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Osun: Evolution throwback?
By
abiodun KOMOLAFE

(Published in THE NATION on February 12, 2023)

Defined in general terms, Sociology refers to the scientific understanding and interpretation of social actions. With this in mind, that the Nigerian society consists of very poor people, both in material and spiritual essence is no longer news! Arising from the above, that poverty of ideas has generated the culture and ideas of poverty may also not be too far from the truth! What that means is that, in the struggle for survival, democracy of the stomach plays a very important role. To put it mildly, it is the culture of ‘what we shall eat first’ that takes pre-eminence whilst development no longer has any tangible meaning. With poverty of ideas at work, jaundiced interpretations are given to sound judgments and mob interference is pointlessly instigated. Caution is thrown to the wind and the peace of the society takes flight! But who’s to blame? After all, survival is priority; and this cuts across the nooks and crannies of the society.

Ideally, social changes in any society are always gradual, so unhurried and so piecemeal that, unless someone is a keen observer, many things will pass unnoticed. For instance, when tuition fees in Nigeria’s universities and other tertiary institutions were raised, only few students and few schools were out on the streets protesting against the hike. Society generally behaved as if it was a non-issue! When the price of pepper and other agricultural products were raised, people pretended not to notice! When the cost of living generally outstripped the income or revenue accruable to individuals, people resorted to self-help! When the people started noticing a breakdown in the norms and values of the society; especially, when the absurd strutted with frightening ease, the sum total was a degraded society. Unfortunately, those in authority were never made to face the music. So, they remained unrepentant ‘till Thy kingdom come!’

Sad that even the gains of our founding fathers in this regard have been eroded due to successive bad governments! For instance, the finesse that existed in the 1960s is no longer there. In the 1970s, the elite believed in – and adopted – the lower, middle and upper class dichotomy, which led to a healthy struggle to aspire to the next comfortable zone in the social strata. Unfortunately, that, too, no longer exists, simply because the military brought its bad interventions to bear; and subsequent bad political leadership couldn’t but truncate whatever remained of the finesse of the 1960s. As a matter of fact, this throwback has affected other sectors because it’s a societal, not standalone thing. It moves through human beings, to all other sectors. Is it any wonder that institutions have been badly affected while the continued survival of the public and private sectors are dimly doubtful? Such was the situation in parts of Osun State on January 27, 2023, following the ruling of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal. Safe for the timely intervention of a life-saver, yours sincerely would most probably have been senselessly lynched at the Orita Olaiya intersection in Osogbo, the state capital.

Recall that the Ademola Adeleke-led government also alleged that political appointees of the former administration took away the vehicles that belonged to the state. Well, it’s laughable that it was announced in the first place! In saner climes, it’d have been a question of writing, officially, to the alleged defaulters, demanding the return of those vehicles, failing which legal actions would be taken. After all, there were records of the state-owned vehicles, and to whom they were allocated. If the alleged defaulters’ action was not backed by law, the administrative process alone would have taken care of the punishment meted out to all because of the alleged sin of a few. Even, in the days of Obafemi Awolowo, salaries of public servants, not to speak of those who were never given even bicycles, would not have been withheld; which has been the situation in Osun till date; which, again, amounts to an abuse of power! And, this is 2023!

Let’s also talk about the declining influence of the activists. Without doubt, antecedents of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and the review of those antecedents have shown that most of them are experts at making noise until they are thrown up and recognised only to fall by the wayside due to pollution by political contaminants and the inducement of pelf. Needless to repeat that such NGOs that once held successive governments accountable are no longer in the book of reckoning. The comrades of yesteryears are now the best friends of the bourgeois class; and Union leaders can no longer be trusted because they have compromised standards.

Well, to begin to rebuild the society, we need a new orientation that cuts across the board; and it has to be a deliberate attempt, not a half-hearted medication. Since we are not a society of barbarians, the political will must be there to carry it through. Let not the government or the society deceive itself: until the mass of unemployed people are engaged, there won’t be an end to youth restiveness. Ignoring them will also be at the society’s peril.

