(Nigeria) Following the seven month arrears of salaries owed Osun State workers, including judges in the state, Justice Oloyede Olamide Folahanmi of the Osun State High Court has petitioned the state House of Assembly, calling for the probe of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
He is calling on the state lawmakers to impeach Governor Aregbesola for mismanaging the state resources, leading to workers in the state being owed seven months salary arrears.
Justice Folahanmi, in the petition, said “” I declare that in presenting this petition, am not in any way motivated by malice, spite, pecuniary interest or promise thereof, nor am I propelled by a desire for higher office, since it has always been my conviction that all good things come from above, only from above.
“I am also not unmindful of the need to respect the dignity of fellow citizens and to respect constituted authority (including Mr. Governor), it is however, trite that: respect begets respect, and that dignity is as dignity does.
“My objective is to ensure that human beings are treated justly, and thus ensure the Reign of Peace, since peace and justice can never be separated, they are two sides of the same coin.
“If the world is ever to experience peace therefore, all hands must be on deck to ensure that no one is treated unjustly, and that the propensity of certain persons to mistreat and maltreat others are at least put in check, for as long as it is not quite possible to wipe out injustice completely,” he added.
Full text of the petition:
This “Petition” is presented with a deep sense of responsibility and sincerity of purpose, due to my conviction in the sanctity of ‘Truth’ and in ‘The Rule of Law” as the bases for promoting the ideals and the attainment of “good governance and the welfare of all persons in our country, on the principles of, Freedom, Equality and Justice as enunciated at the Stockholm Conference (1942), a principle which finds expression in the preamble to our Constitution, and which I believe is a fundamental pre-condition to the establishment and sustenance of our collective dream of an “egalitarian society” as promised by Osun State’s anthem, as well as the bases for harmony, “universal brotherhood and World peace.”
I declare that in presenting this petition, am not in any way motivated by malice, spite, pecuniary interest or promise thereof, nor am I propelled by a desire for higher office, since it has always been my conviction that all good things come from above, only from above.
I am also not unmindful of the need to respect the dignity of fellow citizens and to respect constituted authority (including Mr. Governor), it is however trite that: respect begets respect, and that dignity is as dignity does.
My objective is to ensure that human beings are treated justly, and thus ensure the Reign of Peace, since peace and justice can never be separated, they are two sides of the same coin!
If the world is ever to experience peace therefore, all hands must be on deck to ensure that no one is treated unjustly, and that the propensity of certain persons to mistreat and maltreat others are at least put in check, for as long as it is not quite possible to wipe out injustice completely.
I verily believe, that the desired power, prestige and good image for our country, that the majority yearns for can only be achieved when we all cooperate to fight ineptitude, corruption, greed and abuse of entrusted power in governance.
I am also convinced of the fact loving ones brethren, means doing that which will benefit them, which includes having them corrected and/or punished if they refuse to understand and persist in acts which are damaging to others beside themselves. That will be rendering them genuine service. But justice must always prevail, for love cannot be separated from justice, and the presence and union of both remains the only guarantee for the much desired World/Global peace!
And it is this conviction, this knowledge that has propelled me, as one who has promised to, uphold the Constitution of this Country, without fear or favour, affection nor illwill, having observed for some time now, that the policies of Mr. Governor, though idealistic, are in the main unrealistic and riddled with deceit and are being pursued for selfish end to the detriment of the common good.
I want it to be on record that I had previously sought for, but failed to secure an appointment with Mr. Governor, first through his aides and then directly when fate brought us across each other’s path, a few weeks ago, for I do not believe in chance. Although, Mr. Governor, had initially agreed to grant me audience, after I impressed upon him the urgency of my mission, regrettably later, he reneged on his promise, thereby making the publication of my Petition, without first bringing it to his notice privately unavoidable.
Mr. Governors policies are geared and are being pursued,solely for the purpose of enriching himself; his godfathers, immediate families and his cronies, whilst impoverishing the generality of the people of Osun who look up to him for their welfare.
I am propelled by the desire to see the pains of my fellow human beings ameliorated and to possibly, help take away the reproach of our State as “a bankrupt” and “a failed State”, as announced on Channels TV, by Mr. Tunji Onigbinde, and the desire to join hands with other of like minds to help salvage the sinking ship of Osun State!
It is my sincere opinion that if this stigma is not to become permanent, if Osunis to stand any chance of recovery from the deadly blows dealt her, by those to who have sworn to protect her and her interest, and in to whom she had extended the hand of benevolence, thenall loving hands must be on deck to rescue her from the clutches of her betrayer and tormentors!
I declare that in addition to the media-hype of Osun’s parlous financial condition, I have firsthand experience which constitutes evidence, of the unfortunate situation in which Osun currently finds herself, shall be shown hereunder, for I am not one to act on rumour or hastily.
Even Mr. Governor has admitted publicly, the fact that Osun is in financial quagmire and that he is clueless on how to pull her out of the doldrums into which she has been pushed. Nor is it in dispute that the State has been unable to discharge its financial obligations to, its Pensioners, Civil Service, the Judicial Arm and Contractors alike.
For it is trite that: “The man dies in all who keeps silent in the face of tyranny”. Wole Soyinka. Just as surely as the man dies in him who keeps silent in the face of injustice perpetrated to others!
Let me begin by reminding all without fear of contradiction, that the platform and the premise on which Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola and his deputy, Otunba Titi Laoye Tomori came into office,was that the modest Revenue of Osun State as it stood in the year 2006, when they began their campaign was more than adequate and sufficient to meet her developmental yearnings and aspirations, without recourse being made to any unnecessary burdensome loan.
