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Osun: Economic SurvivalPros, Cons of Economic Survival By Dele Owoeye

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  1. It is crystal clear having taken the cognizance of the fact that the success recorded in the August 9, 2014 governorship election in Osun State by the All Progressives Congress (APC) coupled with the victory of Governor Rauf Aregbesola has been a thing of history in the nation’s democracy as the election was perceived locally and internationally as a determinant that eventually led to the overall victory of the party across the country.

    History was made significantly when the incumbent Governor Rauf Aregbesola was declared as the winner of the election to defeat his closest opponent, Dr. Iyiola Omisore of the Peoples Democratic Party
    (PDP). Obviously the entire citizens were on the sole view that the gubernatorial election in the state would surely determined where the political pendulum would swing to in the just concluded general elections and by extension predicting who wins and ascends the coveted position.

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    Indeed, the most difficult phase of life is not when no one understands you; it is when you don’t understand yourself, because every problem is a clear manifestation and indication of existing
    solution. And moreover, the champions are those who never fail, but those who never quit, because men of high record performance are men of extra mile who work relentlessly to greater achievements.
    There is no doubt in pointing out the fact that Osun State has been battling with different challenges even more than what it experienced during the first term of the current administration.

    Findings have revealed that the reason for the current economic hardship and the incessant blackmailing and spurious allegations, accusations and propaganda from the opposition parties were the product of the victory earned by the All Progressives Congress APC in the 2015 general elections as well as its victory in the 2011 gubernatorial poll as the state was the only state in the southwest that recorded victory for the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

    However the palpable strained relationship between the state government under the leadership of Governor Rauf Aregbesola and the members of the opposition were borne out of the fact that the Governor’s policies and programmes were directly calculated to improve the lives of the people positively and enhance the standard of living
    of the citizenry through the rehabilitation and construction of social infrastructures such as roads, ultramodern school buildings, befitting hospital structures, aggressively promoting agricultural production among others were seemed by the opposition as cumbersome and
    wastefulness by arguing that the physical infrastructural projects embarked upon by the state government was never the priority of state, as the state according to them has not grown to the stage to
    accommodate such huge developmental projects.

    This certainly led to the existing hostility between the ruling party and the power-seeking opposition parties as they (opposition parties) continuously employed propaganda, blackmailing and vituperation as a veritable mechanism to undermine and discredit the good works of the governor as well as all his people-oriented policies and programmes by
    conniving with the organized labour to frustrate and truncate the majority mandate popularly given to the Governor.

    This crisis was ignited when the nation started experiencing economic setback posed by the acclaimed sharp global drop in the oil prices precisely in 2013 during the tenure of former President Goodluck
    Jonathan as the nation’s fortunes started dwindling drastically. Truly, the economic crisis in the nation however snowballed into huge reduction in the federal allocation to the states as many states were eventually rendered bankrupt and insolvent in carrying out their
    constitutional designated duties and responsibilities.

    But surprisingly the collective dreams of the affected states came to a reality when the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari announced the comprehensive relief package and intervention funds amounting to the tune of N413.7billion and N300billion respectively aimed to be shared among the insolvent states in order to put an end to the economic and
    socio-political hardship tormenting them and as well as to bring out the workforce out of the financial crunch plaguing them.
    As many states of the federation derive their economic strengths and stability from the regular payment of workers, it was reliably gathered from a source at the presidency that the bailout intervention
    fund was aimed to avert the current economic mess bedeviling the states and the country at large.

    Though Osun State is known as civil servants state where everything seems workable by the regular payment of the civil servants, but nevertheless, since the creation of the state, it has never witnessed the huge socio-political and economic developments embarked upon by the current administration which was perceived by the disgruntled political elements as unnecessary, unneeded and as well as a way of wasting the state treasury.

    Some of them attributed the performance of the current administration as being overdo, simply because the state government has really touched all sectors of the political administration and as well making lives more abundant to the citizens. In his economic requisite and financial re-engineering to assuage the
    current economic meltdown and to complement the efforts of the federal
    government, having taken a cognizance on the global drop in the oil prices that has adversely jeopardized the nation’s economy, the incumbent governor Rauf Aregbesola was recently announced 50 percent reduction in the salaries and allowances of the political office holders and appointees so as to relief the cost of governance and enhance the economic reality by evolving effective and efficient
    administrative cost mechanism in running the political affairs of the state.

    Apparently, it was contained in the statement issued by the governor’s
    media aide, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon in Osogbo recently. The statement however read in part; “Since the inception of this
    government, we have treated the resources under our control with the utmost respect and disbursed them diligently for the greater benefits of our people. And our mandate had always been to use our God-given natural wealth and resources to bridge the existing gap between the downtrodden and the government.

    “Our government has resolved to cut 50 percent in the salaries and allowances of all the political office holders and appointees so as to embark on the template of meaningful salary structure for the state”. But quite unfortunate, this statement was politically hijacked,
    misunderstood and misinterpreted by some members of the opposition who
    always explored everything within their disposal to discredit the good work and reputation of Governor Aregbesola, claiming that the Governor has concluded plans to reduce by 50 percent the workers’ salary arrears.

    Certainly the self-seeking, political opportunistic, personal ambitious and power-hungry politicians have deemed it fit to derive cheap popularity and venomous fame from the current economic crisis plaguing the state, but notwithstanding, the amiable governor, would device necessary efforts required by law to assuage the heinous and diabolical acts perpetrating by the angels of the dark. Well, all being said and done, the current administration, irrespective
    of distractions, allegations, derogatory and deprecatory utterances from members of the opposition most especially the diabolical elements who connived with the Labour Union and other treacherous judicial officials by calling for the impeachment of Governor Aregbesola over his inability to pay the workforce is unnecessary
    .
    But the State would not relent in her concerted efforts to make life more meaningful for the good people of the state and as well resist any action and inaction capable of disrupting the existing peace, harmony and tranquility being enjoyed by the residents.

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