By Waheed Adekunle
Despite humongous resources available to Governor Ademola Adeleke’s government, he couldn’t do what others did to motivate workers, instead, his administration has been paying lips service to hoodwink workers.
It is on record that the current administration has received close to 1.5trillion naira as allocation and grants from the federal government, yet no single sector works. The critical sectors – health, education, agriculture, commerce, transportation, energy, environmental, water and mineral resources among others have become moribund due to palpable ineptitude in the Adeleke’s government.
As at today, no single worker has been recruited into any of the afforementioned sectors, instead, money was taken from prospective job-seekers to secure them teaching job without fulfillment. Till this present moment, no single teacher has been recruited despite the fact that Adeleke’s government diabolically sacked over 1500 teachers employed by his predecessor – Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola CON.
No doubt, education sector in Osun is in shambles – drifting towards irredeemable collapse under the watch of the current administration. As at today, school buildings are cracking and collapsing particularly in the rural areas without any attention from the government. A visit to public schools in the urban and remote centres will give a clear understanding of the decadence in the education sector particular soft (teaching and learning with standard and quality instructional materials) and hard (state-of-the-art infrastructures).
For instance in Atakumosa West Local, it is only a single physics teacher vis-a-vis Ejigbo Local Government where there is only one geography teacher as well as Ifedayo Local Government among others. Yet, Adeleke’s government, having collected money from the poor teaching applicants to the tune of 200million naira to obtain application forms, still failed woefully to secure them job. What a pity!
It is laughable that the failed government is boasting of good ratings in education sector, a claim that is far to logic and reasoning. A toddler knows that Adeleke’s government is a collosal failure in critical sectors particularly health, agriculture, commerce and education. How on earth a government that out of vendetta motive sacked over 1500 teachers without replacement will perform excellence in the education sector?
How on earth a government that budgeted ridiculous fund for education sector will earn good output – just ask Osun State government what it budgeted for education since 2023 till date, you will pity the future of our children and generations yet unborn. If resources allocated and expended in the office of the governor doubled what expended in critical sectors, you should know Osun is already in a ‘one-chance’ vehicle.
It was widely reported that Osun government under Governor Adeleke’s watch spent 3.1billion naira on local and foreign trips in just six months without any positive result for citizens. It was also reported that Adeleke’s government spent 1.7billion naira to feed in Governor’s office while schools buildings are crying for rehabilitation and reconstruction everyday.
A visit to Ife South, Ife North and some parts in Ife East, Oriade, Obokun, Odo-Otin, Irepodun, Orolu local governments among others will give you a clear testimony. I was just laughing when they said they are raising education bar judging by their self acclaimed WAEC rating. I swiftly asked, what, where, when and how? As at today, there are 1,424 secondary schools in Osun. Out of this figure, there are 489 public secondary schools and 935 private secondary schools. By implication, if there’s any improvement in rating, that should be fairly attributed to private schools since rating is a combination of both.
It is on record that the last time Osun public schools performed excellently well was during Adegboyega Oyetola’s tenure where Ataoja Government High School students came first in series of academic exercise. I challenge the current government to prove to us where it has matched that feat since assumption of office.
The only way that the current government has to perform is tertiary education but because of wickedness, Adeleke’s government monetized education instead of democratising it for public benefits. Anyone can ask what public tertiary institutions students are paying today compare to what they inherited? Go to Ospoly in Iree, Oscotech in Esa-Oke, Healthtech in Ilesa, Osun State College of Education, Ila-Orangun, among others to know their present tuition fees. As of today, Unilesa law students are paying 1.5million naira tuition fee per session while their nursing counterparts are meant to pay 1.2million naira. By implementation, Unilesa seems to be the most expensive public university in Nigeria particularly in studying two courses mentioned above. What a satire!
Who does that? Can a civil servant that Adeleke’s government is touting payment of partly minimum wage, sends his or her children to Unilesa to study either of the courses? The answer is no. Unless, such a proletariat has under-table avenues or other legitimate business, he or she can’t afford it with the current socioeconomic reality in Osun. Since the government is not productive, how can it’s appointees be. As at today, Osun Internally Generated Revenue, IGR is the least in the entire Southwestern Nigeria. Ekiti IGR is far above Osun. What a pity!
As of today, health sector is paralyzed, moribund and in comatose due to politicization and sharp ineptitude on the part of Governor Adeleke’s government. Health workers recruited by Adegboyega Oyetola were obnoxiously sacked and relieved of their job and till date, no single health worker has been recruited as replacement. Our hospitals, especially primary health centres are crying for workers. Instead of Adeleke’s government to recruit medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, specialists among others he sacked, they chose to play politics on masses’ health forgetting that ‘health is wealth and it is only a healthy nation that is wealthy’.
I am not flabbergasted, Adeleke’s government is a misfit that will never happen to Osun again. Instead of Adeleke’s government to construct more PHCs in addition to what his predecessor revitalised, they started repainting and removing plaques of ones did by previous administration. This is nothing but fraud. There were verifiable pictures in the media space where plaques of the already revitalised PHCs were removed and replaced with another inscriptions. What a pity.
For your pleasure dear readers, as of today, there are 799 primary healthcare centres in Osun. There are 57 secondary hospitals otherwise known as General Hospitals and 3 Tertiary Hospitals otherwise known as Teaching Hospital. Out of the said 799 PHCs, Oyetola revitalised 332, one per ward, but Adeleke’s government failed to follow suit, instead, his government resolved at ‘hatching another hen’s eggs’, what a pity!
Back to the workers’ salary, I want to reiterate that salary payment is not and never an achievement because it is a must to do. Worker must get his or her pay. I can remember that former PDP Chairman in Osun, Hon. Sunday Bisi conspicuously said it to denigrate erstwhile government, so, if Adeleke’s government is paying salary from the pool of resources at its disposal, is uncommendable because, the state, even, when it got ridiculous allocation, under Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, still struggled to pay full salary and emoluments. Moreover the money at the current government’s disposal is more than what all the past administrations got in their various tenures.
It is uncharitably ridiculous that a government that received about 25billion naira between November 27th and December end, 2022; a government that received 182billiona naira between January and December, 2023; a government that received 333billion between January and December, 2024; a government that got 210billion naira as allocation between January and July, 2025 and a government that received 124billion in just three months – i.e between July and September this year could still fail to offset the backlog salary arrears after three years.
I can remember vividly that Governor Adeleke who boasted offset of all the salary aerears within six months of coming into office couldn’t do so, three years after. Going by what Adeleke’s government has received in 36months, no worker deserves to be owed a dime by now.
It is time to wake up from slumber. It is time to call a spade a spade no matter whose ox is gored. Our dear state deserves better handler whose proven trackrecords can bring succour to all and sundry not a government of aristocracy that the current government has brought to pollute our political system. A visit to Ede today will tell you what nepotism and chauvinistic tendencies in Governor Adeleke’s government is.
As we approach next election year, let’s vote wisely to send mal-administration packing and restore tested and trusted hand with verifiable imprints. Progressives have done it before with lifetime legacies and they’re firmly prepared to return to government come 2026.
May God heal our land!