Mr. Governor warmed his way into the State’s collective hearts by promising to take her to greater heights, to employ creativity and innovative ideas in governance to shore up Osun’s finances, widen her revenue base internally by attracting direct investments, to gradually wean her off her over dependence on allocations from the Federal purse.
He made us belief, that with frugality and ingenuity in plugging waste, he would ensure reduction in the cost of governance and thereby free more money for the provision of social amenities and infrastructures that will be directed at improving the standard of living of the peopleand this without adding to the state.
He claimed to have the magic wand, the tricks up his sleeves, and to be blessed with the Midas’ touch, of ingenuous and yet realistic ideas for generating resources within the state and thereby achieving for her, the set goals of self- reliance and financial independence as opposed to erstwhile dependence on allocation from the Federation Account. This was to be done without imposing heavier burden on the populace and thereby achieving for the state both self-reliance and self-actualization, as the state’s revenue as it stood then which was a little under #2Billion, in a month was sufficient to meet all its financial obligations with enough left over to provide for and maintain capital projects.
All will recall the strident, insistent, and persistent callsmade to the Osun community by Governor Aregbesola and his party the Action Congress of Nigeria, before his ascension to the seat of Governance in Osun,only the ‘Oranmiyan’ could lift up Osun to a pride of place within the committee of States in Nigeria. That only Oranmiyan could give Osun the dividends of democracy without obtaining as much as a kobo from loans in achieving the set objective.As only a government devoid of corruption could harness the limited resources to position the state for the actualization of its set goals and objectives as captured in Sections 13 to 24 of the Constitution.
Governor Aregbesola was the most vociferous of voices at denouncing Prince Oyinlola’s voice was most vociferous in judging and labeling Prince Oyinlola’s administration as unimpressive and lack-lustre for failing to provide all amenities within the limits of available resources at that relevant time.
His was the most strident in disclaiming and denouncing asfraudulent, unwarranted and unnecessary the 18 billion facility obtained by the administration of Prince Oyinlola towards the end of the latter’s administration. He didn’t stop at that, but proceeded to set up an investigative panel headed by Professor Femi Odekunle to probe the #18.3 Billion loan and the manner in which it was expended, in spite of the fact that Prince Oyinlola’s administration had managed to pay back a sizeable proportion of the loan at that material time.
He even went as far as to condemn the terms and conditions by which the previous administration secured the facility and even proceeded to buy the loan back, ostensibly in the interest of the State.(Politics certainly does make strange bed fellows!
But experience has since shown that all these were a ploy, a gimmick calculated to deceive the impressionable citizens of Osun!
For barely had he done this that in (a proper omo Eko fashion) he stated to accumulate and to pile up debts both local and foreign on strangulating terms and conditions which are now threatening to choke the State to death, under the guise of providing her with “infrastructures”?
It is therefore not only bewildering but shocking tohear and later discover that Osun under Aregbesola’s watch has accumulated a mind bugling debt profile, rumoured to be in the region of four hundred (#400) to five hundred Billion Naira(#500 Billion) or sum as loan, under the guise that he wanted to “ raise the ‘infrastructural level’ of the state. Debt which the state services with almost 80% of her income to the extent thatMr. Tunji Onigbinde had to declare on air ( Channels TV10 O’ Clock news) to the hearing of the whole world, that, “Osun is a failed state”! a statement which till date neither Mr. Governor ( who’s direct responsibility it is to protect the integrity of the State), nor any of his numerous and usually very voluble aides have come out to deny this excruciatingly humiliating statement!
This to my mind has done unquantifiable damage to the dignity and psyche of every son and daughter of Osun.
What is most painful about the whole matter is that we are being choked to death without even seeing the so called infrastructure. Thereis nothing on the ground in Osun to indicate or justify this huge gargantuan quantum of loan!
It is as if all that money simply disappeared into thin air!
Won ti fi owo mugun awon ara-oke jaroso! (they have taken advantage of the gullible interlanders).
Yoruba bo won ni “oresee were oobu, osebi ologbon a je gbe ti e sile”! (If you don’t take advantage of the quixotic, be assured that the wise will never allow you to take advantage of him)!
It is incomprehensible and unfathomable how things could have gotten so fright-fully bad within such a short time.
How could the self-acclaimed Oranmiyan, the redeemer of Osun and their saviourfrom ‘lack luster and un-inspiring administration, the shining Star, the one reputed as possessing powers to literarily transform stones into bread let his followers who adored, look up to, idolized and literally worshipped, subject her to such a harrowing experience, to so much ignominy and ridicule?
It is unimaginably baffling and stupifying!
And this in spite of the elaborate and profuse promises, despite the grandiloquence, the braggadocio and the oratorios!
How dare he perform so woefully below expectation, and even far below the poorly rated, hitherto unappreciated and under-valued predecessors in office?
One must needquestion the logic for accumulating a quantum of debt and on terms and conditions which is now holding everyone in the state by their jugular! In whose interest were all the loans and for whose benefit?
And the test is that of a reasonable man. Was it reasonable and expedient under the circumstances?
Whilst it may be right for Dangote to obtain loans running into trillions, it will be downright foolish of me to follow suit, for with what would I pay it back?
What could be the justification for this ‘act’ in view of Mr. Governor’s earlier censure and vehement disclaimer and condemnation of a similar act albeit on a much lesser scale byPrince Oyinlola? What is more in view of the recent benevolence of the astronomical oil price experienced globally, and the resultant increase in Revenue accruing to the State which saw Osun’ income from the Federation Account and from the Excess Crude Account more than doubling what it ever was under any and all of Governor Aregbesola”s predecessors in office.
