Podium ReportersPodium Reporters
  • Home
  • News
  • Economy
    • Global
    • Nigerian
  • Education
  • Politics
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Europe
    • Finance
    • Nigeria
    • US & Canada
    • World
  • Science
    • Health
  • Lifestyle
    • Entertainment
      • Comedy
      • Ent & Arts
      • Film & Drama
      • Music
      • videos
    • Homes
    • Luxury
    • Media & Culture
  • Sports
  • Others
    • About us
    • Get In Touch

Subscribe to Updates

Get daily mail of the latest news from the Podium Reporters

[email-subscribers-form id="1"]
What's new

Tinubu’s election free and fair, sign of Nigeria’s enduring democracy – Washington Post

22 March 2023

Victory not just mine, but every Lagosian — Sanwo-Olu

20 March 2023

INEC declares Sanwo-Olu winner of Lagos Guber polls

20 March 2023
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • Tinubu’s election free and fair, sign of Nigeria’s enduring democracy – Washington Post
  • Victory not just mine, but every Lagosian — Sanwo-Olu
  • INEC declares Sanwo-Olu winner of Lagos Guber polls
  • 24 hours to Lagos Guber polls, leadership dispute over LP ‘legitimate’ candidate lingers
  • FIRS Signs MoU with UK’s HM Revenue and Customs For Collaboration On Capacity Building
  • NASS leadership: Group roots for Hon. Sada Soli as Reps Speaker
  • Leaked letter from Tinubu’s camp shows president-elect wants to build bridges, reconcile aggrieved individuals
  • ‘Defeat, part of politics; perish thought of self-exile’, Tinubu tells Bode George
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Wednesday, March 22
Podium ReportersPodium Reporters
Demo
  • Home
  • News
  • Economy
    • Global
    • Nigerian
  • Education
  • Politics
    1. Asia
    2. Africa
    3. Europe
    4. Finance
    5. Nigeria
    6. US & Canada
    7. World
    8. View All

    ISWAP KINGPINS ALI KWAYA, BUKAR MAINOKA AND OTHERS NEUTRALIZED IN NAF AIR STRIKES AT BELOWA NEAR LAKE CHAD

    7 November 2022

    End of the road for Odinga as Supreme Court affirms Ruto’s victory

    5 September 2022

    Gov. Sanwo-Olu named Tuberculosis eradication champion, rolls out state plans for TB

    26 August 2022

    Ghana Cedi confirmed world’s worst-performing currency as country battles worsening economic crisis

    18 August 2022

    Breaking: Queen Elizabeth II is dead

    8 September 2022

    Naira redesign to have positive impact on the economy – Experts

    27 October 2022

    FG will stop paying petrol subsidy June 2023 – Minister

    22 August 2022

    Victory not just mine, but every Lagosian — Sanwo-Olu

    20 March 2023

    INEC declares Sanwo-Olu winner of Lagos Guber polls

    20 March 2023

    24 hours to Lagos Guber polls, leadership dispute over LP ‘legitimate’ candidate lingers

    17 March 2023

    ‘Defeat, part of politics; perish thought of self-exile’, Tinubu tells Bode George

    15 March 2023

    Ogun Amotekun arrest man with bloodstained pants

    13 October 2022

    UNGA77: I’ll leave behind credible election in 2023 – Buhari 

    22 September 2022

    Buhari pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

    9 September 2022

    Tinubu’s election free and fair, sign of Nigeria’s enduring democracy – Washington Post

    22 March 2023

    Victory not just mine, but every Lagosian — Sanwo-Olu

    20 March 2023

    INEC declares Sanwo-Olu winner of Lagos Guber polls

    20 March 2023

    24 hours to Lagos Guber polls, leadership dispute over LP ‘legitimate’ candidate lingers

    17 March 2023
  • Science
    1. Health
    2. View All

    Kogi Reference Hospital: Yahaya Bello’s Pure Genius

    28 April 2022

    Kwara hosts 22 APC States’ meeting on improving healthcare access

    26 August 2021

    Distinction: Sanwo-Olu Gets A+ Rating In Covid-19, Security, Infrastructure – Report

