Government & Politics

OSUN 2018: Political Balancing and Meritocracy By Akindele Piroll

It is no longer news that the battle for Bola Ige’s house in Abeere has started already. The decisive date is scheduled to be September 22 this year. Therefore, a lot of political permutations, speculations and underground works are being carried out already by the people concern in the state in order for them to easily pave their way to Abeere.

The loyalty of party members is being tested. Some aspirants have been seeking for the green pasture that can accommodate. Also, to make their ambitions realisable such is the case of an erstwhile deputy governor of the state and his proteges that recently moved to his “third force party”.

Also, the incumbent governor of recently made a courtesy visitation to all the nine Federal constituencies in the state which many tagged a campaign in a ruse. While some days ago the strong opposition party in the state held it southwestern zonal rally in the state capital which is also a campaign’s strategy.

Prior to the visitation of the governor to the nine federal constituencies in the state, various groups of people from Osun west senatorial district have been clamouring, agitating and sending a signal to the ruling party. The other parties on the opposite condition of giving their party’s ticket to aspirant(s) from the senatorial district. This was also made clearer when the governor visited some traditional rulers in the three Federal constituencies in the zone during is just concluded visitation, the signal was, directly and indirectly, passed to the governor.

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Also, for the opposition party or parties to have a chance in the forthcoming election. It will be of their advantage if they can capitalize on the sympathy of the people from the zone by giving their party’s ticket to aspirant(s) from the zone.

Retrospectively, it can be recalled that since the “re-emerging” of democratic government in the country in 1999. The Osun west senatorial district has never produced a governor nor deputy governor. Which means for the past 19 years the district has not clinched executive power in the state.

In 1999-2003, it was Akande/Omisore though the later did not complete his tenure both of them were from the central senatorial district and the east senatorial district respectively. From 2003-2010 it was Oyinlola/Erelu and they were from the central and east senatorial district respectively too.

Since 2010 to present, it has been Aregbe/Tomori, which are from the East and Central respectively. This shows that the past two administrations and the present administration are from only two out of three senatorial districts in the state.

Having given a succinct analysis above, it will not be illogical to say that the next commander of Abeere deserved to come from Osun west senatorial district. In order to have a stable political balance and prevent any form of “senatorial hegemony” in the state, Osun west deserves it.

It can be pointed to that, only one federal constituency out of the nine federal constituencies in the state has produced governor for almost 8 years (Aregbe) and a deputy governor (Erelu) for almost 8 years too. Why have the 3 federal constituencies combined together in Osun west senatorial district never produced either of the posts? And it is on this note one cannot ridicule or trivialize those that are clamouring “Osun west Lokan”. Because it is naturally expedient for humans to promote their interest.

Though of recent, the clamouring has been skyrocketed. I first thought it is due to the closeness of the election. However, after making some research through consultation, I got to know that the “Ilerioluwa2018”. Also, the powers behind the slogan make the people from Osun west to replenish their strengths for their agitations.

However, having given a brief analysis on why Osun west senatorial district deserves to produce the next governor, the question of meritocratic disposition keeps prompting me. It has been vindicated that political balancing as in many ways affected the development of many Nations. This is because capable and efficient people would have been denied the opportunity to serve their people better as a result of not fit the present balancing. Therefore, these people will be handicapped in contributing immensely to the development of their nations.

In Osun state today, it is visible to the blind that the next governor of the state must ready to formulate policies to run the state with little expectation from Abuja. Because the state like many other States in the country is in a state of financial quagmire. Therefore, it needs a person that has a vast experience in financial engineering. A person who also possesses a lot of developmental ideas to transform the state from a civil servant state to an industrially salaried state. A person that can improve and balance human welfare with infrastructural development. That is a candidate that can be said to better than far on the quest of moving the state forward.

In sum, to the “Lokan, Lokan” apologists, your demand is politically understandable but irrespective of the party or parties you want to be represented. Let the aspirant(s) be generally marketable to us all.

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A candidate that has realistic blueprint and ideas to run the state. Not an accidental aspirant that does have any tangible thing to offer the state. Let his or her sociopolitical pedigree speaks for the candidate(s). That is, the candidates must show to have reached the mental magnitude state as posits by Awolowo.

Let us not be carried away by Lokan Lokan of a thing. Let the meritocratic disposition of the aspirants’ campaigns for the first and together we can make Osun keep progressing.

Akindele Peter
He is a sociopolitical writer, he can be contacted via +2348134401063

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