Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola At 55: Salute To Courage And Visionary Leadership —Lanre Aminu

Great minds have purpose; others have wishes, says Washington Irving. At the risk of being labelled a sycophant, or better still, a paid image maker, let me state unequivocally and with every sense of responsibility that it will be an injustice not to record for posterity the little I know about this enigma, called Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola. In his book, The Problem with Nigeria, Chinua Achebe submitted that the problem with Nigeria is squarely that of leadership. One cannot agree less. There is a strong link between leadership and sustainable development. The destiny of any nation or people is inextricably tied to the quality of its leadership. The history of many great nations is basically the history of its leaders, charismatic men and women of vision who led with sincerity of vision and who were not afraid to take decisions, no matter how unpopular, so far as they believed it is the right thing to do. Leadership is the only reason why in spite of our material and human resources, Nigeria remains one of the poorest nations of the world. But when a leader such as Aregbesola tries to deviate from that path by turning around the fortunes of his state, we have to celebrate him. A leader in the mould of Ogbeni Aregbesola symbolises courageous and quality leadership. We judge the performance of a leader, either positively or negatively, by what that leader has been able achieve in the area of adding value to human existence. To the good people of Osun state, there is no need to overlook the fact that Rauf has come to impact their lives positively. Ogbeni Arebesola has much to show as credentials for a new leadership. According to WARREN BENNIS, “the new leader is one who commits people to action, who converts followers into leaders, and who may convert leaders into agents of change”. Today, in Osun state, Ogbeni has set standards for future Osun state governors and most of Nigeria’s political class. He has demonstrated eloquently that there is nothing as good as a leader writing his name in gold in the heart of his people by keeping faith with them. The best form of propaganda is performance. There is no gainsaying that Ogbeni has performed creditably well in the last one and half years. To live in the age of giants and tower above them is indeed a claim to greatness, one that is seldom witnessed in the history of mankind. It is on record that Aregbesola inherited a moribund state, bereft of good, motorable roads, functioning rural and urban infrastructure and a forlorn citizenry when he assumed office on November 27, 2010. After seven and half years of dashed hopes and unfulfilled promises, Ogbeni has within a period of one and half years stabilise the polity and consolidated democratic governance by instituting meaningful social and economic progress through the rehabilitation and construction of hitherto ruined rural and urban infrastructure. In Osun state today, under the able leadership of Ogbeni, it is salus populi suprema lex, that is, the welfare of the people is the supreme law. While Pharaoh Rameses, was widely noted to have persecuted, oppressed, suppressed, depressed and distressed his people, particularly, the Israelites, just like the ousted Oyinlola-led PDP government did to the long-suffering people of Osun, another king of the same nation, Pharaoh Amenhotep 1V, just like Ogbeni Aregbesola, practically believed that “the glory of a king is the welfare of his people”. As St Christopher once remarked, if you doubt my ability, behold my works. Ogbeni’s landmark achievements in all sectors are reassuring testimonies of his greatness. One major secret of the success of Ogbeni’s administration in all sectors is the prudent management of available resources. He introduced frugality, transparency and integrity in the management of public resources, which invariably distresses the beneficiaries of the old order but gladdens the heart of the silent majority. The Aregbesola-led ACN administration has succeeded in restoring faith in government, maintained security, empowered the people, invested in physical and human capital development and ensured due process and attitudinal change. In terms of politics as service, Ogbeni Aregbesola has become a model. Take, for instance, his employment generation initiative, that is O’YES programme which the World Bank in conjunction with the Federal Government and 15 other states have gone to understudy. I make bold to say he is the first Nigerian politician that fulfilled his electoral promise of employing 20,000 youths in his first hundred days in office. His O’REAP programme through which his government has aggressively invested in agriculture is also second to none in the present democratic dispensation. The state already has about 30,000 hectares of dedicated farm land across the state with 5000 of them fully prepared and ready to be allotted to anybody who is interested in investing in agriculture. Farm implements and inputs are equally available to be given to farmers who are also provided loan facilities, in kind. The