Dear Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Your Excellency, Mr Governor elect, I write to congratulate you, the entire resilient electorate of the State of Osun on your well deserved victory in the just concluded Governorship elections. For me, you didnt win a mere election, you won a war! ... A war between Good and Evil; a war between the might of the powerful and the will of a determined people. By this victory, Osun State restored our dignity as the Yoruba race, a proud and progressive race nurtured on the values of Omoluabi (children of virtue), raised to believe in education, honesty, integrity, the rule of law, commitment to the good of the collective over self, hard work, defence and protection of the vulnerable, hospitality, loyalty, respect especially for elders, merit, justice,morality, equity and honor. Our ethos engrained in us a strong disdain for the mediocre, the uncouth, the disloyal, the lawless, the dishonest, the disrespectful, the greedy and downright evil and the immoral. We were raised to stand by our principle irrespective of the cost, we were taught to honor integrity above wealth, character above charisma and decorum over popularity. We held our heads high and earned every stripe honestly. To our detractors, our values were too rigid and self righteous and in time, there began a deliberate strategy to erode our values. We watched as haters started the divide and rule campaign by empowering elements amongst us who mortgaged their values and like biblical Esau, sold their birthrights for a mess of pottage. These Omoales (bastards) whose pedigree will continue to be suspect, elevated their selfish greed above the collective good and impoverished our people so much that survival started to overthrow honor and a good name. Suddenly, in our lifetimes, external forces started to redefine our values by empowering Omoales (bastards) and elevating them as leaders amongst us. We looked on almost helplessly as a new narrative was being written about who we were as a people. The Ekiti elections started to redefine our ethos, our morals and our values. The same detractors who set out to decimate us as a people started to ridicule us as the stomach infrastructure people who preferred thugs and brash characters to intellectuals and refined leaders. We were mocked as the people who would rather share our commonwealth than develop our people and infrastructure! We became the people who rewarded bad behavior and punished the good natured. Won so wa di afi ibi su oloore ( a people who reward good with evil) But yesterday, you and the good people of Osun State redeemed us from ignominy! By your courage, doggedness, resolve and sheer grit, you stopped the mouth of our detractors and restored our dignity as a people. You attested to who we really are, a progressive and dynamic race, a people with morals and values. You rekindled hope in many of us who were gradually becoming hopeless in the face of tyranny and oppression. You helped many find their voices which was already being drowned by the noise of the Omoales amongst us. You made us proud to identify with our pedigree again. We salute you. Indeed, the State of Osun and its people have earned the title Osunkoya I saw on a friends wall. I can only pray that we will not waste this new opportunity your victory has given us to rebuild the structures of our values, morals and ethos as the Yoruba race. I pray we will not sacrifice this RENNAISSANCE on the alter of selfish ambition and power play. For the sake of our generations unborn, I pray we can recalibrate and strengthen the values that hold our collective destiny by elevating character over charisma and demanding more from our leadership than stomach infrastructure and godfather ism ...I can only pray. Until then, you remain my hero sir. I look forward to meeting you someday. You are a man worthy of emulation (though you are not perfect sha, but then, who is? Lol) My regards to all your indefatigable team and may God be with all that wish the Yoruba race and by extension, Nigeria well irrespective of their politics, religion, ethnicity or social preferences! E Seun wa sir! Osun a Dara ju bayi lo oo! As we say in Lagos, boju o ti ehin igbeti, Oju o ni ti ile Yoruba oo. Regards Sola Salako A proud and elated daughter of Yorubaland!
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 13:14:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015