Osun: The People Are Not Defecting -By Sarafa Ibrahim

Defection appears to be the biggest business going on in Osun state at the moment. Some politicians elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are falling over themselves to switch to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the same party that did almost everything to stop their election in the 2023 general election. Of course, this development alters political landscape, however, the people, who are the ultimate decider in a democracy, are not moving an inch.

Politicians are easily swayed by momentary gratification or promise of return ticket, but the only thing that moves the people is the delivery of good governance. This appears to be one thing that is working for Governor Ademola Adeleke as Osun people, knowing well how sour and horrifying the past was, are not prepared to relive that experience. It is only those with pecuniary interest that will ever hoped for Osun to return to such misery.

The present scenario playing out in Osun state is not unusual in Nigeria’s political context. And, in almost all cases, the lot usually fell on the place where the people stand as against the selfish exploit of just a few politicians, as it is in every democracy. Well, if democracy we have now has not been diluted.

One of such prominent instance was Peter Obi, who as the Governor of Anambra under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), was not lucky to have any member of his party in the National Assembly. At the point of his re-election, the three Senators and 10 out of the 11 members of the House of Representatives for Anambra state belongs to the PDP, the ruling party at the centre then.

Even worse was the fact that Obi’s party had almost no presence in the State Assembly as PDP dominated the House. Obi was boxed, or so would many political watchers say at that time, but the people were there for him, which counted far most, as he secured re-election in the February 2010 poll.

In a similar scenario, Tanko Al-makura came into power in Nasarawa state in 2011 under the platform of Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) with members of the National Assembly coming from a different party. Of the 24 members in the State Assembly, CPC only has four while the PDP controls the remaining 20 seats in the House. Yet, he was able to secure re-election, which further amplified the power of the people in a democracy.

The situation in Osun is a very straightforward one. The two divides have been tested by the people and they can tell for themselves the differences. I initially thought I know how Osun people feel about APC but it appeared I was mistaken when the rumour of a plan by Governor Adeleke to join the APC filled the air. There was seriously a trust issue and you cannot really blame Osun people going by what they went through under the APC.

It was hellish and the thought of going back to such experience torments them. That is how bad Osun people feels about the APC. On the contrary, Governor Adeleke has shown to be a lot better, deploring available resources to ease the pains of the people and give them hope of a better Osun state.

Take, for instance, pensioners welfare and you will not find it so hard to understand why Governor Adeleke enjoys so much supports in Osun state. Before the coming of Governor Adeleke, those who gave the better parts of their life in the service of the state were treated with disdain and their welfare mismanaged. Pensioners went through hell in the quest for their due entitlements under the APC as the sight of them filling the streets in protests touches anyone with conscience. It got bad that NGOs and religious bodies set up camps in Osun state just to fill the gap of the APC-led government failures to cater for the welfare of those who served the state.

All of that has changed with Governor Adeleke. Not only are efforts spared to off set pension liabilities, the Adeleke administration is providing free healthcare coverage for every pensioners in the state. The most interesting thing about this scheme is that Governor Adeleke is paying the 10% fee on the healthcare coverage of pensioners, meaning that pensioners who accessed healthcare in any accredited healthcare centres will not pay a dime for treatment. Lest I forget, half salaries owed by the APC administration to pensioners is being paid by the Adeleke administration, with some already receiving theirs in full. So, it is no brainer why pensioners in Osun state will stand firm with Governor Adeleke who is taking their welfare seriously as against those who left them to die as a result of neglect .

For the active workers, the story is even more relishing for them under Governor Adeleke. As against their experience under the APC where their welfare gets little to no attention, the welfare of workers is the first priority of Governor Adeleke. Apart from the gradual payment of half salary owed them by the APC administration, Governor Adeleke has case-backed promotion that only existed on papers under the previous administration. To cap it, Governor Adeleke did not wait for 18 months as his immediate predecessor did before implementing N30,000 minimum wage shabbily, before implementing the N75,000 minimum wage, far higher than the N70,000 minimum wage signed into law by President Bola Tinubu. Osun state has one of the best table in the whole of Nigeria in the minimum wage implementation. Now, you understand why the workers are solidly for Governor Adeleke.

In terms of infrastructural development, Governor is exceptional given the monumental transformation that Osun has seen in less than three years in office. From Ilesa to Osogbo, Iwo to Ila, Ile-Ife to Ede, Governor Adeleke is building legacy infrastructures that seals his name in history. Governor Adeleke is a man of many first as his first overhead bridge in Ile-Ife, the cradle of Yoruba nation, and the first dual carriageway in Ilesa, Ede, Iwo and Ila will stick in memories for generations. In Osogbo, the 10-span Oke-Fia flyover just as the 4-span Lameco overhead bridge will expand the state’s infrastructure scope. Most of these infrastructures were presented as impossible by the previous administration, denying the people the benefits of modern facilities that enhance their standards of living. It remain to be seen what the APC will tell the people in the many towns where Governor infrastructures have lighten up their socio-economic lives because they failed to do anything reasonable when they had the chance.

Public schools and healthcare centres infrastructure are being wholly revived from the hopeless situation they were in the past. New tractors, firefighting trucks which were ignored for 12 years, hence, causing untold pains for the people, were procured and deployed for use by Governor Adeleke.

On the whole, Governor Adeleke has impacted lives more than anytime in the history of governance in Osun state and this is why the overwhelming majority of the people are standing by him. They know that the other side reflects a horrible past and going back to that will not only caused the retrogression of the state but also bring back the pains they did everything to escape not so long.

One can only hope that now that the Osun APC has poached politicians, it should allow the people make their choices in election without interference from anywhere. I have no doubt that if the people, and not manipulation, are left to choose in the next year’s poll, Governor Adeleke will triumph overwhelmingly, because Osun people are not prepared to return to the past of pains and anguish which the APC clearly portends.

•Sarafa Ibrahim is a Special Assistant to the Osun State Governor on Print Media.