    10 August 2021

    Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s Coronavirus Press Statement

    11 July 2021

    FACT CHECK: Video of Elon Musk endorsing Obi fake, part of dangerous disinformation campaign

    31 August 2022

    Metaverse ecosystem market to hit $2t by 2030

    3 August 2022

    Navigating Virtual Market in an African Context by Babatunde Adekanmbi

    10 July 2022

    Kogi Reference Hospital: Yahaya Bello’s Pure Genius

    28 April 2022
  • Lifestyle
    1. Entertainment
    2. Comedy
    3. Ent & Arts
    4. Film & Drama
    5. Music
    6. videos
    7. Homes
    8. Luxury
    9. Media & Culture
    10. View All

    ‘I want my old life back’, BBNaija star, Phyna cries out

    15 March 2023

    Cubana Chief Priest endorses Sanwo-Olu for second term

    6 March 2023

    I didn’t collect money from any candidate — Toyin Abraham

    21 February 2023

    Rema returns with two new songs for 2023

    17 February 2023

    Photos: Banky W, Adesua finally reveal son

    17 September 2022

    SSANU, NASU call off strike after meeting with FG

    20 August 2022

    Sanwo-Olu Inspects 1,188-unit Sangotedo Housing Project, Sets Deadlines for Commissioning

    17 September 2021

    Did you know? – Perfumery edition

    10 August 2022

    Do You Know Who Wore the First Lipstick?

    10 August 2022

    Nigeria’s database increased by 150% in three years, Pantami recounts success of NIM

    17 September 2022

    Nigeria, Qatar set for partnership over cultural promotion

    7 September 2022

    Ooni of Ife marries new wife, Mariam

    7 September 2022

    FACT CHECK: Video of Elon Musk endorsing Obi fake, part of dangerous disinformation campaign

    31 August 2022

    ‘I want my old life back’, BBNaija star, Phyna cries out

    15 March 2023

    Cubana Chief Priest endorses Sanwo-Olu for second term

    6 March 2023

    I didn’t collect money from any candidate — Toyin Abraham

    21 February 2023

    Rema returns with two new songs for 2023

    17 February 2023
  • Sports
  • Others
    • About us
    • Get In Touch
Podium ReportersPodium Reporters
Home » News » Osun 2022: Not the time for a dancing mascot
Nigeria Updated:5 August 2022

Osun 2022: Not the time for a dancing mascot

By Adekunle13 July 2022No Comments19 Views5 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Reddit WhatsApp

By Peter Adeshina

The main challenger in the Osun Governorship election, PDP’s Ademola Adeleke, parades himself as the harbinger of light, his campaign slogan being “imole de”, a Yoruba phrase that translates to the light is here. But his plans and vision for the state lack clarity and illumination.

At campaign stumps and during media rounds, he has stuttered and floundered, failing to articulate any real point as to why he deserves a shot as Governor, not even with the support of prepared notes, an almost clownish feature of his media appearances that all but reveal his astonishing inability to convey even the most basic understanding of his supposed policy actions extemporaneously.

Surely a serious candidate for the high office of Governor should be able to answer questions on the important matters of education, finance, and infrastructure without a constant glance at a prepared note every five seconds. His observed failure in this regard underlines an alarming ideas deficiency.

One is reminded of an exchange he had with a prominent aide to a former Speaker of the Senate during which he completely ceded policy proposals to the young man, unable to assert himself in the conversation, thus confusing the public on who the actual candidate was. A man who cannot demonstrate thought leadership in an exchange with young aides is definitely not one who should be placed in charge of a state.

Besides, it is clear that if Ademola Adeleke does indeed have ideas for governance, they were most likely sourced from external sources who perhaps didn’t care enough to familiarize him with them. And if he has no understanding of these ideas let alone ways to execute them, how exactly does he intend to set governance goals, assess performance and lead a cabinet?