For the society to be functional, we also need the interventions of the activists and the NGOs that will speak truth to power so that they can act as checks and balances. But, once they are compromised at that level, then, trouble looms! Society becomes endangered when there is a possibility of the Rule of Law being relegated. There and then, its safety is in jeopardy and its sustenance becomes doubtful. That’s exactly what the supporters of the ruling party did on that fateful Friday. Had the other side decided to follow the flow, what would have become the fate of the law-abiding residents?

Now that former Governor Gboyega Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have secured a legal victory at the Tribunal, let them not engage in what can be described Pyrrhic victory. That the society should also remain calm is a general appeal. Yes, Oyetola has won and it’s acknowledged everywhere. Even sound legal minds have repeatedly stated that it would be difficult to impeach the judgment at the Appellate Court. Nonetheless, let the winners allow the law to run its course even as they must advise their followers and sympathisers against misbehaving or saying things that are capable of heating up the polity and/or provoking the other side further into lawlessness. The legal system will keep working while the police will continue to keep the peace. And, if the current governor thinks that power has actually slipped off him, all he needs to do is throw in the towel and save the state further hassle.

In the final analysis, there must be concerted efforts to rebuild the society so that when politicians are campaigning, let us watch out for those who want to rebuild the society and those who want power for the sake of power. Wole Soyinka once suggested that Nigeria’s universities should be shut for at least 3 years while efforts were made to think through the kind of university system that would be suitable for Nigeria. Unfortunately, Soyinka’s suggestion was not only unpopular at the time but also fell on deaf ears. Only last year, the same universities were shut for the better part of one year. As fate would have it, ‘Kongi’ is now either too old to comment or the Nobel Laureate is fed up with the whole thing!

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

•Komolafe wrote in from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria (ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk; 08098614418 – SMS only)

Osun: when Tinubu came visiting
By
abiodun KOMOLAFE

(Published in THE NATION, February 8, 2023)

Clearly, the love Nigerians have for Bola Tinubu obliterates the hatred which anybody may possess for the All Progressives Congress (APC). Otherwise, his recent visit to Osun State wouldn’t have been such a huge success. To this end, the immediate past Governor Gboyega Oyetola and other members of the party in the state deserve commendation for the laudable feat of February 2, 2023.

Well, the general belief is that politicians will always come up with promises but, at the end of the day, nothing happens. Be that as it may, what Tinubu said in Osun brought along with it a higher level of believability. Of course, this has to do with his antecedents. Talking about issues like ‘changing the direction of the economy’; ‘creating jobs’; and ‘ASUU never to be on strike again’, the truth is that Tinubu has been to the university and he has seen how the system operates. In the realm of commerce, the former governor of Lagos State is no doubt a guru. So, he knew what he’s talking about! The presidential candidate also said he would establish industries in each of the six geopolitical zones to create employment opportunities in those localities without our young adults necessarily having to run to Lagos or Abuja to seek imaginary employment opportunities. Surely, any government that does that successfully will discourage rural-urban drift.

With regard to Tinubu’s opponents in the contest, what Nigerians should look for is what they have done. By this, we mean their antecedents. Since little is known about the involvement of the other presidential flag-bearers in the struggle for democracy in Nigeria, let the “accidental democrats” come forward and show Nigerians their credentials and, indeed, what they have done for dear country now that democratic structure is in place.

Tinubu’s visit to Osun is expected to help at resolving the lingering crises within the APC family in the state. Deploying his mighty influence and political balancing will be of great advantage to the party in the coming general elections. Besides, the senseless display of gangsterism by some followers of different factions will be appeased. The loopholes discovered in the last governorship election are also expected to be blocked with all sincerity and sense of sacrifice. These in my personal opinion should be the inestimable benefits from the visit of the ‘Asiwaju of Lagos’ and his presidential campaign team to the state. After all, the ‘Jagaban of Borgu’ is a voice that can’t be neglected, even by his ardent haters and negative propagandists.