And empirical research and public records (courtesy budgIT, oagf and fmf.) proves that the average monthly earnings of the State between the years 2007 and November 2010 was(#1,960,622,514.25), whilst the average income of the state between the years 2011 to 2014 stands at (#3,050,074,327.25). And these figures represents Osun’s earnings from the Federation Account alone, and does not include those of the Excess Crude Account put at over 61.7 billion (for the period 2011-2014), SURE-P #14.4 billion (for the period 2011-2014), Internally Generated Revenue #43.6 billion(for the period 2011-2014). Figures for VAT, Ecological Funds and Millenium Development Goals are not readily available. (I have been reliable informed that the revenues accruing to the Local Government within the period under review were equivalent to that accruing to the State and that both were controlled, managed and disbursed by Mr. Governor personally.)
It is therefore baffling that; in spite of the consistent well over #1,089,451,813 .00improvement in allocation between 2011 and mid2013, and the admitted retirement of over 5000 officers from the States’ Civil Service, the State could still not provide Infrastructures without recourse being made to bonds and loans, nor has she been able to maintain her Civil Service, Local Government Service or pay her Pensioners for periods ranging from seven (8) to eleven (11) months now.888 And maintenance goes far beyond the payment of salary and includes but is not limited to Running Costs, capacity building amongst other things.
How, when it is widely acclaimed that the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)( figure or 2014 only is #8.3 billion), has been so tremendously improved that it almost quadruples what it used to be due to the expertise and ingenuity of Mr. Governor’sprofessional team of financial gurus, the private Tax Collectors and ghost worker routers like Chams?
How did the admittedly modest but adequate resources of our sanguine State suddenly become inadequate, in spite of the good fortune of “astronomical increase in the price of crude oil”, and the attendant improvement in the disbursement from the Federation Account, and over 300% improvement in Internally Generated Revenue experienced for the most part of his tenure, at least until the later part of 2014, coupled with the thousands of Civil Servants who voluntarily withdrew from Service due to pension reforms,( which to a rational mind is an added advantage, since pensions are usuallya fraction of salary), the un-necessarily accommodating and thoughtless allocations from the Excess Crude Account ( which governors are found of treating as additional imprest for their offices, as opposed to common patrimony),had reason and prudence prevailed, ought to have been preserved for the development for the coming generation or at least to create employment for our teaming unemployed and consequently unfulfilled youths, (which would have translated into the generation of more wealth), not to mention, the Value Added Tax, as well as the SURE-P, SUBEB, Tertiary Educational Trust Fund and last but not the least, the Ecological Fund.
In the spirit of Jimmy Cliff’s song, I WANT TO KNOW, EVERYBODY WANTS TO KNOW!
How did situations degenerate so badly within such a relatively short time that pensioners and civil servants, eminent citizens of this noble State, (the seat of power of Oduduwa the progenitor of the Yoruba nation and of his illustrious sons Oranmiyan, Orangun, Owa , of Oonirisa the Arole Odua as well as of the amazon,valiant Moremi Ajasoro) who have served and are serving their mother land meritoriously have now become destitute and refugees in their own state?
How did it happen that under Governor Aregbesola’s watch, despite his prowess and highly intimidating curriculum vitae!
How under the eagle eye of the States’ House of Assembly, (the body that is statutorily infused with the powers and obligation to ensure the peace, order and good governance of the State or any part thereof pursuant to Section 4 subsection(6&7)of the Constitution) who by virtue of Sections 128 and 129 is her Constitutional watch dog?
And under the very noses of the Rights activist, who this time are looking in the other direction and pretending not to hear that over 200 pensioners have died in Osun between January and June this year alone, in consequence of their cruel and inhuman treatment by Mr. Governor.
And without as much as a murmur from the Nigerian Media,( as a matter of fact with their active connivance and collusion) the ‘fourth estate of the realm’, who have been Constitutionally charged with the responsibility of “upholding the fundamental objectives contained in the Constitution, and upholding the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people as enshrined in Section 22 of the Constitution.
Where are the Tribunes, the defenders of the rights of the common man?
How many more needs to die before we hear “bring back our money?”
Or is human right activity reserved exclusively for occasions and events that has expectations of pecuniary benefits only?
Or is it still a question of Disraeli’s, “damn your principles, stick to your party?” where then is the much touted “change”?
I am of the view that, ones’ value, ones’ conviction ought to take precedence over party politics, especially, where the lives and dignity of human beings are concerned.
Oh our beloved State, the battle for whose soul was aggressively and voraciously, fought, to the Highest Court in the land?
Oh, how are the mighty fallen!
Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not on the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice, that Osun the proud abode and place of succour of the Stately and majestic Oduduwa, has been tagged a failed State and she cannot refute it!
She is unable to fight back, and must hang her head In shame like a bulrush, like an ostrich!
She has been, plundered and ridiculed, her civil service is comatose, and her pensioners gradually dying off, as a result of inability and or deliberate and wanton refusal to pay them their dues, her roads are in a deplorable state and unmotorable, a schools are shut, her hospitals have become ghost towns, her promised cargo Airport remains a heap of sand, Gbongan bridge remains a stump, the east/west part of the Ring Road a football field!
How on earth can she refute the fact that she has been humiliated and brought to her knees with the numerous abandoned projects littering her environment, and the incessant and ceaseless text messages flying everywhere, at home and abroad from her Pensioners and Civil servant alike, from friends, family and sometimes even enemies seeking succour from penury and starvation?
Res ipsa loquitor! Does the fact not speak for itself?
That she has been betrayed, ravished and ravaged by her trusted and sworn defender, by her knight in the shining armour, by her champion defender, the self-acclaimed Oranmiyan and his accomplices!
How in spite of our recent good fortune did we come to a state of penury and impending starvation and ‘debt strangulation’ if indeed our Governor and his crew of Executives which he assembled without any impute from us had filled the positions they vied for, held themselves out eminently qualified for, and if they had played by the rules, been faithful to their oath of office and had dealt with and administered our mutual funds for which they were but trustees, judiciously and in accordance with the Financial Regulations and shear common sense?
