun State under the leadership of Senator Ademola Adeleke, since assuming office in the last one year.

Assuming office with a vengeful mission, the government had left no one in doubt of its penchant for lies, which has become a norm among the political gladiators and members of the ruling class.

As ‘hypocrisy is said to be the highest compliment to virtue, the art of lying is the strongest acknowledgment of the force of truth’, hence the need to unraveling the hypocritical style of governance in the ‘State of the Living Spring’ in the last few months.

Since a lie told often is enough to become the truth, it is also imperative to expose to the world some of those lies that the incumbent government had told to brainwash, deceive and hoodwink unsuspecting citizens.

A dispassionate assessment of the happenings around the government shows clearly that, the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke, has been thriving on propaganda, deceit and unchecked impunity since the inception, as one could deduce infractions in the art of governance.

The Adeleke government’s penchant for lies and engrained fraudulent claims on nonexistent performance being used to sustain its dubious nature in governance had become a monster to the wheel of progress of the state in the last one year.

Too many to mention, but for the purpose of necessity, and for those that have been practically deceived by inherent treachery, sophistry and political demagoguery that engulfed and permeated every stratum of the government in the state, I will strive to mention but a few.

If we could remember vividly, the Adeleke-led government, on the assumption of office, promised to right the self-acclaimed wrongs of the past and set the state on the path of growth, development and sustainability, alas! the same government has been wallowing in its self-afflicted retrogressive backwardness gradually consuming the state and running it aground.

The instrumentality of the Adeleke government’s ‘Executive Order’ which was built on the pillar of lies had become the stumbling block to the fortunes of the state judging from its adverse effects, particularly on the collective fates of the harmless and innocent revered traditional rulers that were unjustly suspended from the thrones of their forebears.

The lie told by the Adeleke’s government was about the assurance given, to unravel what culminated into the appointment of the monarchs vis-a-vis the need to make public, the report of the review committee within six months of being constituted, alas, neither the government, nor the said review committee had come up with a white, black or any paper for that matter up until now.

The most unfortunate part of the ugly occurrence, remains that, the victims who were arbitrarily suspended due to palpable ineptness and malfeasance on the part of Governor Adeleke led-government did not know their fates up until now as they have been subjected to ridicule having patiently waited all along for the outcomes of the acclaimed review committee over a year.

Similarly, the Adeleke’s government had practically failed in its responsibility to make official up until now, the reports of the Ad-hoc Review Committees on Ilesa University and the fathom recommendations that informed the government’s decision to appoint the new Governing Council and Pioneer Vice Chancellor for the institution.

Inspite of the Adeleke’s government empty promise to unravel the perceived self-serving mystery leading to the appointment of 30 Permanent Secretaries by his predecessor – Adegboyega Oyetola, it had yet to make public the reason for the sack of the bureaucrats up until now, neither was it able to fulfill its promise on them.

The reasons for sacking 20,000 volunteers of the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) still remains a puzzle to discerning citizens who have been patiently waiting for the government to make public ‘white paper’ justifying government’s action.

We can as well recall that no report has been made public as promised by Governor Adeleke on the arbitrary sack of the close to 3,000 food vendors inaugurated for home-grown school feeding by the erstwhile administration, ditto the case of the recruited health workers, among other state government employees in the last one year.

Governor Adeleke who dashed the hopes of the suspended Executive Secretary of the Osun State Health Insurance Scheme ‘OHIS’; Osun State Primary Health Management Board; Rector Osun State Polytechnic; State Chairman of the Osun State Independence Electoral Commission; Chairmen and members of the State Statutory Commissions, among other through his obnoxious Executive Order, is yet to make public, the report of the review committees as falsely promised.

The peak of the lie of the Adeleke’s government was in the recent disclosure made by the Governor’s spokesperson, Mr. Olawale Rasheed, that his principal traveled overseas to engage foreign investors on the need to invest massively in the state. An assertion that is just a figment of their imagination.

It would be recalled that, Rasheed in the statement, noted that the Governor had embarked on a Working Vacation to Europe and Asia as part of effort to advance the cause of the state in multinational corporations.

The statement which was issued on 25th of November, 2023, quoted Governor to have said the Working Vacation was aimed to finalize partnership deals with investors and development partners.

According to the Governor, ‘This is democracy. My masters are Osun people who elected me into office and to whom I am surely accountable. My trip is however a working one as I will be meeting foreign partners who are eager to join several sectors of our state economy”.

