Ogun: Between Noise and Development By Soyombo Opeyemi In a free and fair electoral contest, all the politicians that have now made destructive criticisms their stock-in-trade will be taken to the cleaners by Senator Ibikunle Amosun. I repeat, if the 2015 poll is open, free and fair, Amosun will defeat these noise-makers in their own wards. Most of them will even lose their polling booths to Amosun. I challenge any of these politicians to an electoral contest in their own wards today; their humiliation will be resounding and rout complete in the number of votes Amosun will garner. Either in Ogun Central, East or West, Amosun will secure a landslide victory. The art of disinformation and negative portrayal of the governor will not earn them a single vote. I am appalled and galled by the amount of calculated lies being dished out to the public by those politicians that cannot even beat Amosun in their own polling booths. What they do not know is that Amosun is a grassroots politician par excellence. I do not yet know in the current Ogun of a politician that has what may be described as fanatical support of the masses than him. Perhaps, they do not know. Amosun is not the type of politician that usually announces his visit to any part of the state. He tours the nooks and crannies of Ogun regularly, and the spontaneous affection that is displayed towards the governor is unprecedented. I only recall such during the era of the Action Group and Unity Party of Nigeria.So, the noise in the newspapers by these purveyors of mendacity will not help them. By the grace of the Almighty and votes of the overwhelming majority of the people of Ogun who pray for the governor day and night and appreciate his selfless sacrifice to this state, Amosun will secure a landslide in 2015 election. I have heard this story again and again. There was a man so close to Amosun. In fact, Amosun was said to be at his beck and call. But due to the hurdles thrown in the way of Amosun in his bid to become the governor of Ogun State since 2007 by the then power-mongers, he abandoned him during his most trying moments. He believed Amosun would never become the governor. But Amosun eventually became the governor. Ordinarily, he should not forgive such a man. But to the shock and consternation of many, Amosun forgave the man and brought him into the fold. He was not the only one so treated. As Amosun usually says, “We are humans; we are not God; if God has done this for us, who then are we?” Amosun also accepts correction, once, like any human being, he makes mistakes. His often-quoted remark is, “He that cannot be counselled cannot be saved.” I can hardly recall a time when Amosun refused to hold the weekly meeting of the State Executive Council. In fact, he regards it as an article of faith. He firmly believes that two heads are better than one. Sometimes he holds the meeting twice weekly or even three times if a situation demands it. You also need to see the governor how he treats elders – utmost respect is the watchword; the quintessential Yoruba-man. He’s a man of peace and will continue to seek reconciliation with all as far as it is in the interest of the good people of Ogun State. Amosun is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. That means financial prudence is his watchword. Like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, he is obsessed with getting value for money. Human kindness flows in the heart. Most often in the rural areas, the governor will ask his convoy to stop so he can speak with a farmer or market woman. On countless times, he will buy the produce on the head of the farmer or market woman and reward them handsomely. This has been the character of Amosun long before he became the governor, and this is still Amosun. In terms of rapport with the grassroots, if anything has changed, the relationship has even been cemented, now that he is the governor. Rather than steal the money of the people of Ogun, like some would do and some actually did during their time, he embarked on those landmark projects that would benefit the masses of the state. Who are the beneficiaries of Amosun’s free education policy, from nursery to secondary levels? The masses, of course. By the way,it is important to mention that the last time the people of Ogun enjoyed free education was over 30 years ago, under the leadership of Chief Olabisi Onabanjo. Who are the beneficiaries of the 107km international standard Ilara-ijoun road, cutting across four local councils and hundreds of out-of-the-way villages? The grassroots, of course. Who are recipients of about 500km rural roads across the state? Who are the beneficiaries of the first international standard roads and first flyover bridges in all the three senatorial districts of the state? The masses and children of the masses who reside in these cities. Who are the beneficiaries of Gbomoro and Araya (the free health schemes)? The masses. When Amosun invested security which has now ended the era insecurity all over the state and of banks regularly closing business on account of insecurity, on whose behalf did he do so? I have heard the charge that Amosun is weak; that he is paying billions of naira as arrears of salaries, pension and gratuity of workers inherited from the past government rather than concentrate on his own term, from May, 2011. This is not a sign of weakness but a product of human kindness, responsive and responsible government. Yes, it is true that Amosun does not owe any worker a kobo; in fact, he pays the highest minimum wage, across board, in Nigeria. Amosun’s argument remains that if people have worked for the state, even though they were not paid by that government, he would do everything possible to offset such debts. And so, after a complete overhaul, just for example, it is discovered that the past government, owed staff of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) N2.6 billion in salaries and allowances (just one institution alone!), and Amosun has offset about N1.5billion of the debt. Can you imagine what state-of-the-art lecture hall that can be built with N1.5 billion? Notwithstanding, the governor recently slashed the fees of the students of the institution (and nine others in the state) by 60% after the initial reduction early in the life of the administration, thereby fulfilling his pledge to the people that “as the finances of the state improve, they all shall be the beneficiaries.” Whereas, these spent politicians have voted for noise-making in the media, the Amosun administration has chosen development.And if God is with you and the people are on your side, who then can be against you?
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 10:10:53 +0000
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