When Seun Onigbinde of BudgIT was asked by Seun Okinbaloye of Channels TV during the Thursday, 19th September, 2019 edition of “Politics Today” to name the states that are not viable as a result of discussion/analysis they were having on the request of the Federal Government of Nigeria to States in Nigeria to refund the whooping N614BN bailout loans giving to them to settle some sort of workers’ salaries in various states sometimes ago, Seun Onigbinde mentioned Osun, Ekiti, Oyo.
He also mentioned Imo, Abia and said some core northern states are being prudent in matching their internal generated revenue with their expenses by drastically cutting down their recurrent expenditure.
Onigbinde also mentioned the sustainable IGR of Lagos & Ogun States through their huge industrialization among other infrastructure and investment concepts and the trend drops when it gets to Oyo State which is also on the radar of Lagos-Ibadan expressway like Lagos & Ogun States.
Onigbinde was particular about Osun, Ekiti and Oyo in their ability or otherwise to refund loans back to the federal government at this point in time.
What strikes me most in this narrative and many others is the fact that Osun State is not always far from people’s lips whenever fiscal issues are being brought to the table.
Despite all/many positive statistical indices award won by the State from the last administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola to the current administration of Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola both of progressive extraction, yet the state is still be portrayed in a bad light when it comes to fiscal responsibilities.
It took me the whole day to convince a friend at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja the other time that the issue of kidnapping, insecurity as being reported in the media is not the true situation on ground in the State. My friend was saying that according to the media reports, there is no way you can move anywhere in the street of Osogbo; the State capital without being kidnapped, once it is 8pm, every streets are deserted for the fear stimulated by insecurity in the State.
I took time to explain to my friend that though there were skirmishes of such kidnaps but it has always been along the highways and the state government under the leadership of Governor Gboyega Oyetola in collaboration with all the security agents across the State and in collaborations with other South West Governors, have curtailed the insecurity situation and such cannot be heard in the news again.
The State of Osun, as established some twenty eight years ago has achieved a lot in the area of governance, peaceful coexistence among the residents, some innovations in the education sector like Opon Imo, job creation, like Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme; OYES, dredging of rivers that permanently averted the destruction of life and property as a result of flood disaster in the history of the State among many others. Under the Oyetola administration, massive rehabilitation of roads that started during Aregbesola’s regime continues, massive rehabilitation and infrastructure works have continued in Gbongan-Osogbo road, Osogbo-Ikirun-Ila-Odo road, long abandoned Iwo-Ibadan road and indeed massive revamping and overhauling is currently going on at all levels of our Health facilities. The Oyetola’s administration is working round the clock to improve significantly in the area of agriculture, food production and job creation whereby wealth will be adequately created in order to shore up the revenue base of the government for more growth and development.
However in the spirit of regional integration and National development, the South west states need to put resources and ideas together and pull the string of development beyond security alone but towards realisation of technological based education that will of solutions to unemployment, criminality and insecurity ravaging the society, massive agricultural services that will put nutritional foods for people’s consumption and for export to other African countries, heavy infrastructure development in buildings of rural and urban roads, massive railway infrastructure, a big multifunctional University and multifaceted specialist Hospital that will be a huge solution to our numerous health challenges through adequate treatment and researches and also a very huge airport, all for easy movement of people, goods and services that will greatly enhance our social and economic growth and development as a region.
It is in the agenda of our Principal and our National leader; Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu that developmental plan should be geared towards economic growth and development where a worker living in Kaduna will be working in Abuja, a worker working in Akure will be living in Abuja and a trader trading in Aba market will be living in Onitsha and all of them will get to work early in the morning and get home not late in the night through an effective rail system.
As the State of Osun is putting together its State Executive Council members, the major task before the state now for all to roll up their sleeves and begin to think outside the box innovatively and creatively so as to harness all the opportunities that are available to us as state to create sustainable wealth through sustainable job creation whereby the young people will have the opportunities to earn sustainable living, traders will make sustainable market, artisan and other service providers will make money where everyone will remit more revenue to the state purse for more social and economic development of the State and the State of Osun will become a viable state beyond the imagination of the oppositions and the fifth columnists.
*_Adeboye Adebayo is a National Publicity Secretary of Nigeria Next Level Forum; NNF, National Publicity Secretary; Asiwaju Grassroots Foundation; AGF, Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Leader of many Socio-Political & Youths groups and a Development Expert @ Reloaded Concepts; a Consulting Firm with interest in Media, Research, Strategy & Governance MRS-G._*
