Major Reasons Why Omisore, Yusuf Lasun, Adeoti, K-Rad, Ogunbiyi Should Work Together To Produce Next Gov Of Osun State

Osun Restoration Vanguard, a vibrant group made up of Osun-born professionals and unemployed graduates, has made a stand on the soon to conducted Osun state gubernatorial election. 

And their stand is simple "all well-meaning Osun state indigenes particularly top citizens actively involved in politics must come together to save the state from those it tagged agents of occupation."

 Expected to lead the rescue mission- the battle to save Osun State Soul- are politicians like former Deputy Governor Iyiola Omisore, immediate past SSG Moshood Adeoti, gubernatorial aspirant and lawyer Kunle Adegoke K-Rad,  House of Representatives Deputy Yusuf Lasun, Mutual Benefits Insurance boss and PDP Guber aspirant Akin Ogunbiyi among others. 

The gathering believes they have the capacity to liberate Osun state people only if they come together and form a common front to tackle "Ajele Concept" of Aregbesola a source who was part of the meeting revealed. 

They remain, enemies of the state, if they fail to collaborate to save the state from "those whose sole interest is to feast on the state’s drying blood till she breaths her last", the group suggested. 

The group further suggested that Political actors in a state with fine minds and brains should not maintain party hard line or sectional jingoism if they truly believe in the move to rescue the state. 

According to the statement, "the Vanguard recognises that fine minds and brains abound across all the political platforms and that now is not a time to maintain party hard-line or sectional jingoism. It is a call to rescue, and for which the Vanguard considers that no collaborative sacrifice should be too much to make, particularly as it affects the lives of the people one professes to love so much, and passionately seeks to serve."

Here is the detail of the communique issued after the August 5 2018 meeting. 

OSUN RESTORATION VANGUARD 

Osun Restoration Vanguard is a group of Osun-born young professionals and unemployed graduates. Rising from its fourth meeting which held in Osogbo on Sunday the 5th day of August, 2018, the group hereby states as follows:

That, Osun governorship election slated for September 22, 2018 promises to be a watershed in the political sojourn of the 27-year-old state, and by which reason, all genuinely concerned hands need to be on deck for a guided sail.

That, after a holistic consideration of diverse factors, four major political parties appear to be effectively in the race for the governor’s seat, namely, the PDP, the SDP, the APC and the ADP.

That, very many other parties that are also in the race interestingly parade fine materials as their standard bearers, but the parties’ appeal to the electorate is weak, particularly on account of unimpressive membership strength and scanty spread of presence.

That, while both the SDP and the PDP appear to represent a bifurcation of membership of a once one family, the APC’s and the ADP’s stories are not different. And that, to that extent, defection into the ADP as recently witnessed in the state, is nothing more than a split/shed in the erstwhile strength of the APC.  It is like a one-time 12 now becoming 6 and 6. Or, 7 and 5. Nothing spectacularly different in numerical strength. The PDP-SPD’s story is not too different.

That, from the preponderance of opinions gauged, the APC has courted more enemies than friends among the conscious class of the electorate, who in turn daily leave no stone unturned in polluting the minds of the unconscious, the unwary, the uninformed and the unlettered voters.

That, the Ajele syndrome is a byword crafted in the state to describe the bulk of the sitting governor’s lieutenants who are found to be unfamiliar with the state terrain and her core needs, and thus considered to care less about the slippery slope of the state, as they are regarded as parasites whose sole interest is to feast on the state’s drying blood till she breaths her last. 

That, pursuant to the above, the people appear resolved without a formal meeting, to sack all the vestiges of Ajele concept, and to which extent, the gubernatorial candidate of the APC is considered to be another agent of occupation which must be rejected.

That, to worsen its already precarious situation, the APC failed to face the election battle as one united army, but chose to conduct a very controversial primary election that left it shattered beyond immediate repair. 

That, in the midst of the APC’s internal confusions, the electorate earnestly looked towards the PDP to provide a credible and reasonable alternative which could be rallied round, to sack the sitting government of the APC which many have found to be very dubious and utterly disappointing, but the PDP irresponsibly frittered the opportunity. It went for a candidate whose ‘seriousness rating’ is the lowest among the pack, aside from a trail of eligibility scandals that dog his footsteps in a manner that has caused needless distractions to the party and has given the electorate cogent reasons to now look elsewhere for their savior.

THE WAY(S) FORWARD

It is the Vanguard’s observation that no single party harbours all the saints, just as no single party is a haven to rogues. All the political parties appear to have all shades of characters in their numbers, particularly as defection windows of all the parties are ever-open. In that respect therefore, the Vanguard notes:

That, in tandem with the yearnings of the electorate, the candidates of the ADP and the SDP are found to be rooted in the politics of Osun, as they have been around, living and politicking with the people for some time now. They are found to know the state inside out, and they know the people too well.

That, however, available statistics do not show that any of the four leading parties currently maintains a clear lead (i.e. including the ADP and the SDP). While the visibility of the ADP and the SDP is anchored on the persons of their candidates, the PDP and the APC are firmer platforms that are well known but currently parade unpopular candidates. The implication is that, in the absence of a clear cut lead, the governor’s seat is up for the grabs. 

That, the above being the case, the fate of the people still lies within the realm of ‘anything can happen’, which means that the unwanted by the conscious mass may become elected, riding on the nonchalance of the unconscious mass, thereby subjecting everyone to a fresh sojourn in avoidable throes.

That, to avoid the possibility of the above, passionate appeals need be conveyed to certain players in the race, to explore the progressive possibility of rank-closing in the interest of the populace they claim to want to liberate.

That, the Vanguard recognises that fine minds and brains abound across all the political platforms, and that now is not a time to maintain party hard-line or sectional jingoism. It is a call to rescue, and for which the Vanguard considers that no collaborative sacrifice should be too much to make, particularly as it affects the lives of the people one professes to love so much, and passionately seeks to serve.

That, pursuant to the above, the Vanguard passionately recommends a prompt alliance of the ADP and the SDP with the involvement of other personalities that have been identified in other camps too. In specific terms, a collaboration of Dr Iyiola Omisore of the SDP, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti of the ADP, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade of the ADC, Dr Akin Ogunbiyi of the PDP, Retired Justice Folahanmi Oloyede of the ADC, Mr Kunle Adegoke of the APC, Hon. Lasun Yusuf of the APC, Professor Deolu Durotoye of the PDP and a host of other patriots is earnestly recommended, if truly they seek a reclamation and restoration of Osun.

That, in more specific terms, the Vanguard considers it highly desirable and strategically wise for an Omisore-Adeoti ticket to emerge and supported by the above-named personalities, if truly they seek a reclamation and restoration of Osun. At the current juncture the state finds herself, concerted effort is the surest way to go. Otherwise, those who seek to explore the pervasive hunger among the populace to buy their votes, will only be helped by the current mushrooming of the platforms.

That, failure to collaborate as recommended will leave the undiscerning voter with the impression that there is yet no alternative platform strong enough to wrestle the behemoths. More so that the behemoths have abundant cash to squander.

Upon all the above, it is the Vanguard’s decision that, should the recognised players fail to collaborate to rescue the state from the jaws of the current hyenas and from the reach of the currently salivating pretenders, and should this opportunity be missed, the Vanguard may embark on a campaign to mobilise the hapless people of the state to see the mentioned players as their major enemies who are only selfishly interested in personal aggrandisement, rather than their people’s liberation as professed.

Signed:

Engr. Kazeem Ajibola Olujide Oyeniyi, PhD

(Chairman) (Secretary)