However, going by Mr Governor’s assertions, one would have thought that the state will be on the verge of total socioeconomic turnaround, but quite unfortunate, the whole scenario appears to be a ruse and blatant lie sold to the public.

Since the Governor’s departure, neither himself, nor the government, has shown any evidence of what the governor went overseas to do, as there was no picture of any business partnership or multilateral ties between the state and any of the much-talked investors, up until now.

While it is understandable that the Governor can embark on a vacation for obvious reasons, it is also incumbent on him to oblige the citizens his whereabouts with genuine reason not by fallacy.

For a government that claims to be transparent and prudent, one would wonder why the public are still kept in the dark of who-and-who are on the list of the governor’s entourage to Europe and Asia as painted up until now.

Since the trip is made possible on the treasury of the state, the citizens deserve to know what, worth and cost to be incurred, if truly and indeed, the Adeleke’s government is sincere with it self-acclaimed accountability and transparency.

Up until now, no one knows the number of the government officials on the governor’s entourage and the cost implication of same on the commonwealth of the state in last few days since the trip was announced.

The general concern of the discerning citizens at the moment, is that the meagre resources of the state is being wasted on unprofitable voyage.

It is therefore not out of place to infer and conclude that the Adeleke’s government has been thriving on lies forgetting that it takes someone to tell 101 lies to cover-up a lie.

Though the opposition party had earlier busted the purported Governor’s Working Vacation claims, challenging him to tell the citizens the truth of his trip abroad rather than lumping it to business partnerships.

Some of the questions agitating the minds are; why the Adeleke’s government has chosen lies as fundamental in all it does? Why the current administration has been ridiculing the state by its imminent expeditions riddled with lies and propaganda? Must Adeleke’s government lie? What is the essence of the trip to Asia and Europe that the governor claimed to have embarked on especially on the economy of the state? How many foreign investors have come from same continents to bid business relations with Osun in the last one year of Adeleke’s administration? What does the state stands to gain from the fruitless trip? These and many more are thirsty of responses.

Anyway, the government should be reminded that ‘a building plastered with saliva will disintegrate under the morning dew’.

It is high time for the concerned citizens particularly the stakeholders to rise to the occasion which if not averted could drift our beloved state to the path of destruction. While it is also sine qua non for the elders to further show interest in the way and manner the affair of the state is being run under the current administration, so also, it is imperative to checkmate the unchecked impunity, profligacy, malfeasance and frivolity that have thriving in the state in the last one year of Governor Adeleke’s government.

As we are curiously waiting for the day the foreign investors would be unveiled, it is pertinent to implore the state government to stop telling lies and return to the path of truthfulness, transparency, accountability, decency, honesty and probity bequeathed unto it by the immediate past administration of former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.

No matter the acceleration and speedy pace of a lie, even if it travels for a thousand years, truth will definitely catch up with it in just a day!

May God bless our dear State!

The advice was given by Oyetola’s media aide, Ismail Omipidan, in a statement issued on Monday morning, to debunk the claim by the Osun State Governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, that Oyetola and not Senator Ademola Adeleke, issued the Staff of Office to Taiwo Abdulrasaq Adegboye.

Omipidan noted that he was not surprised by the claim of Olawale Rasheed, insisting that his penchant for lying was legendary. He challenged the governor’s spokesperson to produce any material evidence to support his false claim.

The minister’s media aide further asserted that he has it on a good authority that Governor Adeleke and not Oyetola signed the certificate being paraded by the Alawo against a legal opinion from government officials.

“While it is true that Taiwo Adegboye was appointed during the Oyetola’s administration, the moment the court nullified his appointment, the government stayed action. That was why his official coronation was never carried out until we left the office. Therefore, my principal never signed any document nor issued him a staff of office. If there is, I challenge the government to produce same.

“If indeed, Governor Adeleke has respect for due process and rule of law, how come the government is unable to carry out the judgement of the court with regards to the Alawo stool. In the eyes of the law, the current occupant is a usurper and the government should treat him as such rather than trying to pass the buck, which unfortunately has become the pastime of the present administration.

“Oyetola is no longer the governor. How come you still want to hold him responsible for an action that was carried out in the last one year of the current administration? I advise Olawale Rasheed and his ilks to stop lying against the person of Oyetola, as he did not issue any staff of office to the Alawo,” Omipidan said.

The current situation in Osun has become a focal point of attention, while juxtaposing the impact of the present administration to its counterparts especially in the southwestern Nigeria.

