Editorial: A Choice Not An Echo

One thing that should be uppermost in the minds of the good people of the State of Osun as they troop out to vote in Saturday’s gubernatorial election is the candidate that not only best approximates their hopes and aspirations in the next four years, but one that can sustain the dynamism witnessed in the last eight years under the Rauf Aregbesola administration.

In a field strewn with multiplicity of actors, the voters might be forgiven for the error of confusing shadows with substance and can’t for sophistication; yet, there comes a time in the life of the people when they must, of necessity rise above the pettifogging to identify which among the 48-odd individuals offering to lead truly appreciates the difficult challenges ahead as well as embodies citizens aspirations for the future.

Without necessarily being dismissive of the pack majority of whom are on the ballot to make up the numbers – so to speak, this newspaper considers it its bounden duty to identify that lone individual that best fits the bill of the high office at this time.

That individual, we dare say is no other than Gboyega Isiaka Oyetola – the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In a field that parades as so-called top contenders, the likes of Demola Adeleke  of the Peoples Democratic Party; Iyiola Omisore of the Social Democratic Party); Moshood Adeoti  of the Action Democratic Party; and Fatai Akinbade of the African Democratic Congress, that none of the candidates can claim to match his solid educational pedigree or even his antecedents in private and public sectors makes our choice fairly easy.

The good people of the State of Osun only need to cast their minds back to the last eight years to appreciate not just the challenges but the burden and the difficult choices that the leadership of the state has had to grapple with. It started with the crushing N18.3billion loan taken by the Olagunsoye Oyinlola administration from commercial banks early in 2010. For the then incoming Aregbesola administration, not only would that burden put its managerial acumen to task, its creative resolution while leaving no one in doubt about the seriousness of its mission, would pave the way for the implementation of the revolutionary Six-Point Integral Plan of Action on which the mission was anchored. Unfortunately, this respite would prove short-lived with subsequent dip in global oil prices, a development that would inevitably strain the finances of the state to its utmost limits.

Whether from home or abroad, the incontestable verdict is that the Aregbesola administration has acquitted itself highly creditably. It is leaving the state light years ahead on all indices of development. Indeed, the surest proof of how the administration managed to ride the storm in keeping public services going without mortgaging the future can be found in the ultra-modern schools dotting the state, the massive road networks around and beyond the state capital, the visible transformation of the environment and the vast improvements in the living standards of the people which has since been acknowledged by international development partners, all of these despite the terribly lean resources.

Much as it goes without saying that the greatest credit goes to the captain, Ogbeni Aregbesola, due credit must also necessarily go to his believing but untiring crew of which Gboyega Isiaka Oyetola is an acknowledged team player and foremost leader.

He has certainly seen it all: A career spanning more than three decades, rising through the ranks to an enviable status of captain of industry; a public service foray during which he has held the forte as Chief of Staff to the Government of the State of Osun for nearly eight years. And a solid Omoluwabi character to boot.

More than anyone in the vast field, Oyetola is eminently placed to continue in that legacy of initiative, resourcefulness and result-oriented governance. Unlike the others who could best be described as greenhorns, he has proven that he has what it takes to sustain the momentum which the state more than ever needs.

We, therefore have no hesitation in endorsing him as the next governor of the State of Osun. For sure, a vote for him will translate to continuing the good work begun by the outgoing administration.