As Osun Electorate Decide…

Election is a time when people of a given country or
group come together to vote into office candidates  of their choice, especially into political offices.
That moment has come again in the South-West region of Nigeria. It is coming barely few months after decisive polls we all witnessed in Ekiti State,  where an incumbent governor, Kayode Fayemi, was overwhelmingly defeated by a former governor of the State, Ayo Fayose in an APC-dominated region.
Similary, this time around the election is holding in one of the states bounded to Ekiti, Osun State. The State popularly referred to as the “State of Osun” by its indigenes has a rich cultural heritage and tradition and also harbours the ancestral home and the cradle of the Yoruba race within its  ambits (Ile-Ife).
The Omoluabis (the people of Osun) are generally speaking, a peaceful, hardworking and proud people that are well rooted in their customs and traditions.
Also evident in the Omoluabis is their undying love for their mother land, and culture, language and history, though moderate in their quest to finding and understanding their maker (religion), as the three kinds of religion in the continent (Christianity, Islam, African traditional religion) enjoy almost the same proportion of faithful.
As mentioned earlier, the Omoluabis possess a strong devoutness and astute love and patriotism for their state, which drives an average Omoluabi to seek for the growth, development and sustainability of his state as well as ensure the financial, material, spiritual and socio-economic well being  of his fellow statesman.
One man who has been striving to see to that reality is the incumbent governor, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola. A man who seeks development with an ambidextrous quality and whose gaint strides are evident in every nook and cranny of the state.
Since Aregbesola’s emergence as governor, the state of Osun has unarguably witnessed rapid transformation and infrastructural turn around. Infact, infrastructural decadence has been given a rebirth. He has ensured probity and accountability, high level of security, and prompt payment of workers salary. He has accomplished all these in the face of a meager revenue allocation and almost a poor internally generated revenue that can never stand a chance against it’s southern oil rich counterparts.
Mobilisation and empowerment alongside job creation are not just within the bounds of the mouth, but extends to the eyes also. His desire for youth employment has led to the creation of the “OYES” (Osun Youth Empowerment Strategy) programme which has tens of thousands of youths under scholarship and monthly pays. The O’MEAL is another avenue through which little school children are given a square meal daily to help relieve poor parents and encourage other children to be in school. The “O” movement in the state of Osun cuts across all sectors of the economy, ranging from O’REAP, O’FARMS etc. His achievement and commitment towards the development of the state can be seen even by the opposition  in the state and beyond.
The writer is not an ardent supporter of some of Aregbesola’s obnoxious policies in the state, especially the secondary school system, one change which greatly affected the security of his life during his youth service years  in the state. That notwithstanding, he is a man whose fervor and gender speaks louder than his shot comings, which is characteristic of every human.
This is why the people of Osun must come out en mass to make their choice as to whether to allow the continuity of good governance or do otherwise.
This period behoves all Omoluabis to be vigilant and guard against all forms of political thuggery, rascalism and massive rigging which are characteristics of elections of this nature in Nigeria.
“Ise wa fun Ile wa,
Fun orile ibi wa
Kagbega, kagbega, kagbega
Fayeri.”
Thus goes the first stanza of the Omoluabi (Osun) anthem, calling  on the people to rise and protect their house and exhibit patriotism for it.
It is, therefore, expected that the Omoluabis would exhibit that trade mark pride and maturity in tomorrow’s election.
Joseph writes from Port Harcourt.

Charles Joseph