It is crystal clear that the snail-pace of socioeconomic and infrastructural developments has become a serious topic for discussion among residents of the state who had hitherto vested their much-cherished trust and confidence in the present administration.

The concerns bother more on the journey that culminated into the emergence of Governor Ademola Adeleke, and of course, the effect of the much-desired change, which was part of the electioneering promises made by Governor Adeleke while seeking votes from the electorate.

By November 27th, 2023, the incumbent government will be marking a year in office and this has brought about the need to evaluate the performance of the government in the last ten to eleven months of being at the helm of affairs.

Recall that the Adeleke-led People’s Democratic Party PDP’s government started on the template of socio-political vendetta, campaigns of calumny and political sophistries, viciously pursued out of desperation to wipe the opposition out of the circle. The strategies adopted were to discredit the ground breaking successes recorded by the ousted administration with intention to send members of the opposition on expedition of political oblivion.

To actualize this, immediately the PDP government assumed office, the Governor started maligning members of the main opposition, APC, impugning on the integrity and dignity of the party’s notable personalities and as well, discrediting the monumental achievements of his predecessors particularly the giant strides of former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.

The government continued in its usual way to package lies as the PDP’s stalwarts did while seeking voters’ support in the 2022 Osun governorship election.

As part of the efforts, they accused the erstwhile government of indebtedness, maladministration, financial recklessness and impropriety. They went as far as fabricating lies to hoodwink the innocent citizens, but today, all their lies and innuendos had fallen flat on their faces.

They alleged that Osun was indebted to the tune of #400billion but failed to provide data-driven, fact-based statistics and empirical evidence engraved in the state’s financial records to support their spurious allegations.

When they were challenged and confronted with facts and figures by the opposition, to prove that the allegation was a scam, they became dumb and buried their heinous heads in dungeon.

In their usual style, Governor Adeleke and his loyalists further alleged some members of the opposition particularly those that served under the Oyetola’s administration of fleeing with governments’ properties and carting away government’s vehicles worth billions of naira, an allegation that was busted, proven to be fantasy and fallacy, and not based on any reasonable statistics.

They even stooped so low to the extent that they employed media propaganda to push their diabolical and mischievous narratives in order to portray the erstwhile administration in bad light. But when the opposition equally challenged them to unveil the names of those involved in their self-estimated and imaginary malfeasance, they became muffled.

Their media handlers, whose activities portray mediocrity in media strategies and refined public engagement, further went on air to promote emptiness with ignorance, claiming that some members of the opposition who allegedly carted away government’s properties had started returning them. And this was swiftly and squarely tackled by the opposition, asking their half-baked media handlers to make public the list of those that had returned same. But till today, no name was made public.

The incumbent Governor even went as far as showcasing falsehood to the revered monarchs alleging that the erstwhile Governor borrowed money from financial institutions and left nothing in the state’s coffers while exiting office.

To the embarrassment of all, the accusers couldn’t provide a single evidence to backup the claims when the opposition brought out torrent of documents containing facts and figures to dispel their grave allegations.

Part of the questions raised then premised on moral standard as to the need for Governor Adeleke and his media handlers to mention the names of the financial institutions that borrowed the state the alleged loan since it is practically impossible for a state to borrow money without proper records and documentation knowing full well that government is a continuum.

Corroborating the defence, the then Assembly equally challenged the governor to unveil the names of the banks that loaned out funds to Osun government without the consent of the House, alas, Governor Adeleke and his stooges couldn’t provide any name till today.

The first step of setback the state witnessed under the current administration was when the then Governor -elect now the incumbent Governor, at the transitional period, said that he had setup several committees to oversee the state of things in major sectors as to the need to reel out some of the plans of his administration. This statement was considered to have suggested the palpable ineptness in the incoming administration then, as this alone, subjected the state to the shackle of ridicule and high level of unpreparedness on the part of incoming administration.

Some discerning minds and political analysts then, predicted what may be the outcome of the administration, since it had, from the word go, displayed maladroitness showing that the man at the helms of affairs had nothing reasonable in stock for the people in view of the fact that ‘he who fails to plan, plans to fail.’

However, the first project to be unveiled on the assumption of office was the execution of the phoney 332 boreholes across the existing wards in the state, an ‘audio project’ that was overblown out of proportion.

The government’s media handlers and their syndicate were preoccupied in conspiracy and took over the media space on the project that an ordinary Ward Councillor would consider too insignificant to publicize let alone a council chairman. Till now, less than 50 per cent of the boreholes is functioning, while many were not even completed let alone being put into use for the benefits of the public.

