The Bible states in John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." This verse aptly describes the recent tour of Osun State Federal Constituencies by the African Democratic Congress, ADC, ably led by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
Since Ogbeni Aregbesola left office as Governor of Osun State in 2018, after serving two terms from 2010 to 2018, the people of the state have been yearning, hoping, and praying for another leader of his calibre.
The past three weeks afforded me the opportunity to tour the length and breadth of Osun State with the former Governor and former Interior Minister. In every Federal Constituency we visited, the mood suggested that the people were waiting for a messiah. Osun indigenes desire a compassionate leader, one who understands their needs, speaks their language, believes in social welfare, and prioritizes human capital development, a leader reminiscent of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the revered leader of Western Nigeria.
True progressives are defined by their actions. They are not swayed by rhetoric, nor do they assign blame. They simply act. Unlike what Osun currently experiences, leaders like Obafemi Awolowo focused on policies that promoted welfare and modernization, including free primary education and free healthcare for children under eighteen. He championed federalism, fiscal discipline, and the strategic use of state resources for social and economic development. He believed that education was essential for national progress and that government should invest resources in social services to uplift citizens.
For nearly eight years, the general voice in Osun has been clear: the state needs another leader like Ogbeni Aregbesola, someone who puts the people first and cushions them from the hardships that have devastated businesses and livelihoods.
During his eight years as Governor, Ogbeni Aregbesola left a legacy of progressive governance marked by significant investments in infrastructure, public education, and social programs. Key accomplishments include:
Infrastructure and Urban Development
Roads: Oversaw the construction and rehabilitation of over three hundred kilometers of township roads and completed five bridges.
Education: Built 170 new schools and renovated existing ones, creating 1,694 standard classrooms.
Urban Planning: Implemented urban renewal projects in the state capital.
Education and Youth Empowerment
Opon-Imo: Distributed free electronic tablets to final-year high school students to aid their studies.
School Feeding: Introduced the Osun Elementary School Feeding Programme, providing free meals to primary school students.
Teacher Recruitment: Hired more than twelve thousand teachers to strengthen the education system.
Youth Empowerment: Launched the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme, creating twenty thousand jobs for young people within its first one hundred days.
Training: Provided free tailoring training for three thousand youths and sent thirty unemployed youths to Germany for modern agricultural training.
Social Programs and Health
Health: Upgraded nine state hospitals, with the State Hospital at Asubiaro transformed into a specialist facility.
Elderly Care: Provided monthly stipends and healthcare for the elderly and indigent.
Free Health Insurance: Extended free health insurance to over thirty thousand pensioners and performed free surgeries for over sixty thousand residents.
Agriculture and Economic Development
Agriculture: Established farm settlements to train unemployed graduates and sold affordable fertilizers to farmers.
Market Development: Built modern markets to support traders.
Job Creation: Created over twenty thousand jobs through youth empowerment programs and other initiatives.
Since his departure in 2018, Osun has struggled with ineffective leadership. This explains why Ogbeni Aregbesola’s tour of Osun Federal Constituencies as General Secretary of the African Democratic Congress was warmly received. The love from his people was organic. They truly desire the return of his style of leadership.
The tour began at Ifedayo, Ila, Boluwaduro Federal Constituency, where thousands of supporters and party leaders gathered at the ancient palace of the Orangun of Ila Orangun, Oba Wahab Kayode Adedeji Oyedotun Bibiire I, to welcome the former Governor. Ogbeni Aregbesola noted that critical sectors of governance, including security, infrastructure, education, and the economy, have deteriorated.
"When your people are hungry and suffering, and you do not show compassion, you cannot claim to be an Omoluabi. Awolowo and our other founding fathers would not be pleased seeing Nigeria in this state," he declared. From Ila Orangun, the tour continued to Ayedaade, Irewole, and Isokan Federal Constituency in the ancient town of Ikire.
From the Naira and Kobo junction to Obada Market, the Akire's palace, and Sango, residents turned out in large numbers to show love, solidarity, and support for the party and its leader. From Ikire, the tour proceeded to Obokun and Oriade Federal Constituency in Ijebu-Jesa, where a similar outpouring of love and belief in the ADC was witnessed.
"Aregbesola’s journey this time is different. He has come to work assiduously for the betterment of the people of Osun. I am for Aregbesola and will never leave him. Wherever he goes, we shall follow," declared His Royal Majesty Oba Jimoh Oyetunji Olanipekun, Laroye II, Ataoja of Osogbo, as he endorsed Ogbeni Aregbesola and the ADC during the Osogbo, Olorunda, Irepodun, and Orolu Federal Constituency leg of the tour.
Oba Oyetunji emotionally expressed his support for Ogbeni Aregbesola, declaring that he would follow him wherever he goes. From the Ataoja’s Palace, the tour continued through Oke Fia, Osogbo Grammar School, the NUJ Secretariat along Dada Estate, to the Government Technical College open field, where thousands of indigenes and residents gathered under the scorching sun to hear words of hope, social welfare initiatives, and human capital development plans from Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
The reception across the state clearly demonstrates the organic love and unwavering commitment of Nigerians to restoring good governance. It also highlights the widespread dissatisfaction with the current administration, whose policies have worsened hunger, poverty, and insecurity. Osun is ready for meaningful change, the kind that the ADC and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola represent.