Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo
The traditional rulers in Osun State under the umbrella of Osun State Traditional Council of Obas yesterday lauded the ‘modest achievements’ recorded by the administration of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola in the last three years.
The monarchs also urged the governor not to be distracted by political traducers whose sole interest is to destabilise his government and cause undue structural division before the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
They also reaffirmed their unflinching support and cooperation for his administration, which they described as one of the best in the history of the state.
This is even as the governor paid an unscheduled visit to the Council of Obas and declared his intention to run for second term as part of efforts to consolidate on the good works and appreciable performance of the administration.
It was a meeting where different issues bordering on culture, tradition, good governance and development of the state were discussed by the monarchs.
Speaking on behalf of his colleagues at the monthly meeting of the traditional rulers in the state usually held at the state secretariat, Abere, Osogbo, the Chairman of the Osun State Traditional Council of Obas, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, applauded the tremendous achievements the Oyetola administration had made since its inception.
He reiterated the traditional rulers’ readiness and commitment to give necessary support to the governor towards the actualisation of his dreams.
Ogunwusi, who described the governor’s visit as first of its kind in the history of the state, said the governor’s high sense of modesty, prudence, probity and integrity necessitated their decision to continuously giving him their support.
Ooni noted that Oyetola had performed creditably to earn the royal blessings and support, saying the traditional rulers were solidly behind him and whatever he decided to do.
“Today, being the first meeting of traditional rulers in the new year, the governor paid us a surprise visit, and we were very elated, and we prayed for him very dutifully because we were very excited for the visit.
“This is the first of its kind in the history of our state. I have been on the throne for over six years. No governor has ever come to visit us as he did today. Though they tried their best to leave us alone for us not to be partisan, this time around, we are very joyous that the governor brought around the entire government structure to see the way we operate; and with all humility too, the governor sat as one of the floor members.
“What we normally see in the past were commissioners, Special Advisers among others. But today, the governor sat with us, and we were able to rob minds together on the need to take our state to greater heights. We are very appreciative of this gesture and we are very proud of him for creating something out of nothing. We will continue to pray for him on the thrones of our forebears.
“We urge him not to be distracted by political detractors. They may be saying a lot. It is for him to remain on track and not allow anything to make him lose focus. I personally love him because of his meek character and silent achievements he has made so far.
“On his intention to run for second term, we have prayed for him dutifully. Don’t forget we are not politicians, we are royal fathers, but we like his style. We like what he is doing because he is a man of very few words; yet he is putting in a very outstanding performance that we all can see. He carries us along with his plans on what he wants to do.
“Like I said earlier, many of his colleagues that I have the opportunity to be closer to do ask how our governor is doing it in view of the available resources and socioeconomic reality in the state, but for us, he is more of actions than words. We will continue to support him,” the Ooni said.
In his remarks, Oyetola expressed gratitude to the monarchs for their open show of affection, which he said has been the driven force motivating him to put in his best in governance.
The governor, who used the visit to make his intention to contest for second term known to the royal fathers, said the decision was aimed at building more on what he has started and consolidated.
He appealed to the monarchs to continue to pray for him and the success of his government, noting that: “Your continued prayers have been the secret behind our modest achievements so far.”
The governor further said: “I decided to visit our fathers when it occurred to me that they will be holding their first meeting today. Also, I was highly impressed by the large presence of traditional rulers at the inter-religious prayers session that we held two days ago where we had about 60 monarchs in attendance. This to us shows that they are with us. They own this government and see this government as theirs.
“So, the only thing I can do is to come and visit them by taking the opportunity to meet majority of them here, and to say a big thank you for being supportive of us in prayers and the fatherly roles the are playing, and particularly to inform them that God being on our side, we are still willing to continue to serve them and the good people of the state.”