These are the questions lisping on the mouth of everyone in Osun young or old, indigenes as well as settlers, literate and illiterate, religious or irreligious, regardless of political leanings and affiliations, whilst those who are not courageous enough to voice it out for one whatever reason, nevertheless cogitate over it in their minds quietly.
For a good house holder is one; who like ‘Joseph’ knows how to provide for those of his household in every season. One who in plenty plans and save up for the time of want!
For as the Yoruba’s would state it, igba o to lo bi orere ( life is made of ups and downs, one should therefore learn to save for rainy days).
How then did we come to this parlous state?
Why are the progressives not asking Mr. Governor’s howour State which, to use Mr. Governor’s own words “is blessed with an abundance of human and natural resources and with lush vegetation”, and a UNESCO recognized tourist haven became “a failed State” within the spate of less than five years in his very ‘dexterous’ hand?
Our beloved Osun, named after the goddess of purity, our jewel of inestimable value, our the pristine State of the Living spring, the land of Yoruba civilization and Oduduwa and fearful warlords like Ogedengbe, has now become the butt of jokes and ridicule, an object of poverty and pity in the hand of the ‘blue eyed boy’ of the ‘Progressives’!
We are tired of rumours and conjecture and we want hard facts!
This mystery has to be unraveled and cleared up now!
And daunting as the task of unmasking the cause of our perilous situation is, it is not altogether impossible, but it demands sincerity of purpose, courage and a huge dose of patriotism over self-interest.
As a matter of fact, ‘enlightened self-interest’ makes it doubly imperative that; this ‘august body’, rise to the defence of the State’s honour, otherwise, her onward hurtling and ‘progressive retrogression’ into anarchy which is being masqueraded as democracy, will soon sound her death knell and those of her dependants!
The unraveling of the mystery behind the alleged failure of governance in Osun has therefore become an imperative for the State Assembly members who arethe Constitutional watch dog and as the constitutional Instruments charged with the responsibility of applying checks and of balancing the activities of the two other Arms; of Government.
And it is fortunate that information technology as made the job of your goodselves much easier.
“Seek and ye shall find, ask and it shall be given onto Ye’ for there is “ nothing hidden, that shall not be revealed.”
Fun idi eyi nko, eni toba mo nkan fi pamo, ko ranti, eni to moowa, (which translated simply means, he that is skilled at hiding things should remember, he that is adept at finding things).
A cursory perusal of the information placed by the Federal Ministry of Finance; the Agency saddled with the responsibility of collecting and distributing from the pool all revenues and monies received by the Federation ( not being revenues or other moneys payable under the Constitution or any Act of the National Assembly into any other public fund of the Federation established for a specific purpose) in line with Section 80 of the Constitution, reveals that from its inception in November,2010 up until December, 2014,(2015 figures are yet to be published on the site), Aregbesola”s administration has received from the Federation account revenues substantially above the sum of #164.4 Billion added to this, is the sum of #43.6 representing the State’s IGR,during the period under review, with an equivalent sum accruing to the Local Government and also under the control of Mr. Governor by virtue of the Joint State and Local Government Account, added to which is the #61.441.711451.32 declared to have been allotted to the Osun States between 2011 and 2014 as contained in the publication sponsored in the Guardian Newspaper of Monday, May 25, 2015 at the instance of the Federal Ministry of Finance, in response to the demands by the Governors Forum that the then Minister of Finance and the Coordinator of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala render account for her management of the Excess Crude Account within the stated period, would then mean that Mr. Governor had received well over#269,485,705,758 on behalf of the state and an equivalent sum on behalf of the Local Governments within the period under review.
This information is readily available on the website of the Federal Ministry of Finance (budgIT, oagf and fmf) and predates Mr. Governor’s administration without any contradiction, amendments or disclaimer from the State Governments for several years now, as such there is a rebuttable presumption that they are factual and represents the true position until Mr. Governor presents forensic evidence to debunk the Federal Ministry of Finance” claims.
Therefore, Mr. Governor is deemed to have received on behalf of the State, and Local Governments, revenues well in excess of #538 Billion within the period under reference, therefore, the figures being currently being touted by Mr. Governor are cooked, manipulated, fallacious and fraudulent. They are undeniable evidence of corruption!
But in spite of all this huge earnings, and for no justifiable reasons, at least not justifiable before rationally thinking minds, coupled with the accumulation of foreign and local debts, Mr. Governor could still not provide the much touted infrastructures and to make matters worse, he couldn’t even discharge the simplest and least complicated of functions in governance, which is to maintain the civil service, pay Pensions, run Public Schools and Hospitals, and the maintenance of existing ‘Trunk B’ Roads.
Instead of fulfilling his promise of attracting direct investments into the state, all he did was to keep whining “Jonathan is owing me, Jonathan is stealing my oil”in order to divert attention from the fact that he was failing in all his promises and duties to the State, while all the time perpetrating fraud on the gullible and naïve ara-oke in Osun.
One could well imagine the effect, the transformation, had all that money been judiciously expended.Osun would most definitely not degenerated to this parlous condition, and the gratitude of the community towards Mr. Governor would have known no bounds!
The excuse now being given by Governor Rauf Aregbesola as published in the Punch Newspaperof Monday, the 8th of June, 2015, are nothing but an after-thought and shows a lack of sensitivity for the agony of the impoverished Civil Servants and pensioners alike, a lack of remorse for the many souls who have been hurriedly pushed into the beyond unprepared and a deliberate refusal to comprehend the enormity of his wanton mismanagement of the economy of the State.
