By ADEOLA OJO

The history of Osun State is built on the sweat of hard work, deep wisdom and honest leadership. For years, our home has worn a badge of honour as a land of brilliant thinkers, disciplined public servants and proud traditions. Yet, for nearly four frustrating years, the state has been subjected to a style of governance that prefers lighthearted entertainment, dancing and cheap showmanship to real development.

As we look forward to the crucial election on August 15, 2026, it is time to open our eyes wide and face the raw, unvarnished truth. Governor Ademola Adeleke of the “PDAccord” has failed the people of Osun in many glaring ways, and his administration has proven beyond doubt that it does not deserve another single day in office.

The very first sin of this administration lies in its reckless, empty-pocket approach to money and public funds. Real governance demands deep vision, careful planning, and respect for tomorrow. Instead of building a solid economic foundation, Adeleke’s government treats state resources like loose change. While loud public fanfare greets short-term handouts and temporary palliatives, long-term sources of revenue stand completely still, and the state’s financial independence has been sold out.

Huge federal allocations and refunds flood into the treasury, but they vanish into thin air without leaving behind a single lasting factory or job-creating project to show for it. Adeleke has traversed the globe, wasting our collective patrimony on the promise of attracting international investors to the state but, up till this moment, not a footstep of a single investor has been witnessed in the state.

Another deep, unforgivable moral failure of the current administration is the heavy, suffocating plague of nepotism – a disturbing trend that our people now bitterly call “Edenisation.” Power and public offices have been fenced off and treated like a private family estate. Key government positions, lucrative board appointments, and sensitive administrative offices have been cornered strictly to serve immediate family members, close friends, and cronies tied directly to the governor’s hometown.

This selfish recruitment style has completely kicked aside Osun’s massive pool of brilliant minds, global-standard intellectuals, and experienced technocrats simply because they lack family or town ties. It shows a total, shameless disregard for the balanced, multi-ethnic character required to run a diverse state like ours.

In any serious society, education is the ultimate ladder for progress and the greatest legacy we can hand down to our children. Yet, Adeleke committed an unpardonable sin against the future of Osun children. Shortly after taking office, his administration abruptly cancelled the legal employment of over 1,500 qualified teachers, throwing thousands of classrooms into total chaos and swelling the number of out-of-school children. Today, public school buildings across the state are rotting away in absolute neglect. Students learn under leaking, dangerous roofs, sit on bare floors because chairs are non-existent, and lack basic learning materials, while the government looks away with cold indifference.

Nothing exposes the misplaced priorities and selfish egocentrism of the current administration quite like the tragic, comic-opera story of our state airport projects. Instead of building upon solid existing foundations, the Adeleke administration completely abandoned the historic MKO Abiola International Airport project site at Ido-Osun - a proud, storied landmark and Nigeria's very first airstrip, which holds massive heritage and economic value for our region.

In a brazen display of geographic self-centeredness, public funds were yanked away and poured instead into starting a duplicate, controversial airport project right in Ede, the governor's hometown. Pushed through despite poor technical planning, federal warnings, and subsequent legal suspension due to due-process violations, this project turned into a monumental waste of scarce public resources. It is a grave sin to sacrifice regional economic growth just to satisfy local hometown pride.

Furthermore, Osun State is historically known across the federation as the cradle of profound thinkers, respected authors, fearless journalists, and disciplined public servants. Yet, the current administration has dragged our collective dignity straight into the mud by turning governance into an endless comedy show and a dancing party. Serious policy sessions have been replaced by executive levity, and the civil service has been weakened while sycophancy takes the front seat.

To rescue our dear state from this financial mess, we desperately need a tested manager at the helm. Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) approaches governance with the disciplined precision of a seasoned financial expert. Having previously proven his mettle as a two-time Commissioner for Finance in Osun State - where he successfully grew our internally generated revenue through transparent systems and blocked financial leakages - the Ikire, Osun State-born technocrat knows the exact ropes of managing public wealth. Under his proposed agenda, he will restore strict fiscal discipline, digitalize tax collection fairly without choking small business owners, and diversify our economy so that Osun can stand firmly and proudly on its own two feet.

Oyebamiji stands for the complete, breath-of-fresh-air opposite of clannish behaviour. His leadership philosophy is anchored on gathering Osun’s very best brains from every single nook and cranny of the map. Under him, pure merit will replace raw favouritism, and every single citizen - whether you hail from Osogbo, Ilesa, Ile-Ife, Iwo, or Ijebu-Jesa - will feel a genuine, undeniable sense of belonging in the governance of our shared commonwealth.

AMBO treats human capital development as a sacred trust. His educational rebirth framework focuses on carrying out emergency structural repairs on dilapidated school buildings, bringing qualified professionals back into the teaching service with dignity, and equipping our classrooms with modern learning tools and digital laboratories so that our children can compete successfully anywhere on the global stage.

Oyebamiji’s infrastructural plan will instead focus squarely on true regional utility and economic common sense. He will objectively review abandoned legacy projects and restore strategic assets like the Ido-Osun aviation corridor, turning it into a genuine cargo and transport hub that will spark business and travel across the entire length and breadth of the state.

A state that produced global giants in law, literature, and administration should not be known worldwide for unserious behaviour. Oyebamiji will restore corporate governance standards, mutual respect, and absolute dignity to the Osun State Government House. He will treat civil servants as honored professional partners rather than political tools to be used today and dumped tomorrow.

Osun voters, our choice on August 15 is stark and very clear. This is not the time for mere sentiment, and it is certainly not the time to reward failure. We cannot afford to mortgage our collective future on the altar of entertainment politics and family-centered rule while our neighbors move forward in peace and prosperity.

Step forward boldly with your Permanent Voter Cards on August 15. Reject the politics of empty noise, division and broken promises. Embrace Oyebamiji’s tested, trusted and professionally proven capacity. Let us vote for true fiscal discipline, institutional respect and a prosperous Osun State that genuinely works for all of us.

•Ojo wrote from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State.

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