….How Aregbesola spends N1billion to build 1km of road
By Lanre Akeju
I’ve read the long epistle with the above title, written by one Demola Yaya, and so far published in only Osun Defender, a paper though promoted by our former governor, Rauf Aregbesola, but has been churning out lies and propaganda against the Adegboyega Oyetola-led administration.
To get the details about my claim, google search my previous article titled “Aregbesola And His Osun Defender Satanic Editorial Contents” which was published in August last year.
Back to the issue at stake, the long epistle published by Osun Defender only raised about three to four issues. I will take them one after the other and then conclude. One, it is not correct to say Oyetola had no manifesto. As a matter of fact, even Osun Defender of September 19, 2018, attempted to dissect Oyetola’s manifesto. In that piece, the paper wrote : “Oyetola promised to revolutionise the economic base of the state for improved internally generated revenue (IGR) for the prosperity of all Osun sons and daughters by creating the enabling environment for manufacturing companies and agro-allied industries to invest in the agriculture, mining and tourism sectors to create job opportunities for the employable youths.
The governor, as a candidate then, was also quoted to have said, he would make “Osun government “work for all irrespective of status; his priorities shall be to ensure Osun has a well-motivated civil service to ensure maximum productivity to implement all his laudable policies and programmes in education, health, agriculture, housing, sports, environment etc. He has plans to create loans for the traders, farmers and improve the conditions of the artisans by engaging them, through direct labour basis, on all works emanating from government. His manifesto has been strategically developed to address all issues pertaining to the welfare of the people of the state.”
If we take some of these promises one after the other, you will agree with me that Oyetola has fulfilled most of the promises. But since that’s not the crux of this piece, I hope to return to that at a later date.
Two, on education, I don’t want to go into Opon Imo. But the man you set out to promote knows within him that if the issues surrounding Opon Imo are unearthed, he would rot in jail and whatever is left of his seeming integrity would be completely lost. I will allow you and your ilks to naked him yourself, then, I will help you add pepper. I leave it at that for now.
Oyetola has, no doubt, built tremendously on what he inherited in the Education sector. The evidence abound. But the Mega schools was a mega fraud. Apart from the fact that they were built at humongous cost, N1.5 billion per school, it was ill-conceived. The communities are resisting the merger of schools and that’s why the schools can’t operate in full capacity. The amount wasted to build the mega schools could have been channeled into building smaller schools that would stand the test of time. Which single uniform are you talking about ? The woman that impoverished our mothers selling school uniforms? The job being referred to that was created by Sam Sara only existed on papers. This explains why market women were elated when the policy was reversed.
Three, on onfrastructure, again, this is another bogus claim. At what cost ? Osun did not get value for money. Imagine the Gbongan road,da, even though it was awarded at N1billion per kilometer, they spent the money but did not complete the project. It was Oyetola who has brought it to the tolerable level it is today. So which infrastructure are you talking about?
Four, it is true Oyetola has not recruited new O’YES cadets, largely due to the humongous debt your benefactor left behind and that has impacted negatively on the financial capacity of the State government. However, from reports we read, I understand it is in this year’s budget.
Single uniform, re-classification of schools and other anti-people policies that made APC struggled to win election four years ago, were not the policies of the party. It was Aregbesola’s unusual government policies. Thank we have a government that is usual and this is why all those issues that reduced APC’s popularity and made it struggle to win the governorship in 2018, have all been addressed by Oyetola and have endeared the party and the government to the people once more.
From abolition of half salary to reversal of single uniform and revert to old names of the various schools among others, Oyetola has won the hearts of the people.
Oyetola cannot be faulted on the issue of performance and the popular and acceptable saying is that ‘ you don’t change a winning team.’
Your benefactor ran the APC like his fiefdom. That’s not what we have today. The continuity that was promised by Oyetola is not to perpetuate half salary, anti-people policies and programmes but to do what is right and just to the people of Osun who he pledged to serve.
I know Osun Defender will never publish my rejoinder. But I believe Osun people in particular and Nigerians in general would have had the opportunity of reading through the lies and propaganda of Osun Defender and its promoters.
Akeju is the Secretary of Osun Shall Rise Again, OSRA, a socio-political group.
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