The outer laying and asphaltic works done by the Adeleke’s government on Osogbo-Ikirun-Okuku-Ila-Odo Kwara boundary road, which represents less than 25 per cent of the Osogbo-Ikirun portion of the stretch, but was celebrated out of moderation remains partly the only thing the government had done in the last eleven months of being in office.

Recall that the road project was initiated by the former Governor Rauf Aregbesola and consolidated by his successor, Adegboyega Oyetola who continued and took the portion to about 77 per cent completion before leaving office.

It is quite unfortunate that since the road was fixed, no other tangible infrastructure initiated by the administration can be identified, rather, the ‘seat of power’ has been navigating up and down doing nothing reasonable but jamboree.

It is almost a year in office, the Governor seems to have forgotten his promises to the people of Osun particularly the indigenes and residents of Osogbo that were politically and electorally manipulated, and hoodwinked into believing in nonexistent miracles and magics.

It is on record that the Governor promised to turn Osogbo to small London within six months of assuming power but regrettably, the same government has been in office for almost a year now, nothing has been passionately done capable of heralding change let alone a total facelift of development as dubiously claimed.

The workforce that was used to ride to power has been stylishly dumped as no measure was put in place to support them at this time of temporary hardship occasioned by the removal of the fuel subsidy inspite of the huge resources that accrued to the state from the Federal Government for same purpose.

While some states that are not as rich and as financially buoyant as Osun are putting workable measures in place to ameliorate the plights of the people and their workers, Osun is revolving on emptiness ever since it got its share of the money.

Aside the wages and salaries payment, a legacy bequeathed by the immediate past government, no other life-changing mechanism in place to up the standard of living and welfare of the state proletariats let alone the general wellbeing of the masses by the current administration.

Instead, both the active and passive workers were needlessly subjected to avoidable hardship by the government, all in the name of Staff Audit exercise, which was unprofessionally and abysmally handled by the consultant employed by the state government.

As widely reported in the media, ‘the life-threatening exercise’ had been earlier condemned by members of the Civil Society Organizations due to the way and manner it was handled.

The height of it was the untimely death of a civil servant who traveled from his base purposely because of the exercise, as well as the ridicule with which the senior citizens were subjected to in the hand of the handlers as some of the retirees reportedly collapsed in the process, a situation that further exposed the incompetence in the system to the entire world.

It is disheartening to know that inspite #9billion in the coffers of the state as special funds from the Federal Government purposely released to cushion the adverse effects of the subsidy removal, the state government had not executed any meaningful project to rekindle the collective hope of the masses.

There is no doubt in the fact that the state government had resolved to paint the federal government in bad light in view of the current transient hardship for cheap political gains.

The recent public enlightenment programme held in Osogbo, which was tagged ‘Ipade Imole’ was indeed a good riddance to bad rubbish, as it exposed the rots in the system and the level at which the public finances entrusted in some hands had been channelled on needless projects such as boreholes.

Aside the fact that the composition of the attendees of the programme was politically motivated, the whole thing was evaluated to be a political jamboree designed to celebrate failure in disguise by the sycophants and party loyalists as the governor could not even read the responses already prepared for him to some of the questions asked. What a shame!

It is quite unfortunate that throughout the period the programme lasted, no reasonable poser, other than a few ones asked by the State Chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists.

A keen observation of all that transpired that day would give one an insight into the emptiness of the administration, as no reasonable project was mentioned to have been successfully completed.

As part of the highlights of the event, the most shocking part was the disclosure of #7billion that Osun received from the Federal Government as her share from the pool of savings of the fuel subsidy removal which is entirely different from the initial #2billion out of #5billion that the state received for palliative from Federal Government to lessen the excruciating effect of fuel subsidy removal on the masses.

But the questions agitating minds of the citizens were, why the state waited till the day of the programme before disclosing that such a huge amount accrued to the State? Some were asking why the state government had failed woefully to expend the #2billion palliative funds on pro-masses policies?

Some were asking why Osun was the only state that has not come up with reasonable plans of what to use the funds for? While some were keenly interested to know where the state’s #9billion relief funds are, and in which accounts, knowing full well that any account that such humongous funds domiciled would have earned tangible interest?

No doubt, the words of a political philosopher that says ‘no government feasts on vendetta thrives and lasts long’, has come to pass in the case of our dear state. This aphoristic postulation is not only appropriate to describe what Osun is going through at the moment but the bleakness in the future of the state is calling for noble concerns.

May God heal our land!