When the Oyetola administration started, people were afraid that this might be an administration without any inventions or newness of style because he was Gov. Aregbesola’s Chief Of Staff and right hand man.
However, his first few deeds in office got me pleasantly surprised. While on a trip to Lagos sometime in 2018, he encountered a group of travellers who had an accident and he stopped his journey, made his medical team administer medical care to these travellers, and ensured everyone was taken care of before proceeding on his trip. While this is not as great as doing a 100% increase in IGR or reducing unemployment to a very low percentage, it showed a character that has been missing in governance for a very long time – empathy. A leader with empathy does not sleep with both eyes closed when his people are being kidnapped daily or weekly.
When the news of kidnapping first broke out, the Nigerian Police Force with support from the Osun government launched ‘Operation Puff Adder’, a scheme that will help efforts to nip all forms of insecurity challenges confronting the state, and the nation at large, in the bud. Oyetola at the event described security as a condition precedent to an improved economy and a better life for the people.
About a month after this, just after the Democracy Day celebration, the Governor seized the opportunity to meet with the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai. Oyetola who said the meeting is a follow up to an earlier request from the State Government to the Army hierarchy to have soldiers take part in a joint patrol initiative with other security agencies, discussed strategies and immediate solutions to effectively rid bandits off the State of Osun.
Now one would have expected that the governor meets with the co-troubled border state Governors, Gov. Makinde (Oyo) and Gov. Akeredolu (Ondo) to prepare a joint-strategy capable of subduing the menace of kidnapping for a very long time, but even better than expected, the South-West Governors have organized a security summit to discuss pressing security issues. This is a very commendable show of solidarity and unity by the other ‘not-yet’ affected state Governors (Ekiti, Ogun, and Lagos). I say ‘not-yet’ because evil spreads like cancer cells, when allowed to grow, which is why it must be nipped in the bud and even completely uprooted, if possible.
Quite similarly, the State Of Osun House of Assembly’s 7th Assembly, under the leadership of Hon. Owoeye, on Tuesday passed a resolution that the Governor should convene a high profile security summit involving stakeholders in the nine Federal Constituencies in the state to address the issues of insecurity in the state and proffer a way forward from a local and more grassroot-leaning perspective. They also sent a note to the Osun State branch of the Nigerian Immigration to check for a possible influx of aliens into the state as insecurity of this magnitude is in itself alien to the State of Osun.
A day after this, on Thursday, the Ooni of Ife, and spiritual father of the Yorubas, sent a message to the public that the traditional institutions have “developed a means through which criminal elements among the Fulani Herdsmen would be exposed and kicked out!”
The Ooni’s ‘means’ may be unconventional or even spiritual, but that isn’t important. What’s important is that he doesn’t want people to, in his own words, “live in fear”. So the end shall justify the means. Now this reminds me of an analogy by Opeyemi Babalola which he used in expressing his frustration at the nation’s insecurity. He said: ‘(if) You lived in an estate facing security challenges & (the) estate chairman employed a vigilante group to secure the estate. For four consecutive weeks, armed robbers operated from street to street but chairman keeps saying he won’t change the vigilante group! (how would you feel)?” This is why I am glad that my Estate Chairmen – our watchdogs (the leaders of the State) are attacking insecurity with any means necessary.
One would expect that the government shouldn’t have to wait till kidnappers are at the doorstep before making arrangements for the security of people’s lives and properties, however, it is only commendable that they reacted as quickly as they did. We hope the government learns from this and becomes proactive subsequently.
In all, when one would have been mad at the system for the alarming rate of insecurity in the state, one is rather hopeful that the efforts of those in charge will yield great success. Also, the cooperation between the trio of the Ooni, Oyetola, and Owoeye is admirable just as it is commendable. We hope the interdependent relationship continues to blossom while all three institution maintains their unique autonomy. God bless the virtuous State of Osun.