By Kolawole Ogunwale
The founding fathers of Osun State and those that built it from the scratch meant well for it. They worked day and night to sustain its growth. They were selfless, patriotic and organized. They are men and women of great virtues, who put the state before their individual interests. In fact, they have no personal interest or ambition, other than that Osun State should have accelerated growth.
I, Senator Felix Kolawole Ogunwale, has been following in the footsteps of these truly great Osun indigenes by offering my little services whenever I am called upon to do so since 1980, when I started putting people up for political offices. I am never tired of offering my services and will never be. This time in the history of our great Osun State calls for sober reflections and thought for the way forward, to make it many steps ahead of others. We need men and women, who are sincere, pure, thorough, indigenous and non-sentimental to take Osun to the next level.
I share in the present pains of our people for the past six years plus, occasioned by projects, that are absolutely non- beneficial to and do not put food on the tables of the down-trodden masses of our people. Though, each government/administration with its own style, hence, I am not apportioning blames. For each man, his own time with posterity to judge us, kindly or harshly through our action or inaction.
But we cannot continue in Osun, to be an appendage of another state, which today, is the alleged beneficiary of our collective patrimony, in the name of Capital Flight therein. Before our own very eyes, aliens, people who neither toil nor have any affinity in whatever forms with us the indigenes came, saw and parted and continue to part, with our hard-earned resources without batting an eyelid. We all looked aghast, whilst the avoidable stance of politics of gbajue continues unabatedly. Whither the acclaimed “international” airport at Iddo-Osun, where billions of naira was sunk. It is now overgrown with tall shrubs and now a den for men of the under-world. Heaps and heaps of laterite and heavy stones dumped at the different locations of the “international” airport are its gains. All that is visible at the environment of the “airport” is badly conceived and constructed perimeter fencing. Osun citizens, this among other intangible projects is not your portion. A dawn of a new era shall soon set in, when we shall all sit down at a round-table and discuss heartily, and if possible bitterly, about how to move our dear state forward. Afi Olohun. Afi Enia, shall be the theme of our new orientation in Osun State as from 2018. No individual or group of people, no matter their worth is greater than the peasants in Osun, who indeed own the state.
I have heard it said, why should Kola Ogunwale stick out his neck again from Osun Central District, which has produced two governors for Osun for a total of 12 years? My simple answer is: Only the Best Is Good for Osun State. The Bush family in United States of America, at different times produced two presidents, in father and son, for the United States. Both Bush senior and Bush junior, are from the state of Texas. Americans are no fools to have taken that gamble. Whether Central, East or West Senatorial District, only the best is good for Osun State at its present critical time of wanton destruction of human and material resources.
Workers and pensioners are groaning for survival through “HAFSAT”- a parlance for half salary. This needs not be, if we had learnt to cut our coat according to our cloth in the past six years without cutting corners. For those in control right now, their best is just not good enough. Let us continue to learn to support, those who are home-grown democrats, who sincerely know the terrain and where the shoe pinches the people of Osun State.
To err is human. Forgiveness divine. We shall readily forgive those who have mortgaged the future of Osun for a pot of porridge for many years to come. Almighty God, shall in His infinite mercy, grant those of us who are ready to offer our genuine services to redeem Osun from her present inertness, the grace to get to the governorship seat and take Osun to greater height. For now, it is No Retreat, No Surrender.
Also, let me reiterate, that much against what some of my traducers would want to feed the unsuspecting public, I am not a re-cycled politician or a “political harlot”. I pitch my tent with any political party with my own personal resources, wherever I feel my political interest will be best served and protected without let or hindrance.
I am above pettiness and will not allow those who are far behind me in politics, to dictate to me how to map out my political career. I remain at the service of Osun people for the rest of my life. My present governorship ambition is not a matter of do or die, but rather an avenue to prove, that I am not a push-over in Nigeria politics not to talk of Osun, where I am a prominent stake-holder.
I implore people of like minds like me from whatever political parties, to join in the crusade to rescue Osun and make it a pride of us all.
Evil thrives where people of good disposition keep quiet. We shall have no cause to complain again, if in 2018, we allow ourselves to be governed by people, whom we cannot look straight in the face and tell the truth. We should not allow ourselves to be arm-twisted once again by emperors masquerading as democrats and political leaders. The waiting in Osun for a true government of the people, by the people and for the people is very near. Osun people’s government is around the corner.
–Senator Kolawole Ogunwale wrote from De-Castle, Iragbiji, Osun State