government is revamping old and abandoned farm settlements as well as establishing new ones like the Mokore Farm Settlement. A novel part of the Aregbesola food revolution in Osun State is the synergy the government has established with the Nigeria Railway Corporation. Through this arrangement, agricultural harvests will be freighted to Lagos at the government expense just as imported and locally manufactured goods will also be freighted at government expense back to Oshogbo to make life easier for the people. Aregbesola administration has also taken the bull by the horn in the education sector. He has inaugurated a 10-man Schools Infrastructure Development Committee (O’Schools) whose main responsibility is to restructure education and provide infrastructure in public schools within the next two years. A princely sum of N30 billion, out of which 20 high schools, 50 middle schools and 100 elementary schools will be built has been allocated for the total turn- around of the sector. Ogbeni’s administration is also providing free school uniforms to the students and would also give free meals to elementary school pupils. All the 98 medical students of the state university, whose education have been stunted in the last three years due to lack of a teaching hospital have been sent to Ukraine to complete their studies at government’s expense. His government also recently unveiled what it calls OPON IMO (Tablet of knowledge). This is a computer system, in the mold of an IPAD which will contain the curriculum of about 39 subjects offered at the School Certificate level complete with past questions and answers and divided into subjects areas with students accessing relevant course areas. Apart from exposing this young minds to basic computer literacy, the “opon” will enable students study anywhere without the burden of having to carry text books. The product does not require electricity to function. Ogbeni’s administration has also reduced drastically the outrageous school fees being paid by the students of the state owned tertiary institutions under the insensitive PDP government. In the words of Albert Einsten, “great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” And this was reinforced by Charles Caleb Colton who said, “If you want to make enemies, excel others but if you want friends, let others excel you.” Therefore, those who constantly work for the failure of competent leaders are the real enemies of democracy. Opposition for its own sake or for the sake of regaining political relevance appears to be the fly in the ointment of Osun politics. One bane of Nigeria’s opposition politicians is their inability and unwillingness to acknowledge and praise the good deeds of performers and leaders, rather it is fault-finding, blame and accusations all the way in order to score cheap political points. Sound critics believe in constructive criticism: praising the achiever and the upright, and blaming and reproaching the social misfit. Where leaders do well and are applauded, it enhance their performances, for as the Yoruba put it, “yini yini, ki eni lesemi (praise a performer, so that he performs better). The opinion expressed by Isawa Elaigwu, a professor of political science is very relevant here. According to him, “the future of Nigeria cannot be great unless she can reward her sons and daughters (no matter what their human weakness) with thanks.” Arguably, the paucity of qualitative political leadership tended to be a direct consequence of our collective inability to celebrate quality leadership due to myopic and parochial considerations. As a student of history, I have observed that the very best of world renowned leaders have antecedents and character traits that a leader in the mould of Aregbesola aptly demonstrates, only that their people elected to celebrate their good points. Perhaps, the best illustration of this thesis is the life of the most celebrated Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill. Like Winston Churchill, Aregbesola might be vilified for his principled positions but you cannot fault the altruistic and patriotic motivations for his actions. He has proved to be a man with indomitable courage who was never shy to articulate his views and who was always calling attention to the follies and foibles of the government at the centre. As a thoroughbred administrator and extraordinary organiser of men, Aregbesola is an achiever par excellence and a shining example of honesty, simplicity and humility. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Not gold, but only men can make a nation great and strong Men, who for the truth and honour’s sake, stand fast and suffer long. Brave men who dare while others shy: diligent men who toil while others sleep. They build a nation’s pillitus deep, and lift them to the sky.” May the almighty Allah continue to protect, direct and guide Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola as he celebrates his 55th birthday on Friday, May 25, 2012. May his tribe continue to take the centre stage in the affairs of our beleaguered nation, Nigeria, so that it can realise her full potential.

•Aminu is the National Coordinator, Oodua Youth for Good Governance.