By Femi Adesola
The 34th anniversary of Osun State ought to have been a moment of sober reflection and celebration of milestones for showcasing tangible successes, commissioning new projects, and unveiling measurable progress. Instead, what Osun people got was yet another long sermon of rhetoric from Governor Ademola Adeleke’s spokesman, Mallam Olawale Rasheed. It was a run of the mill press release, recycling the same talking points without addressing the core struggles of ordinary people in the state.
At every opportunity, Mallam Rasheed emphasizes workers’ salaries and pension payments as proof of good governance. While it is commendable that civil servants and pensioners now receive their entitlements regularly and backlogs of half salaries and pension owed by the previous administration are been paid, Mallam Olawale should know that Osun is not a state for government workers alone. Civil servants and pensioners make up less than one percent of the population. The millions of other citizens, grappling with soaring food prices, acute hunger, joblessness, and lack of social services, have been abandoned. To constantly use salaries as the yardstick of progress is both narrow and insensitive.
An anniversary speech should not be about empty praise of government’s intentions. What Osun people expect are facts and figures. How many jobs has this government created? How many families have been lifted out of poverty? How many households now have access to clean water? How many hectares of farmland have been cultivated since Adeleke assumed office, and what volumes of cassava, cocoa, and maize have been harvested under state-backed programs? What are the current success stories of Imole Agropreneur lunched last year to cultivate 31,000 hectares of farms land? How many youth have been successfully trained in tech and supported with seed capital? How many small and medium-scale businesses have been supported with credit and working capital? How much progress has been made in reducing out-of-school children? Has maternal mortality dropped? How many babies have been safely delivered in the so-called revamped primary healthcare centres, and how many patients have been treated with improved services? These are the numbers Osun people want to hear, the empirical evidence of progress, not vague statements of intent and counting of uncompleted roads and bridges.
On infrastructure, the government claims to have reduced an 80 percent deficit, yet roads connecting major towns remain in shambles. The Iwo–Osogbo road is still a nightmare, Ejigbo–Iwo Road is deplorable, and Odeomu–Akoda remains dilapidated. If major connecting roads are left undone, how then can Osun cities be transformed into economic hubs? Infrastructure is not about slogans, it is about real roads that connect farms to town, that traders, farmers, and commuters can use.
The much-vaunted digital economy hub is another example of style without substance. While advisory boards and agencies are being announced, Osun has not produced or supported a single credible tech start-up under Adeleke’s watch. Talents already available in the state are wasting away, and the so-called digital hub across the state that is meant to train youth in digital skills and create jobs are grossly underutilized.
Similarly, the domestication of electricity regulatory laws in Osun sounds progressive, but regulation without generation changes nothing. The real question is: what is Osun’s concrete plan to achieve power sufficiency by 2030? How many megawatts are being planned to be generated from renewable energy, and how many underserved communities have been electrified? Without clear targets, electricity reform remains another press statement.
Tourism is another sector where Adeleke’s rhetoric does not match reality. The Osun-Osogbo festival has not been scaled up to attract global audiences it deserves. Osun Osogbo festival should be packaged not for Osun worshippers but must be packaged in carnival like. Lagos state last year generated approximately $71million from Detty December last year. How much are we able to generate from the Osun Osogbo festival? Erin-Ijesha Waterfalls and other tourist site across Osun state are still in a deplorable state despite promises of revitalization. Olumo rock in Ogun state and olumirin water spring in Ekiti state are been revitalised and upgraded, but Erin Ijesha water fall is still grossly under maximised. These are economic opportunities that guarantees jobs and more income for Government being wasted.
In health and education, the gap between government’s claims and reality remains wide. Primary health care may have won awards on paper, but secondary health facilities across Osun are still inaccessible to many. Schools remain grossly understaffed, with a lack of qualified teachers as promise to employ qualified teachers is yet to come to fruition, undermining the future of Osun’s children.
Osun at 34 should have been an occasion to present a balance sheet of achievements with facts, not a repetition of rehearsed promises. The people are not interested in flowery speeches about intentions and faux welfarist agenda that has never happened. They want measurable outcomes: jobs created, poverty reduced, food produced, businesses supported, schools improved, quality health care delivery. Until Adeleke begins to speak in the language of numbers backed by evidence, his administration will remain guilty of dressing up mediocrity with press releases.
Femi Adesola, a social commentator wrote in from Osogbo and can be reached via adesolafemigab@gmail.com
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of osun.life.
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