The speech gives an unequivocal evidence, of his unrepentant attempt to continue deceiving the Osun State Community and Nigerians, at large, that all is well, whereas, and in actual fact, the State is regressing very quickly into a state of coma!
The explanation that his administration ran up so much debt because they wanted “to raise the level of Infrastructure in the State” can neither avail nor justify them, not in view of the unavailability of the said Infrastructures. Besides, the provision of infrastructures cannot be a justification for inflicting so much pain on the very persons for whom the infrastructures are meant.
The fact that Lagos State is owing hundreds of billions does not justify modest Osun following suit. And if she does, it will be evidence of her lack of good judgment and financial recklessness!
It has been argued that Osun’s debt profile is nowhere near the proportion being rumored. But that is begging the issue, for I make bold to say that it is not the quantum of loan that is the issue,rather, it is its effect on the State’s economy, and consequently on the security and welfare of its residents.
If those who are entrusted with machinery of governance accumulate debts under whatever guise, to a level whereby the welfare of the people being governed is threatened, they must be deemed to have acted in breach of their social contract with the people and in violation of their oath of office “to direct governmental policies for the security and welfare of the people” they have voluntarily undertaken to govern.
For what is security, but welfare?
Nothing creates a worse sense of insecurity in the human psyche, other than not knowing where one’s next meal will be coming from. Especially when one has not been lazy or indolent, and nothing debases a man more than inability to care for his family, and nothing can be more degrading or more humiliating than to be treated as a refugee in ones homeland because ones communal economy has been decimated by incompetence!
And I declare with earnestness and a deep sense of humility and responsibility that “welfare is security!”
Mr. Governor’s argument that salaries can only be paid from statutory allocations is also faulty, we demand that he substantiate his claim by giving the section of the law that so provides. In any event, all funds, all allocations and all expenditures are expected to be backed by legislation, and are statutory, otherwise, they are illegal!
Consequently, the admitted inability of Mr. Governor’s and his deputy to pay pensions, salaries and allowances for periods ranging from eight (8) to eleven (11) months now, as a consequence of their own decision to accumulate debts beyond the capacity of the States Internally generated revenue, whilst the very ‘role actors’ Mr. Governor and his deputy continue to enjoy their security allowances in hundreds of millions, is a violation of their oaths of office, that they will direct governmental policies for the security and welfare of the people”.
Their action in this respect is as illegal as it is immoral and unconscionable!
It is palpable evidence of their inability to discharge the functions of their office.
There is therefore no legal or moral basis for their continued stay in office.
Neglecting the welfare of members of the community under the guise of wanting to provide infrastructures, runs contrary to the teachings of Christthe Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth or Anabi Yisa if you please that “the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath”. The provision of infrastructures at the expense of human life’s and the dignity of the human persons’ is therefore repugnant to natural justice, equity, and good conscience and must be denounced as abominable!
It runs contrary to the teaching of Prophet Mohammed, may the peace of Allah be upon him!
It contradicts Principle 1 of the Stockholm Conference ( United Nations Conference on the Human Development) which States the conviction that:
“Man has the fundamental right to freedom, equality and adequate conditions of life, in an environment of a quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being…” how can persons who are owed between seven and eleven months salaries live life’s of dignity and well-being?
Development must be human centred and not the other way round. Governor Aregbesola’ ‘supposed development” at the expense of human beings therefore also contradicts Principle One of the United Nations conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro (the RIO Declaration) that: human beings are at the center of concerns for sustainable development, they are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.”
And most importantly, it runs contrary to the Constitutional provisions contained in Section 17(1) which stipulates that: The States’ social order shall be founded on the ideals of Freedom, Equality and Justice.
(2) (b)In furtherance of the social order-
The sanctity of human person shall be recognized and the dignity of the human person maintained and enhanced;
(c)Governmental actions shall be humane;
(d) Exploitation of human or natural resources in any form other than for good of the community, shall be prevented; and
(e) The independence, impartiality and integrity of courts of law, and easy accessibility thereto shall be secured and maintained.
16 (1) (a) to (d) of the Constitution.
And in achieving these ideals, the State shall direct its policy towards ensuring: the promotion of planned and balanced economic development;
That the material resources of the nation or State as In this instance, are harnessed to serve the common good; that the states’ economic system is not operated in such a manner as to permit the concentration of wealth or means of production and exchange in the hands of few individuals or of groups; and that suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum living wage, old age care and pensions, unemployment, sick benefits and welfare of the disabled are provided for all citizens.
Section 16 (2) (a) to (d) of the Constitution.
For the purpose of promoting national integration, it shall be the duty of the State to provide adequate facilities for and to encourage free mobility of people, goods and services throughout the Federation.
Section 23, Our “National Ethics” shall be founded on Discipline, Integrity, Dignity of Labour, Social Justice” Religious Tolerance, Self Interest and Patriotism. And that it shall be the duty of every citizen to among other things, “help to enhance the power, prestige and good name of Nigeria (and by necessary implication, her component States), defend Nigeria and render such national service as may be required;… make positive and useful contribution to the advancement, progress and wellbeing of the community wherein he resides…” section 24 (b) & (d).
For the Rule of Law without Justice is nothing but a sounding brass, hollow, empty, hypocritical, mere shenanigan and a sloganeering propaganda, calculated to deceive and totally lacking in substance, a farce!
But Instead of pursuing the noble ideals enshrined in our Constitution, the ideals of social order, and “ensure a just world economic order” and “universal brotherhood” Mr. Governor and his deputy are assiduously actively working against it, as exemplified by the cruel, and harsh debasement of pensioners and civil servants in deliberately and maliciously withholding their salaries for months on end, in an attempt to brow beat, subjugate to take away their God given free will, and reduce them to mindless robots, with herd mentality, devoid of the ability to take any decision for themselves and unable to assert or actualize themselves!
