By Olalere Fagbola
Supporters of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on Thursday morning grew taller when during a one-hour popular FrankTalk Rave FM Radio programme, an economist guru of excellent classics, Dr. Tunji Ogunyemi lauded to sky the selfless efforts and commitment of a former Governor of Osun State to infrastructural development of the State in spite of different shapes of destructive criticism which his patriotic stance generated from armchair critics who misunderstood him and vilified him, portraying themselves as critics who knew next to nothing on true development.
This true appraisal which discreetly pointed at Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in the dissection of the state of Nigeria’s economy and voluntarily offered Dr. Ogunyemi of the Obafemi Awolowo University, ile-Ife became a kind of conviviality which for Ogbeni Aregbesola’s supporters , is an incentive to gallantry as it gives all who believe in Aregbesola’s style of governance; moral satisfaction and self confidence that they are afterall justified in their strong support for the giant strides which he had taken as the governor of the state.
The economist who was answering questions on different panicky measures which many of the governors in the country are now contemplating towards downsizing their over bloated civil service in the face of the state of economic quagmire threatening their governments, recalled that when Ogbeni Aregbesola was dedicating not less than thirty percent of the budget to capital projects ,critics were crucifying him for the sensible decision while calling him names.
“Are the First Class schools, roads, bridges and other infrastructural facilities which he pionered not good assets for us in the state today? “Ogunyemi asked rhetorically.
The economic guru added that it was disappointing that most of our present day governors had offered themselves for leadership without first counting the cost, even as many of them do not care to learn from the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo who, as the Premier of the defunct Western Region, engaged the services of men of intelligentsia with whom his government carried the region to greater heights.
Although Dr. Ogunyemi did not specifically mention the name of Ogbeni Aregbesola (for obvious reasons) it was apparent to reasonable radio listeners of the “Frank Talk programme that he was stylishly referring to Aregbesola because it was an open secret that he was the uncommon governor who put his feet down that no matter what happened, his administration shall not dedicate no less than thirty percent of the budget to capital projects in the state.
No doubt, thirty (Ogbon; thirty in Yoruba) is a mystery and vegessimal number that signifies wisdom while Ogbeni himself is a member of the same cognate family of Ogboni (member of council of wise elders) where-in like vegessimal itself, Ogbeni took a road less travelled by in governance ?
*OLALERE FAGBOLA, a veteran journalist, sent in this piece from Osogbo, Osun State