In fairness to posterity, one issue that must be pointed out is that Osun APC is still burdened by inexplicable divisions, avoidable crises and self-inflicted conflicts. And that’s what makes it impossible for former Governor Rauf Aregbesola and Oyetola, his successor in office, to reconcile. Truth be told, the town is not smiling even as poverty is playing a major role. Everybody is poor; and everybody wants to be rich. Therefore, nobody wants to listen to the party. Since the party is also inanimate, zero emotion is emitted. That’s why those who want to scrape the remaining milk are always taking sides needlessly! The more reason the feuding leaders in Osun APC must start eating ‘amala’ and ‘gbegiri’ from the same plate; and Nigerians must see it to be so! If the party structure is intact, then, no individual is bigger than the party. Therefore, to say that Aregbesola has (his) followership, and Oyetola has (his) followership – in the same party; and in the same state – is an anathema to democratic norms. So, let the party tread the path of caution!

In the considered opinion of yours sincerely, loyalty to a single person in a party is a recipe for chaos. So, it’s mandatory for members to give absolute loyalty to the party. While preference for an individual’s profile in the party may differ from one person to the other, loyalty to the party is ultimately supreme. Otherwise, the party will collapse like a pack of cards; because the loyalty web is the central nerve of any political party. It is actually what holds a party together! That’s how our founding fathers left it! Indeed, that’s why people had to agree with the late Obafemi Awolowo even when his decisions might not be sitting well with their personal beliefs and/or interests. Again, that’s why you’d never see a party man like Lateef Jakande saying that he’d not accept Awo’s decision.

A lot of people learnt so much from Mahtma Ghandi that, long after Ghandi has gone, Ghandhism continues to wax stronger. Ditto for Chairman Mao Tse-Tung! On the contrary, Nigerians are so unreal that they embrace the show but reject the nitty-gritty of the drama presentation. Through interpretive understanding of symbolic interactionism, ‘Awoists’, so called, often wear ‘Awo cap’ to deceive the people; but not a bit of Awo’s character.

Awolowo raised leaders that were younger than him; some of whom, today, are setting the pace globally. Likewise, Tinubu has raised leaders, some of whom are not only better than him but also overtaking him while he is alive. Again, sad that Awoism as a concept was never defined. Otherwise, the likes of Ebenezer Babatope wouldn’t have become a political butterfly, searching for the proverbial nectar hither and thither! Well, the truth of the matter is that, once a journalist features a politician in the class of Awolowo, he or she is already taken for an Awoist!

Prior to the July 16, 2022 Osun governorship election, the popular saying in some quarters was that the electorate would vote for Tinubu but reject Oyetola. But, over time, and with the recent development a la the Osun Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, a section of the populace has ignorantly been holding the notion that Tinubu must have influenced the outcome of the election petition. Therefore, it’s their belief that ‘City Boy’, as Tinubu is fondly called, must be paid back in his own coin. Let’s not also forget that the ruling party and its government are lurking in the dark. Interestingly, they still have the sympathy of a good chunk of the electorate in the state.

At any rate, Nigerians have seen beyond the smokescreen that the leadership trait of the party currently in power in Osun does not portray sympathy for the democratic public administration. For instance, a government which can withhold certain public servants’ salaries – and it’s not losing sleep about negative reports – has already weaponized poverty. Obviously, what it’s doing right now is to monitor where the state’s resources are allocated with a view to ensuring that the people are muzzled so that, when the election is few days away, the tight grip will be loosened a little bit to allow the song of Osun PDP being the people’s saviour resonates in the minds of the people.

In view of the foregoing, it will be in the objective interest of Osun APC to resolve the party crisis and mop up the votes of the undecided voters and repentant members before the D-day. It therefore behoves elders and leaders of the party to sit up and speak up so that everybody will queue behind the authority of the party. The party should also pump sufficient resources to lubricate the will of the party machinery. After all, holding the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) is not enough, doing the needful with it is what matters most!

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

*Komolafe wrote in from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria (ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk; 08098614418 – SMS only)