They have thereby also acted against the Laws of Nature that is ordained for the sustainable development of the human race and for Universal brotherhood!
That is the basis and motive for my call for a forensic and conscionable investigation of the deliberate, and therefore criminal mismanagement of the economy of our dear State, in a wanton, indifferent and unpatriotic manner, and for their cruel and inhuman treatment of our civil servants and pensioners alike, which has occasioned untoward hardship to; and is thereby undermining their dignity of human person, on a scale and on a level and proportion that amounts to depraved cruelty with malice aforethought.
And the grounds for my demand for the removal of the duo of Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola and his deputy, Otunba Titi Laoye Tomori for displaying an unimaginablyalarming level of incompetence in governance and for exhibiting the inability/ incapacity/ ineptitude in the discharge of the functions of their offices, and for insensitivity to the plight of the people they have undertaken to serve, altogether amounting to“grossly misconduct” on their parts and to“grave breaches” and “grievous violation” the our Constitution, pursuant to and consequent upon the provisions of sections 188 and 189 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
Mr. Governor and his deputy have acted in defiance of Section 206 that:
“There shall be for each State of the Federation a Civil Service.”
Therefore, maintaining a Civil Service for the State is not a luxury but is mandatory, a Constitutional obligation which Mr. Governor voluntarily took on when he took his oath of office, and the Civil Service is as important if not more so than the Office of a Governor and Mr. Governor cannot simply wish it away at his displeasure.
None payment of salaries and running costs to the Civil Servants equates none maintenance. And running a Government without the Civil Service is unconstitutional, illegal, a breach of Mr. Governor’s oath of office and as such amounts to Gross Misconduct.
None payment of salaries is an affront to the provision of Section 17 (2) has cited above.
Just as it is an affront to Section 34 which provides that:
(a) no person shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment;
(b) No person shall be held in slavery or servitude and
(c) No person shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.
The right topensions is also a Constitutional right as provided for under section 210 subsections (1) to (4) of the Constitution which stipulates that:
Subject to subsection (2) of the provisions of this section, the right of a person in the public service of a State to receive pension or gratuity shall be regulated by law.
(2) any benefit to which a person is entitled in accordance with or under such law as is referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall not be withheld or altered to his disadvantage except to such an extent as is permissible under law, including the Code of Conduct.
(3) Pensions shall be reviewed every five years or together with any state Civil Service Salary reviews whichever is earlier.
(4) Pensions in respect of service of a State shall not be taxed.
The payment of Pensions is further strengthened by paragraph
(2) (d) of Section 16 of the Constitution, which provides that;
“suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum living wage, old age care and pensions, unemployment, sick benefits and welfare of the disabled are provided for all citizens.
Consequently, the withholding or none payment of salaries and pensions for periods ranging from six to eleven months by Mr. Governor and his Deputy, it is inhuman treatment, unjust, unfair, repugnant to equity and good conscience cannot be justified under any excuse, (for even in war Government still give rations and Osun State is not known to be fighting any War) it amounts to a gross violation of the Constitution and a breach of their oaths of Office and as such, they are liable to removal pursuant to Sections 188 and 189 of the Constitution.
Nor can the excuse being offered that the wage bill of Osun rose from#1.4 billion (One Billion Four hundred thousand Naira) in November,2010 to become #4Billion (Four Billion Naira by 2015), for they are in office and paid to ensure that that does not happened.
If on Mr. Governor’s own admission, Prince Oyinlola handed over to him a wage bill of #1.4 Billion which it is presumed includes the salaries of Political Office holders at the relevant time, and the incubent within a period of less than five (5) years, he allows the wage bill to escalate to the tune of #4 Billion without at the same ensuring the generation of commensurate revenue, then he is simply giving evidence of his incompetence and inability to discharge the functions of the office and should either resign or be removed.
I do not see how the Civil servants or the Pensioners can be held responsible for that?
Had Mr. Governor increased salaries by a hundred percent, simple arithmetic shows that the wage bill would still not have gone beyond Two Billion Eight hundred Thousand Naira (#1.4Billion multiplied by 2 = #2.8 Billion only), and not #4 Billion as is being claimed by Mr. Governor, and he most definitely did not increase salaries by 100% not even by 5% across the board.
Therefore the guilt for the excessive wage bill must be place squarely at the doorstep of Mr. Governors, maladministration and over generosity with other people’s money. Only Mr. Governor deserves to take the blame for being profligate with our money, entrusted to him to be administered and distributed as best as possible to serve a common good and not for pursuing selfish expansionist and hegemonistic ideas.
And I hereby urge your honours to compel Mr. Governor to disclose to the good people of Osun the actual and authentic number of Civil servants in the State prior to and post November 26, 2010 and their emoluments as opposed to the figures used for his political shenanigans. Just as we demand to know the number and wage bill of the Political Office holders as at the 25th day of November, 2010.
We are also demand the number of Civil servants and Political office holders directly recruited by Mr. Governor himself, to join ‘the bloated’ work force of Osun and their emoluments to and post November, 26, 2010.
As this would apart from showing that Mr. Governor’s refusal to pay salaries and Pensions, is due to deep rooted resentment of civil servants and not just because of paucity of funds, (because Mr. Governor is fixated on the notion that the Civil servants and pensioners in the State did not contribute to his electoral victory,) the authentic figures will also show the monumental fraud being perpetrated on the State and will reveal the fact that Mr. Governor himself and no one else should be held responsible for any bloating that might have occurred in the States’ Civil Service.
