By Oluwole Leigh
It’s been over a week since the Governorship elections in Osun state were held. Social Media platforms across Nigeria were quite busy as results were sent in from the field. The Independent electoral Commission in Osun State concluded its work in the wee hours of the morning and the incumbent was declared the winner of the election.
As figures came in from various polling units, a lot of addition, subtraction and permutation took place. After a while, an unassailable lead was established and the winner became evident. At the end of the day, the figures added up and the data spoke for itself.
As citizens in the 21st century, it is becoming increasingly likely that we are more concerned with the figures. We earnestly stare at our phones and watch as the data adds up. Our greatest concern is for the accuracy of our predictive models. Joy is derived from the fact that the results lined up with our predictions. I am quite sure that this was the prevalent mentality in the ‘Situation Rooms’ of all parties that took place in the elections. Unfortunately, the deluge of data thrown at us by election results fails to show the humans behind the data.
The average voter in Osun woke up in the morning and left for his or her ward in order to vote. The dreams and hopes of these voters were encapsulated in the ballot paper that was placed in the ballot box. I have been opportuned to visit and spend time in parts of Osun state such as Oshogbo, Ede, Ejigbo, Ikire, Iwo , Ada, Ilesha and Ife.
I was in Osun state for a short holiday a little over 10 years ago. On Sunday morning, I attended a church on the outskirts of Ede. The Pastor had done a good message of preaching to the people and telling them to change their ways. Somewhere along the line, he changed the tone of his message. It seemed to him that the people were not convinced of his desire to redeem their souls.
He said: ‘I am preaching to you people and you are not accepting salvation, Do you want to suffer twice, You know you are suffering in this world, Do you want to continue your suffering in the next world?’ The message came out of a place of candor and realism. The pastor realized that his people were suffering but accepted the fact that he couldn’t change their circumstances.
A couple of years later, I found myself at the same church. The Pastor made an announcement and asked members to visit another member who had a motorcycle accident. He also used the opportunity to squash rumors that the accident was caused by a case of intoxication on the part of the church member. Some of the members had gone to town to say their fellow member was a drunkard. I haven’t been back in Ede since then but I am sure that I would be welcomed with a fun tale or story whenever I choose to visit
Fun tales and stories are the bedrock of traditional society in most parts of Nigeria. These examples are not different from what would obtain in most towns across Nigeria. Most of our towns and villages are filled with young and old people who live simple lives as they go about their day-to-day business. They have real needs and desires to feed, clothe themselves and live in secure habitations. They come out in the morning, go to work or to the farm, come back in the evening and drink some palm wine. They tell tales and listen to rumours. They gossip about their neighbor’s latest acquisition, which would be nothing other than the latest Motorcycle or bicycle. They laugh at the Orange seller whose complexion seems to be changing from black to yellow.
In times of dispute, they head to traditional ruler for resolution. At night, they pray for their children who may be in school or have migrated to urban centers. This is what obtains across the whole of Osun. Life around here is generally simple and relaxed. These are the people whose lives have been committed in Governor Aregbesola’s hands. They are not mere numbers.
Ogbeni Aregbesola is expected to meet the desires of all the citizens of Osun State. I have a few words of advice for Ogbeni Aregbesola as he prepares to start his second term in office.
Avoid Strange Ideas:
Ogbeni Aregbesola is a man who seems to be filled with a lot of zeal and determination. This passion for change is evident in all his public speeches and press statements. However, unbridled and undirected passion has turned out to be the downfall of many historical figures. Ogbeni strikes me as an individual whose sleep is often interrupted by strange thoughts and ideas. I would advise him to ask himself this question whenever he is caught up in these moments – ‘Will this idea make the lives of Osun State residents better?’ One example of this problem was when Ogbeni changed the designation of Osun state to ‘State of Osun. The idea was to carve a unique identity for his state, which may be similar to that of a state in the U.S.A.
The truth is that Nigeria has only paid lip service to concepts such as federalism and devolution of Powers. While states in the U.S.A have relevant laws supporting their autonomy, all our states receive allocations from the Federal Government. A partial observer would expect that Ogbeni would refuse all federal allocations in preparation for a proper declaration of statehood. However, he continued to collect money from the centre while mouthing platitudes about ‘Autonomy’. His quest for statehood was lost on many citizens of Osun state who did not exactly understand the difference between ‘Osun State’ and Ogbeni’s ‘State of Osun’.
Another of Ogbeni’s bright ideas was called DAWN (Development Agenda for Western Nigeria). While DAWN was a project which encompassed the South-Western states, Ogbeni seemed to be the driving force behind the project. He was the only governor that did not pay lip-service to the DAWN idea. The concept of DAWN is at best a throwback to the ‘good old days’ of the Western Region in which the Action Group reigned supreme.
Obafemi Awolowo was the face of the party and he took major decisions. The concept of Dawn gained prominence at the time when Boko Haram increased their campaign of destruction in Northern Nigeria.
