Author: Waheed Adekunle

It is no longer news that the high cost of food in Osun State has always been on top in the South-West geo-political zone as being consistently reported in the media, validating the records of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) thus far which could easily be attributed to the poor performance in the agricultural sector by the state governments. With the latest NBS monthly reports, Osun State rated second highest after Oyo State in the food price inflation in the South-West, hence high cost of living and poor standard of living overtimes.

It is an understatement to say that the Osun State Government under the leadership of Governor Ademola Adeleke has crippled governance in all the sectors judging from the malfeasance that has become the order of the day since the inception of the current administration. For instance, over 30 days after the touted procurement of 114 tractors, the state government is yet to publicly unveil any of the pseudo tractors despite the pressing demand by the citizens let alone distributing same to farmers.

The ranking of Osun State as first in the food price inflation indices among the six South-Western states in the country overtimes before the last ranking is not by happenstance, but a product of misplacement of priority on the part of the government administering the affairs of the state.

No doubt, the abysmal handling of the critical sectors such as agriculture, education, mining, infrastructure and a lot more since the emergence of the present government in the last 20 months or thereabout has placed Osun State on the flashpoint of retrogression, judging from the poor performance indices thus far. Aside the Office of the Governor where billions of naira was pumped into for execution of overblown but yet to be explained projects, no sector experienced desirous attention, making the scourge of hunger and poverty to sink deeper into the drenched fabric of the citizens as inflation bites harder on daily basis, raising the cost of living and affecting the standard of living.

Precisely, in March 2024, Osun State ranked first in food price inflation in the entire South-West geo-political zone, according to a verifiable data obtained from the NBS as reported by StatiSense and other media platforms. In the same breathe, the State of the Living Spring ranked fourth in food price hike in the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) as reported by Business Day Newspaper in June, this year.

In its report, StatiSense revealed that Osun State has the highest food price inflation in the South-West and ranked sixth in the 36 states of the federation between March and April. The state’s inflation rate stood at 33.32 per cent then. StatiSense reeled out the figure on its verified X handle (Twitter), validating the data obtained from the NBS. In the report, Ekiti State was closely following by Osun State with 32.05% goods price inflation while Oyo had 31.69%; Ondo had 30.68%; Ogun had 29.65% and Lagos had 29.29% respectively.

Similarly, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) consumer price index report ranked Osun as fourth state with the highest food price inflation in the country after Kogi, Ekiti and Kwara states. The report shows that the average food inflation rate for Kogi was 46.3 per cent; followed by Ekiti at 44.94 percent; Kwara had 44.66 per cent ; Osun was 44.57 per cent and Edo at 44.46 per cent.

Some days ago, Oyo state was rated highest in the inflation rate ladder with 40.70% followed by Osun state with 40.40% and Ekiti state had 40.21%; Ondo state was rated 40.16 while Lagos state had 39.77% and Ogun state with 37.53% respectively.

However, our dear state has been battling and grappling with avoidable challenges since the inception of the current administration as it has been gasping for survival in the hands of the ruling class deducing from the palpable reality manifested in the poor performance noticeable in the agriculture sector.

In the Osun 2023 budget, appropriated by the immediate-past administration of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, over N5billion was earmarked for agriculture but very disheartened the fund was later reduced to N2.5 billion by the Governor Adeleke government as espoused in the supplementary budget appropriated same year after coming into office. The records showed that a total sum of N1.5 billion was expended out of N2.5 billion that the fund was reduced to, at the end of the year 2023 as captured in the state budget performance.

In the same vein, the Osun State Government budgeted a whooping sum of N3.7 billion for agriculture in the 2024 Fiscal Year while only N699million was reported to have been expended in the first and second quarters (Q1-Q2) of the year. This shows the level of unseriousness attached to the critical sector like agriculture.

The state financial records showed an abysmal shortfall in the agriculture budget while that of the Office of the Governor was jerked up for a reason best known to the people in government. The record conspicuously indicated that the N6billion budgeted for the Office of the Governor by the erstwhile government in the 2023 budget was deliberately jerked up to N16 billion plus by the current government whereas over N19 billion was eventually spent in the Governor’s Office as at last year December as reflected in the state financial records. By implication, the state government under Governor Adeleke’s watch spent more than the appropriated fund.

It is regrettable that the Adeleke government that came into power on the mantra of overhauling of critical sectors like agriculture, mining, education, infrastructure among others has been drifting retrogressively due to the palpable lack of Political Will to irrevocably and aggressively drive the state’s potential vis-a-vis the administrative prowess to galvanize the available resources for maximum agricultural productivity in the last 20 months.