It will show that it is Mr. Governors, indiscriminate penchant for pacifying his political associates and cronies with juicy appointments and employments at the expense of Osun, is to be held responsible for the bloated wage bill. and that any attempt to blame the civil servants for this is simply passing the bulk, and is not related to or connected with any appreciable improvement in the wage bill or standard of living of the Civil servants.
After all, Mr. Governor himself admits the fact that over 5000 civil servants had retired since he took over the reins of affairs, and joined the Pensions wage bill. Though am at a loss to see why that should be a problem for him, since pensions are always only a fraction of the pensioners salary whilst in office.
Methinks it should have been just a question of taking what is left over from the salary and adding it to the pension’s bill. I bet he will still have surplus funds from what ought to have been paid as salary.
Nor can he blame it on the institution of the “biggest welfare programme” in the Country, since his predecessor in office, equally ran a welfare scheme al be it on a more modest scale, provided Free Basic Education, and fed primary school pupils, kept the Schools opened, maintained Hospitals, built a Multi Campus University, built and maintained roads, and did managed to pay salaries and pensions!That particular scheme was known as welfare scheme was known as ‘Oyin Corp’ if my memory has not failed me.
Mr. Governor is hereby called upon to give the actual number of the ‘O’Yes Corp and total their bill. Contrary to the initial given figure of 20,000 (twenty thousand) am sure that not more than a handful of them remains in the scheme due to the slave wages that they are being paid and the fact that even the meager allowance is never paid as at when due but in a staccato manner, whenever their services are required to help win election!
May I also reiterate my earlier admonition to Mr. Governor that paying a Nigerian citizen any wage less than a reasonable minimum living wage as stated in Section 16 (2) is not merely unkind but is also a breach of the directive contained in that paragraph of the Section that:
the State shall direct its policy towards ensuring, suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum living wage, old age care and pensions, unemployment, sick benefits and welfare of the disabled are provided for all citizens.
Paying any Nigerian citizen below the national minimum wage which in any case is not a living wage (for how many persons can indeed live on #18,000) in today’s Nigeria) is really nothing to be proud of, and we should therefore stop celebrating mediocrity!
Nor can Mr. Governor blame anyone for his moribund ‘O’ Uniform Scheme, which was roundly criticized by all the citizens but which Mr. Governor insisted on, due to an agenda which he is yet to disclose but which is clear to every person of an average intelligence.
I for one have never seen the sense in giving primary school pupils free meals especially when Government cannot afford teacher’s pay, teacher’s development or simple chalks not to mention Instructional materials. What then should be the role of parents, just to contribute to the population without taking any responsibility? It is palpable evidence of inertia in thinking.This kind of policy breeds indolence and parental indiscipline, it will not augur well for the society, it is another example of poor judgment just as was the ‘O’ Uniform and the Opon Imo. A waste of our scarce and modest resources!
Nor can his decision to build a Cargo airport in Ido Osun be considered justified, not in the light of the fact that even the one sited in Ibadan, Oyo State a much bigger economy and commercial; is currently underutilized, and unviable. And more especially since both capitals are not distant from one another and in view of their historical antecedents.
As we speak, the proposed Cargo Airport remains a heap ‘fenced laterite’, and only crows land in it, in spite of the huge sums expended on it, money which could have more sensibly applied towards dualizing the Gbongan/Ibadan road and or the Osogbo/Ikirun/Ila-odo Kwara Boundry Road. That would most certainly have made life easier for residents of Osun State and would have eased transportation of goods as well as services.
Unfortunately, even Mr. Governor‘s admittedly lofty promise of building befitting good network of roads to connect the State as well as connecting the States with other State capitals have remained pipe dreams.
Only on bill-boards and on the internet have the roads been attractively but deceptively made available to residents and travellers. The expansion of the Gbongan/Osogbo Road which was commenced two years into the life of this administration remains in an unfinished and deplorable State.Ditto the Ikirun/ Ila-Odo Kwara boundary road.
The bridges on its Gbongan end, as well as its Osogbo end remains stumps.
The said roads though not wide were at least motorable and were being well maintained under Chief Bisi Akande and Prince Oyinlola’s administrations.
Travelling on either of the said roads have now become a harrowing experience and a journey to Ibadan which used to be done under an hour now takes a minimum of an hour forty-five minutes.
The much celebrated east/west Ring Road is also abandoned and if care is not taken, the gulley erosion appearing on its surface will soon become an ecological problem.
Yoruba bo won ni, Orisa bo ba le gbemi, jowo fimi sile boo se bami (ye god, if ye are unable to solve my problems, you should at least not make it worse)!
Our hospitals have been closed for months, due to none payments of salaries of doctors and medical personnel in the States’ employment, despite the provisions of Section 17(3) (c) that: the health, safety and welfare of all persons in employment are to be safeguarded and not endangered or abuse. Regrettably, in Osun, instead of Obama-care, we now have ‘O’ Death!
Yet Mr. Governor uses our resources to take himself and his family members abroad in search of the best medi-care nearly on a monthly basis, and expends our scarce resources on installation/impeachment of Governors in other States.To sponsor electioneering campaigns, finance his party’s, congresses etc.
I urge this Assembly to call upon Mr. Governor to disclose his health care bill and those of his deputy and their family members.
I declare without fear of any serious contradiction that Mr. Governors, act of literally ruling the State from Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Lagos is disloyal, neglectful and un-patriotic and is the direct cause of most of Osun’s problem.
To begin with, Mr. Governor, did not grow up in Osun, and as such could not really know or understand its people and their challenges as well as their hope and aspirations. And the general expectation was that, having ascended to the much coveted office, Mr. Governor will settle down quickly and apply himself to the duties and obligations which he voluntarily took upon himself, for there was no compulsion!
