Osun: A Cause for Concern! -By Abiodun KOMOLAFE

Osun State is currently in the grip of paralysis, crippled by a malfunctioning government that has turned project management into a farce. A review of recent projects reveals a glaring lack of focus and an alarming managerial ineptitude. Yet, the people of Osun are enduring with remarkable patience – a fortitude that tells a story. Elsewhere, such a situation would have long since erupted into turmoil, making their restraint all the more commendable.

​The core function of the State, as articulated by the tenets of the Social Contract, rests on its ability to guarantee the security and welfare of its citizens. Yet, in Osun, this foundational agreement appears to be under severe strain, particularly as it has been replaced by a disturbing pattern of policy paralysis and official apathy. The pressing question remains: what’s to be done? 

The tragedy of Akinlalu, for example, was not merely a localized security breach, but a symptom of a deeper crisis in the state’s political sociology. When the State Government responds to such episodes with apparent indifference, it reveals a profound philosophical misalignment that threatens the very fabric of the state.

Of course, this inaction is not a passive omission; it is an active contribution to the erasure of citizen trust and a tacit declaration that the lives and safety of its people are, at best, a secondary concern. Unless some steps are taken in the right direction, Akinlalu is a clear signal of what to expect in 2026!

Preparation is crucial for even the most menial of tasks, let alone the daunting prospects of running a subnational government during a profound economic transition. The Bola Tinubu administration has bravely initiated what could become seismic economic reforms. However, for these reforms to deepen and achieve a trickle-down effect, state governments must be energized and innovative.

It is truly unfortunate that some of our governors do not understand that politics and productive governance are two different phases, and any governor who cannot differentiate between the terms is a colossal failure to society. The sadder truth is that Osun is demonstrably far from being either innovative or activated. This inertia explains why the state cannot even conceive of adopting a transformative measure like the N104,000 minimum wage to which the Imo State Government has committed.

Osun State is blessed with immense resources, robust human capital, and clear geographical advantage. Had these assets been managed competently and responsively, by now, the state would easily be paying its workers a minimum wage of at least N95,000 a month. Crucially, this prosperity should be sustained by determinedly increasing its internally generated revenue (IGR) through genuine production, not through the facile and oppressive measure of extra taxation.

Be that as it may, a more profound crisis is now at work in Osun, and that’s painful! At this critical juncture, it is virtually impossible to decipher a coherent alternative, much less identify an entity capable of presenting a rigorously costed, detailed programme of governance.

Frankly, what we observe is not a ‘government-in-waiting’, but rather a disappointing cacophony of voices – largely a collection of individuals seemingly propelled by personal ambition and ego. This political void signals that most of the state’s potential leaders are not motivated by a burning, unified desire to offer the electorate a viable alternative, leaving the populace trapped between ineffective governance and an equally ineffectual, fragmented opposition.

​Consider the impending farce: the governor will soon present the 2026 Annual Estimates, which a subservient House of Assembly will undoubtedly pass without batting an eyelid. This legislative rubber-stamping is a stark reminder that the separation of powers is effectively defunct in most states. It has reduced the Assembly to a mere appendage of the Executive.

What is truly unacceptable in a state desperate for development is that those clamouring to take power in the next election have failed to produce an alternative, detailed budget for public scrutiny. This inaction gives expression to a bleak reality: a demented misinterpretation of politics – focused purely on acquisition, not execution – has fundamentally replaced the essential notion of governance in Nigeria. The political razzmatazz in the state capital seems to be all that matters!

​Tragically, the present government in Osun operates without a discernible programme, and critically, it is clearly not in a hurry to develop one. Likewise, the ‘opposition’, no matter how fragmented, is precisely like an applicant arriving for a job interview without any discerning understanding of the nature and temperature of the post it seeks to fill. This collective, dual failure is the sorry state of Osun politics today.

As things stand, it is as if the state is on life support. While the ruling party is behaving like a village girl who falls in love newly, the opposition is acting like a slim girl who can be dissected easily. Otherwise, a government worth its mission would have developed a blueprint to turn the fortune of Ife-Ibadan Road into a socioeconomic hub; the opposition, too, would have presented an alternative. 

But what do we have instead? A government that dances away – irresistibly – the state’s destiny on the altar of inanities, and an opposition that equally flocks and dines with utter bewilderment. This depressing uniformity of self-interest, rather than service, tells the story of a profound ideological bankruptcy within the political class. The counts are few of those who truly care.

The Labour Party in the UK from 1945 to 1951 represents, to many, the veritable gold standard of effective, reforming government – a six-year blitz that rewired not only the UK but the world. While Clement Attlee was the Prime Minister who led this colossal transformation, the intellectual engine for the monumental change was the party’s Research Department, famously driven by Michael Young (its indefatigable Secretary) and his team. They were the unseen scribes of the ‘Let Us Face the Future’ manifesto.

​Not unexpectedly, this contrast leads one to a truly sobering thought right here in Nigeria: Who, for the love of good governance, is the Director of Research for the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) or the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun? If that gold standard of the 1945 Labour Party could have a quiet hero, what chance does our local iron have? Does anybody, even on his or her best day, know the name of the Chairman of the Osun State Chapter of the Labour Party?

For the APC, a crucial internal question arises: given the informal agreement on Osun West’s eight-year tenure, will abandoning it be fair, and won’t it spark backlash? Already, voices (presumably induced) are clamouring for Osogbo, the state capital, to have a bite of the governorship. However, this claim is politically charged, as Osogbo is in Osun Central, which has already produced three governors: Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Bisi Akande, and Adegboyega Oyetola.

​The rationale in the clamour for Osogbo must be vigorously explained by those in the Osun East Senatorial District positioning themselves for a run to obtain the candidacy of their party in the party primaries. This necessity is underscored by the fact that Rauf Aregbesola, from the East, did two terms in office before handing power to Oyetola. Consequently, the question must be asked: Is it not too soon for the East Senatorial District to now produce the alternative to a one-term governor from the Central Senatorial District?

Wait a minute, why can’t the opposition forge a consensus candidate through constructive ambiguity and save the party from the principalities and powers of factional fighting and internal rivalry?

​May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Nigeria!

*KOMOLAFE wrote from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria (ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk; 08033614419 – SMS only)