The state government has done little or nothing to revamp the agriculture sector.

It is on record that the current government in the state had consistently enjoyed unalloyed supports from the Federal Government particularly since the removal of the fuel subsidy. Osun was among the 36 states that received N2billion palliative funds from the Federal Government shortly after the fuel subsidy removal in 2023, the money which was meant to execute people -oriented policies capable of cushioning the adverse effects of subsidy to advance the people’s cause of welfare and general well-being. But it is quite unfortunate that up till today, there is no effect of the funds in the lives of the people let alone in the existence of the state.

Instead of channelling the money judiciously on productivities across the sectors of the economy, the state government opted for frivolities and claimed to have spent N25million to refurbish rickety vehicles purchased by former administration. After hoarding the funds for months, it came up with a very belated Wage Award payment to proletariats, in December, 2023. Up till today, no concrete justification as to how the humongous fund was being expended.

In a saner clime, N2billion was enough to revamp agriculture. If it were to be a serious government that is passionate about the welfare and well-being of the masses, Osun people would have benefitted massively had it been the money was used to implement people-oriented programmes. Certainly, if Osun government had channelled the fund on the agriculture since last year July, there is every propensity for the state to have become the food basket of the nation.

Aside several other supports, the state government had since received fertilizer from the federal government to boost the agriculture sector but inspite all these interventions, agriculture sector remains abysmally in comatose in the hands of the present government in the state.

If it were to be a government that is conscious of the masses’ plights like we have in Niger, Bauchi, Kebbi, Borno, Lagos, Ogun, Imo, Bayelsa, Ondo and Ekiti states among the comity of states, it would have caused nothing to turn around the sector going by what had been received as support from the Federal Government. Osun has been steadily receiving NG-CARES running into billions of naira since last year; the funds meant to cushion the effects of COVID-19 on the populace, yet nothing meaningful had been showcased to justify the humongous funds.

In the 2023 budget performance of the state, it was clearly stated that N39.5 billion was made as Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) while the audited account statement for the same year showed entirely a different figure. In the audited account statement, it was quoted that the state realized N27.4billion, entirely different from the amount said to have been generated in the IGR budget performance. The question now is, into whose account did the over N12billion difference go into? The state government is yet to respond to this since it was punctured by the opposition.

The state government which claimed to have embarked on N100billion infrastructure plan to the detriment of the welfare and well-being of the masses, with little or no information about where the fund was sourced even at the expense of other sectors, like agriculture and education, is yet to restore the glory of social investment programmes inherited from the previous administrations, such as Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES), reinstatement of the sacked school teachers, health workers among others inspite of the negative influence of same on the welfare and general well-being of the people and the state itself.

Funny enough, the state government early this year inaugurated a 16-member Food Security Committee chaired by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Tola Faseru, to address food challenges being faced by the citizenry. Till date, no news yet from the committee.

Governor Adeleke, in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Rasheed Olawale, quoted him to have said: “This committee is a response to the challenges of securing access to food and securing the food production and distribution process alongside other issues of palliatives for the people. We have identified a problem which we believe this committee can proffer immediate solutions.” Alas! Nothing has been achieved in this regard.

The question to ask is, does the government need to set up a food security committee before doing the needful in the agriculture sector?What has been the positive effect of the needless committee so far? What has been the effort of the agric ministry since the emergence of the current government? No doubt, the ministry has been incapacitated to glorify ‘preferences.’

Assuming without conceding that the state government truly ordered for the purchase of the questionable and controversial tractors, the question is, why did it take the government so long to purchase tractors when the planting season is almost gone? Is that not a misplacement of priority? Only God knows what has gone into the secret related dealings.

The time has come to rise to the occasion as genuine citizens to put the government on its toes to address the incessant food price inflation in the state by investing largely in the agriculture and other critical sectors of the economy. We have been to many states and we knew how their governments have been complementing federal government ‘s concerted effort to rejuvenate the economy, rebuild and reposition the country for the betterment of all. No doubt, Osun is having it si good now with huge resources in the state’s treasury, there is need for justification of same.

Better late than never! The time is now for the government to wake up from slumber and stop wasting our common patrimony on secondary preference like inflated flyovers at the expense of deplorable roads in every nook and cranny of the state. It is not a rocket science to have a good result if the resources is appropriately channeled for the goodness of the citizenry. If Osun couldn’t subsidize staple foods, it shouldn’t find it difficult to subsidize some of the agricultural input and farm implements to ease farming and agricultural productivity. The huge resources available to the state government should be used to better the masses’ lives. No more, no less!

May God heal our land!

Views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Voice Air Media.

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