To our greatest misfortune however, Mr. Governor chose to spend his time globetrotting, and was ruling and has continued to rule the State and Its People at a distance like an emperor, like an army of occupation.
Little wonder then, that most of his ideas were like buildings, carefully constructed in a far of place, but to be installed for use in a different land, where the land is uneven and cannot be brought in harmony with the constructed buildings. Though admittedly idealistic, they almost invariable proved unrealistic and unfeasible, when put into practice in Osun, though they would most likely have worked in Lagos. But Osun is not Lagos,a facts which he would long since have discovered for himself if he had only bothered to stay in the State long enough and that, the aspiration of the average Lagosians is not the aspiration of a typical Osun man.
He has by his failure or willful refusal to understand the aspiration of Osun and her people exhibited a lack of concern for those he fought to rule over, and a lack of allegiance to Osun. His attitude shows a lack of concern for her and her people, hence his indifference to her fallen status.
And this runs contrary to the provisions of Section 15 (4) of the Constitution, to the effect that: The State shall foster a feeling of belonging and of involvement among the various peoples of the Federation (State) to the end that loyalty to the nation shall override sectional loyalty.
I cannot restrain myself from saying serves us right!
A people who entrust their collective destiny into the hands of talkers and boasters will sooner or later come to poverty and just as surely will a people who always look to foreign ideas, foreign customs and traditions to their local and homegrown problems will go into extinction!
I for one have not heard Mr. Governor passionately and vigorously denouncing or disputing this ignominious statement! And as we all know in our culture, silence is often taken to mean consent. And what makes it even more ominous is the fact that the dissemination of the information came through Mr. Governor’s own image launderers!
What is more annoying is the fact that more money went into publicizing all this thoughtless schemes, or should I have said ‘O’ Scams, and into erecting Mr. Governor’s self-idolizing and self-worshipping bill boards, aimed at brain washing the populace, than were actually expended on the schemes themselves.
And we hereby demand to know the figure expended by Mr. Governor on behalf of the State, on advertisement and publicity of his ‘O scams’.
Mr. Governor has also willfully refused and failed to conduct or allow elections to be conducted in the Third Tier of Government which is the Local Government because it suits him, and affords him the opportunity to expend and waste Local Government fund without let or hindrance? And all these acts were done in perverse disregard for the fact that Osun is a democracy and under Constitutional Rule? However, this has not stopped him for voting money annually under this head. He has continued to act in defiance of Section (7) subsection (1) that:
“The system of local government by democratically elected Local Government Councils is under this Constitution guaranteed, and accordingly, the Government of every State shall subject to section 8 of this Constitution, ensure their existence under a law which provides for the establishment, structures composition, finance and functions of Such Councils.”
Section 8 deals with the process of establishing and delineating new Local Government Councils.
Rather than guaranteed the existence of the existing Local Government Councils as mandated by the above quoted Section Mr. Governor has decimated debased the Local Government Councils to mere Local Government Areas and all in order to allow him freely plunder and pillage the local Government funds without any let or hindrance. Without transparency and accountability!
Mr. Governor is reputed to have asserted in his speech allegedly delivered on the floor of this assembly that” he has not “unnecessarily exposed the State”?
Ehen hen! What more unnecessary, denigrating and opprobrious exposure are we to expect? When it is a globally known fact that Pensioners are dying in their droves as a result of hunger and inability to procure medical care, when Civil Servants have turned to beggars and refugees in their own Country, that they are now living of the generosity and good will of the Christian Association of Nigeria and of their brethren in friendlier climes?
When Osun State workers have now become the butt of jokes, ridicule throughout Nigeria?
“Not unnecessarily exposed” when Osun State has been listed amongst the eighteen (18) bankrupt States in Nigeria, when her Courts have been shut and her residents and patrons denied access to Justice for more than Six months in consequence of Mr. Governor refusal to grant her Financial autonomy and to allow her maintain her impartiality and dignity of office, But of all the numerous sins of Ogbeni Aregbesola, his most grievous yet is his refusal to obey the order of Justice Adeniyi Ademola that States Judiciaries be granted ‘financial autonomy’ in compliance with the provisions of Section 162 (9) of the Constitution, that:
“Any amount standing to the credit of the judiciary in the Federation shall be paid directly to the National Judicial Council for disbursement to the heads of courts established for the Federation and the States under Section 6 of this Constitution”.
His deliberate stifling of the Judiciary of funds, coupled his refusal to pay the meager ‘Running Cost’ or and to pay Judges and Magistrates their Housing and Medical allowance or to give them serviceable official vehicles which has resulted in the closure of the States Courts in the last six (6) months amounts to the greatest betrayal and treachery of the ideals of democracy and consequently of the Rule of Law of which he is one of the greatest beneficiaries.
This deliberate strangulation of the Judiciary, the third Arm of Government and the bastion of Democracy and strong hold and defender of The Rule of Law remains the most grievous is a violation of the voluntary obligation undertaken by Mr. Governor to secure and maintain “the independence, impartiality and integrity of courts of law and easy accessibility thereto” pursuant to Section 17 (1) (e).
Mr. Governor’s treats his security allowance as a first line charge whereas there is no law that makes it so, yet neglects to satisfy the very ones that are declared as first line charges. What an anomaly!
It is done in wanton disregard, for the declaration contained in Section 84:
(1) There shall be paid to the holders of the offices mentioned in this section such remunerations, salaries and allowances as may be prescribed by the National Assembly, but not exceeding the amount as shall have been determined by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
(2) The remuneration, salaries and allowances payable to the holders of the offices so mentioned shall be a charge upon the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.
(3) The remuneration and salaries payable to the holders of the said offices and their conditions of service, other than allowances, shall not be altered to their disadvantage after their appointment.
The offices aforesaid are the offices of president, Vice president, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, president of