The DAWN campaign seemed to signal that the West was preparing for secession. The only people missing in the DAWN equation were the electorate. South Western Nigeria is made up of people who come from all parts of the country. The fate of non -Yorubas in a remixed ‘Western Nigeria’ was not clearly articulated by Ogbeni and his co-travelers. Ogbeni’s energy could have been better spent if he limited himself to his role as governor of Osun state. The pursuit of such agendas should be left to civil society organizations and pressure groups.
Embrace Technology
Osun state is not known as a resource rich state. However, the human resources located within it can be sufficiently mined to give a greater output. Osun state has to embrace Technology in every single way. The state has started off on the right note by handing out Android tablets to students. It needs to move beyond that symbolic gesture. Ogbeni needs to understand that Proper exploitation of the benefits of Technology will happen when all the dots are connected. One of such dots is the issue of talent.
The presence of Obafemi Awolowo University in Ife confers some sort of advantage on Osun State. OAU is known to produce a considerable number of graduates with engineering capabilities. Unfortunately, most of its graduates head for the major commercial centres such as Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. They spend their years in Osun state and leave once their education is complete. Ogbeni has to find a way to tap into the factory that is called OAU. He doesn’t need to go and import talent from anywhere.
These graduates can form the bedrock of a Technology industry in Osun State. Bowen University in Iwo as well as Osun State University should also be encouraged to see their schools as part of Osun’s Grand Technological vision. Another dot that needs to be connected is ‘Connectivity’. Ogbeni needs to stop his ‘Omo –Onile’ or rent-seeking approach when dealing with Telecommunication companies. Earlier this year, the papers were filled with reports that he was going to shut down all MTN sites in the state. Such actions are not ‘Omoluabi-like’.
Ogbeni has the opportunity of forging a unique relationship with Telcos. He can propose a Connectivity for right-of-way deal – Get them to lay fibre across the state at their own expense and he would help them solve all right-of-way issues. Such projects would ensure that the fibre routes go through major institutions of government and private sector hubs. Once connectivity and talent are in place, it would be easier to attract Technology-related investment to Osun state. It would not need to organize any stakeholder’s forum, road show or public lecture in order to attract investment. The availability of the Talent and Connectivity would lay a proper foundation for the third dot, which is Investment.
The positive impact of Technology on the lives of citizens in developing countries is tremendous. Osun state has the unique opportunity of taking a lead in the field of Technology if they so desire
Fix health
A couple of years ago, Ogbeni announced a plan to establish 334 Primary health centres in all wards in the state. Currently, the state has about 9 State hospitals alongside 5 General hospitals spread across different parts of the state. I am not sure if Ogbeni succeeded in establishing the Health Care centres which he promised to do. Ogbeni has to look for a comprehensive way to deliver quality health care to the grassroots.
I would admit that health care management has become an unsolvable jigsaw puzzle for all governments in Nigeria. There seems to be no working Healthcare delivery model. Most state governments are constantly placating or fighting with health care workers. One of the notable exceptions to this trend is the current Governor of Ondo state. He has focused on one major health problem – Infant and Maternal Mortality. Ondo state’s Abiye Initiative ensures that No Pregnant woman is left behind. It has succeeded in drastically reducing Mortality rates to a level not seen anywhere else in the country.
The Ondo state government chose to focus on one area of health delivery and it has done well in this area. Ogbeni needs to follow the same model. Solving all the issues of healthcare in Osun state will be impossible. It will be a lot more effective if the State focuses on one area and handles it well.
Balance Stakeholders’ Expectations
Osun state is made up of Adherents of Islam, Traditional Religions and Christianity. Ogbeni has an unenviable task of satisfying these stakeholders. In 2013, Ogbeni declared a public holiday for adherents of Traditional Religions in the state.
This holiday seemed a little strange in a country that only seemed to recognize Christianity and Islam as Religions. Ogbeni has also shown a lot of support for the Osun Oshogbo festival, which is an annual event that has put Osun state on the map of the World. Traditional Religious practitioners and tourists come once a year to have a dip in the Osun river and offer supplication. Even though the festival is well known in most parts of the country, adherents of the Abrahamic faiths are not exactly fond of the festival.
A few months ago, Ogbeni announced the construction of a Christian campsite with a capacity to host 200,000 worshippers. His vision is that a couple of churches would be tempted to use such facilities for their events. It remains to be seen whether this is a viable model for encouraging religious visitors to come to the state. I am of the opinion that the best gift Ogbeni can give to Christians is to return missionary schools to the owners as was done in Lagos state under Bola Tinubu.
In normal circumstances, the state should have no interest in religion. However, the reality is that a lot of Nigerians build their identities around their religions. Any leader who is hoping to be successful would have to skillfully navigate the religious minefield. I sincerely hope Ogbeni has learnt a few lessons from the religious crisis, which broke out in the state earlier this year.
Ogbeni has his work cut out for him. He has my best wishes.
