THE POWER OF ONE! There is never a better time to call for a unity of purpose, vision and action in the politics of Ogun State than now. The purpose is to wrest power from the incumbent administration of Senator Ibikunle Amosun and truncate his second term ambition; with a vision of securing a better deal of people-oriented leadership for the people of Ogun state. And the action is clear - rally support and strength of the party and other well-meaning non-political interests in the state behind a credible, committed and competent candidate that can lead the State away from the present spate of wasteful, pointless spendthrift of the governor on white elephant projects with no bearing on the high level of poverty and underdevelopment among the people of the state. But the matter should not be a concern for only the politicians. Power and elections is the prerogative of politicians, anyway. This has generally been the erroneous perception by most Nigerians as they watch supposedly elected public officeholders abuse their office and the power they hold in trust for the same people they so blatantly abuse, impoverish and dispossess of their rights and access to a decent and dignified standard of living. Meanwhile, these same leaders amass stupendous wealth for themselves and their cronies and live in obscene opulence. And the people continues to cry and groan in silence. The time has come to break that silence. The very promise and policy of the government of Senator Ibikunle Amosun is founded on a fraudulently ambitious premise that is fraught with several blatant lies and half-truths that has no bearing on the growth and development of the people and the state. His ideology of Urban Renewal is like recommending a thick layer of expensive cosmetics for a sick and hemorrhaging person. It remains to be seen how his theory of urban renewal can result in both immediate and long-term development for a state that is predominantly rural and agrarian. Even the few functioning industries largely source their raw materials from local farming communities - most of who live in remote rural settlements without good roads and other basic amenities of life. The problem with Governor Amosun is not that he has chosen to ignore the people whom he has sworn to serve, and instead embarked on a spending spree of self-aggrandizement, nor the ruthless calculation and single-minded zeal with which he pursues his interests, but his utter disregard for the rule of law and constituted procedures and due process in matters of state and governance. The telling evidences of his executive recklessness and high-handedness are all too visible for the discerning eye. Under his tenure, local government administration in the state has been reduced to little more than an Old Boys Association of Amosuns political larkies and stoogies with no spine, purpose and plan to carry out any meaningful development project to impact on the lives of the people. Starved of funds, the LG chairmen could barely run their offices as the Don at Oke-Mosan has cornered everything for his white elephant projects across the state. Lacking a coherent pattern and a discernible developmental goal, these projects hardly have any local content input as the host communities are hardly ever consulted before such huge projects are sighted in their community - displaying homes and livelihoods in the process. Thus, the local government chairmen have been reduced to as much spectators as everyone else in the state in the drama. However, from the present outcry by the deputy governor whose joint mandate with the governor has now been reduced to a one man act, apparently not everyone is cowed and content to be rendered politically and administratively redundant and be content to merely receive hands-out at the whims of the maximum ruler of Ogun kingdom. Ultimately, the people must be awaken to understand that power actually belongs to them if they must reverse the dangerous trends of history in the state. Presently, the civil service is groaning under the weight of a mans ambition to write his name in history not through service and impact in the heart and lives of men, but through concrete and steel that takes away the peoples homes and livelihood. Even his own political party is no better-off for his ambition as all party elders and constituted authority and processes has been thrown to the dogs. The evidences for this are many with the withdrawal of the aides of former governor Olusegun Osoba and other frustrations from Governor Amosun, leading him to defect to a defunct SDP (PDP?). The recent mayhem unleashed by the different factions of the ruling APC in which several were killed and valuables destroyed during one of the governors rallies is still fresh in our collective memories. Apparently, from all the fore-going, this is no longer a matter for politicians and political parties in Ogun State alone. This is a rallying call for all sons and daughters and all eligible voters in Ogun State to rise across all political, ethnic and religeous divides to come together and restore the purposeful, progressive and democratic values that have been the bedrock of politics and governance in Ogun State as upheld by the legendary works of the late Obafemi Awolowo, the giant strides of Chief Olsegun Osoba, Chief Gbenga Daniel and other prominent industrialists and professionals who have contributed immensely to the collective growth and development of Ogun State and Nigeria generally. At this point in history, it will be a great shame if the opposition PDP cannot rise above individual, partisan and other primordial sentiments to come together to present and rally their support behind a viable candidate towards actualizing the change of power come 2015 for the sake of delivering good governance and real dividends of democracy to the good people of Ogun State. The selfless leadership posture of the likes of chief Gbenga Daniels, Jubril martins Kuye, Nojeem Awodele, Habeeb Ajayi, Senator Bajomo, Hon Dave Salako, Hon Job Akintan, and many more too numerous to mention, who have been genuinely working tirelessly to ensure that sanity and decorum prevails in the PDP must be commended. Also, in the spirit of sportsmanship and purposeful politics, all progressive elements within the APC, labour and other political and non-political groups must be bold and courageous enough to abandon all their temporary differences and embrace the higher calling of a common and permanent goal of restoring the state on a sure path of peace, fairness and progress for all and sundry in the state. There is no point in allowing ourselves to be limited and fragmented by walls and barriers that was only created in our minds by people who only have their own interests at heart - interests that endangers our shared values of brotherliness, fairness and progress. Guided by such as the words of Haile Selassie, we must bear in mind that History teaches us that unity is strength, and cautions us to submerge and overcome our differences in the quest for common goals, to strive, with all our combined strength, for the path to true African brotherhood and unity.. That understanding should also energise and enlighten us against the antics of tyranny, oppression and subversion when they try to divide us further and confuse us with lies and propaganda meant to discredit any viable candidate that the people may bring forward. Already, they have preempted this likelihood by launching a series of guided attacks on the character and integrity of former speaker of House of Representatives - Hon Dimeji Bankole who is most likely to emerge as the flag bearer of the PDP for governorship election at the 2015 polls. The much-publicized EFCC trial of the former speaker is one of the volleys in their arsenal of mis-information and mudslinging. It is no longer news in this country how the powers that be have consistently used trumped-up charges of corruption pursued in the media to discredit and distract credible office holders from performing their legitimate functions when such run fowl of their selfish interests. This particular case against Dimeji Bankole has long been discarded in the waste bin of the history of miss-carriage of justice where it belongs and he has been absolved of any wrong-doing by a court of competent jurisdiction sitting in Abuja under the esteemed judge – Justoce Evoh Chukwu. It has been said that the price for freedom is eternal vigilance. Thus we must be informed, resolute and united in our purpose and vision of people-oriented leadership in Oke-Mosan by 2015 from the present reign of tyranny. Many uninformed elements have been deceived by the frenzied spate of activities and wasted resources and so many pay for huge billboards and adverts on the pages of newspapers to chronicle government achievements from which they have been the beneficiary at the expense of the people of Ogun State. The governor has further earmarked a huge amount of money to increase the tempo of documentaries and adverts on national television channels to sing the praises of their administration. We must not be deceived. It is we - the people of Ogun state that wear the shoes, and bear the burden of the government of Senator Ibikunle Amosun. And against the brutal force of naked power and intimidation with which he tries to silence all opposition, it is only the people themselves that can unite with the power of one - one purpose, one mission, one vote, and end the reign of waste and tyranny for good in Ogun State.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 05:56:10 +0000