By Ojebisi SAMUEL
A leopard they say never changes its spots, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has developed a perchance for not only showing his colors in it’s true and distasteful form but also making a mockery of every mandate given to him to push for the greater good of all.
Gone are those days when they advise that the linen of the elderly ones amongst is better washed within the walls, away from the glare of public eyes, a line from one of the songs of the renowned singer, Beautiful Nubia says, “ let us continue to tell them to desist from their uncultured ways and if they fail to desist, we shall deal with them”
We do not have to go to the ends of the earth to unearth the rather shameful antecedents of Ogbeni, his records are here with us all, his ominous reign of suffering as a two term Governor still lingers very much with the people of Osun.
How he neglected salient issues of the state to pursue issues which are solely intended for personal glorification. The people of Osun will never forget in a hurry how Rauf because a fish bone in their throats; one who they gave the mandate to rule but would later turn against them, watching them suffer while he systematically cart away the state’s treasury.
The unresolved problem of unpaid hungry state workers, the penurious condition of pensioners, neglected sick and frail Senior workers amongst many other cases of maladministration and gross incompetence are some of the legacies left behind by the two term Governor.
We live in a country where most the political ruling class are not well equipped to cope with the rigors and complexities of their respective offices. They have no intellectual tool to separate illusions from truth. They exist in a non-reality based Political system where they heavily depend on skillfully manipulated images and propaganda for relevance.
The aforementioned fits perfectly a good description of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, as it seems that despite the various intellectual shift of this new age, he has failed to tap into the numerous resources at his disposal to further equip himself in the issues of governance and politics and would rather prefer to play his hide and seek politics where he is used to hiding behind the curtains to cause mayhem; where is comfortable using political gimmicks and unreasonable propaganda to sustain political relevance.
His recent utterances where he categorically stated that killers have been admitted to the All Progressive Congress after he revalidated his APC membership at Ilofin, ward 8, Ilesha East Local Government Area is one which must be condemned as it is one of those utterances that can be considered an anti party statement.
While he did not mention the name(s) of the alleged killers, he said all manners of people could join the party but also advised that when the time comes for members to work together, people of shady character should be avoided.
A statement like this coming from the heels of a man who is considered a party chieftain and elder state man cast a huge doubt into the relevance and integrity attached to his name, for someone who many looks up to as a role model to cast reasons aside to spew words unworthy of him and his office says all that needs to be known about him.
We are at a critical time in our history where the need for the people to be politically conscious as the issue of governance can only thrive when we have a comprehensive participation from the people, and not just a few.
The All Progressive Congress (APC) having opened it doors to not only advocate and invite Nigerians across the 36 states of the Federation to be politically active, having spend a fortune to ensure this, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola indeed has no justification for his ill-advised and unguided utterances.
His inability to confidently make mention of the names of the killers who have joined the confines of the APC is nothing but another coward show, which puts a question mark on his credibility
It’s high time Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola go back to history and understand those with genuine interest and concern for the development of the state of Osun, he may not have a good place in the history books of the people of Osun, the Nation in general however he must start to making conscious efforts at re-writing a new good and better history for himself least he continues to set himself on the path to perdition.