For a government that wants its citizens to obey law and order, behave properly and believe in its ability to uphold the rule of law, the government should be able and willing to lead by example, after all, charity, they say, begins at home.
When citizens and residents of a state sense a loophole from those responsible for making and
implementing the law, they choose to hide behind such loopholes in defending whatever is wrong
actions they might have engaged themselves in.
We might not blame them much, as the elders do say, once the head is rotten, the whole body is
affected. This might be the case in Osun State, where some people are taking advantage of the loophole
created by the first family to disregard the law.
The elder sister of the State Governor, Yeye Dupe Adeleke Sanni, sometime in October 2023,
through her foundation, empowered some residents of the state some of whom went home with
minibuses (Korope).
As laudable as the gesture was, a loophole was left, and after five months and despite calls from
several quarters, the abnormality has not been corrected.
The buses donated to the lucky beneficiaries at the point of giving them out were not registered.
Most of those buses are now plying the roads across the state, conveying passengers from one
location to another without plate numbers and the only thing to trace them in case of
emergencies is the label with the donor’s name.
It was observed that security operatives, as well as the road safety officers, saddled with the responsibility of checking the situation, have also turned a blind eye to the menace.
Findings by OSUN DEFENDER revealed that residents of the state, who have also expressed concern about the development, felt the situation was because the buses were donated by Mrs. Dupe Adeleke Sanni or because they were too concentrated on what they wanted to get from the drivers of these buses.
Some of the drivers of the minibuses, who benefitted from the empowerment programme, in separate engagements with some members of the public, claimed to be above the law as they got the buses from the governor’s sister.
Residents React
Meanwhile, some residents of Osogbo, the Osun State capital, have lamented what they described as the
‘I don’t care’ attitude of the government and security agencies towards commercial mini-buses
(Korope) operating without plate numbers in the city.
The residents who spoke with OSUN DEFENDER, said that with the surge in insecurity in the South West recently, commercial buses should not be plying roads without proper identification.
They noted that the state government and security agencies are overlooking the
situation because of the person who donated the buses to the drivers.
The residents accused the state government of being biased towards its party members, who
were mostly beneficiaries of the empowerment, not minding the security of the residents.
Speaking with the medium, a resident of Igbona in Olorunda Local Government of the state who
identified himself as Ridwan Olawoyin, said it is embarrassing that the security agents who were
saddled with the protection of the citizens, allow the illegality to go on.
Olawoyin noted that the state government is playing on the intelligence of the Osun people,
adding that the drivers of the minibuses failed to secure the plate numbers because of the
person who donated the buses to them.
“It is embarrassing and very saddening. The security situation in the country is not too good and
here we are in the state, with some buses plying our roads without plate numbers. Are we saying because the sister of the Governor is the one who donated the buses, they should not be properly registered?
“The security agencies are also not doing their job due to the unauthorised money they are
collecting from the drivers or maybe they don’t want to offend those in power. It is very barbaric. How can a bus ply our roads without a plate number, and the security agencies would not do anything about it?.”
Another resident of the state, Mrs Mojisola Lawal, while speaking with the medium, called out the state
government and security agencies for their double standard.
Mrs Lawal said the security agencies and those employed by the state government as Transport
Managers harass other drivers for their particulars and daily ticket levies but leave those violating the law alone because of the person involved.
“This is a double standard and they keep doing this because they believe there is nothing anyone
can do about it.
“Some security agents and ticket money collectors harass drivers on the road daily but leave the
people moving about with unplated vehicles alone. They are all playing on the intelligence of
Osun people.”
Kazeem Badmus is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience. A professional in journalism and media writing, Kazeem prioritses accuracy and factual reportage of issues. He is also a dexterous finder of the truth with conscious delivery of unbiased and development oriented stories.