Contrast this comical mess with the campaign of the incumbent Governor Gboyega Oyetola who has premised his appeal for another term on his faithful devotion to his ‘Ileri Oluwa’ pledge to continue and expand the revamp of the critical sectors of the state and, through the facilitation of new growth and economic investments, fortify it against external shocks that hitherto crippled ambitions and threatened state obligations to the main drivers of the economy.

Determined in his goal to wean the state off the perilous reliance on federal allocations, particularly at a time when oil’s decline in the global markets cut the country’s earnings and hamstrung the federal government, Governor Gboyega Oyetola signaled positively to the private sector and global investment community with the state’s first-ever International Economic and Investment Summit where he advertised Osun’s economic potential and reiterated his administration’s commitment to enabling the flourish of private enterprise.

It wasn’t just rhetoric. The Oyetola-administration did more than any other administration in Osun since 1999 to cut red tape and attract private capital inflow through strategic and targeted investments that directly addressed the concerns of private investors.

As a result, Osun moved up 11 places in the Nigeria Subnational Ease of Doing Business Ranking and ranked 3rd, behind only Lagos and Abuja, as the state with the highest capital inflow in 2021 ($29.9million), according to the NBS.

The investments and the accompanying uptick in economic activities created meaningful and dignified jobs and opportunities for young residents of the state and led to a significant reduction in the poverty rate. Indeed, Osun state under Governor Gboyega Oyetola posts a poverty headcount ratio of 8.25%. Only two states can boast of a lower headcount in the entire country.

Additionally, the arrival of the private capital and the productive engagement of its youthful population has strengthened government finances. Osun’s annual internally generated revenue, an indicator of the health of its economy and government administrative competence, grew to over 21BN in 2021 from 17BN in 2019.

With the additional revenue, the administration increased its investments in education, health, MSMEs, and critical infrastructure. For instance, Osun State devoted over 17% of its annual budget to health in 2021, the highest percentage by any state in the country and a record figure in the history of the state. For those who may shrug cynically that budget proposals are simply proposals, Osun state recorded a budget performance of 86.48% in 2021, up from 58% in 2018.

Backlog of pension debts inherited by the administration are cleared monthly, new schools are being built, frustrating queues at public hospitals are disappearing – due to the construction of new PHCs, particularly in rural communities where access represented a serious challenge. The state has undergone a remarkable shift borne of a serious approach to governance and outstanding fiscal discipline.

Yet Ademola Adeleke wants to halt this forward motion. All for what? A misplaced conviction derived from his ability to take the dance floor and familial ties with a famous celebrity. Unfortunately for him, dancing as a skill ranks very low in the consideration for public office, otherwise Micheal Jackson would have been president of the world, succeeded at death by Usher Raymond.

Nigeria and indeed Osun State must manage an uncertain period wrought by a pandemic that continues to rankle in the Global North to unabating inflation and persistent supply chain disruptions that affect local trade and economic growth. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine also looms large with serious consequences for food supply and global trade. The country is the middle of an important conversation on its governance architecture. This moment calls for serious and skillful government management, not clownery. It is not the time for a dancing mascot.

–
Peter Adeshina is a member of the APC Media and Publicity Subcommittee for the Osun 2022 Governorship Election.

APC Buhari Governor Oyetola Osun 2022 Osun STATE PDP Senator Adélékè Tinubu trending
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Telegram Email WhatsApp

Related Posts

03 Views

Tinubu’s election free and fair, sign of Nigeria’s enduring democracy – Washington Post

22 March 20232 Mins Read
00 Views

Victory not just mine, but every Lagosian — Sanwo-Olu

20 March 20233 Mins Read
00 Views

INEC declares Sanwo-Olu winner of Lagos Guber polls

20 March 20231 Min Read
Add A Comment

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Demo
Top Posts

EXCLUSIVE: Obi agrees to deal to clear path for Atiku’s emergence

26 August 202222K Views

“We have no record of crime against Tinubu” – US declares, falsifies drug dealing allegations

8 November 202211K Views

“Yorubas are from lineage of traitors and cowards, will soon be landless” – Kennena Eloka, prominent Obi supporter, fumes on social media

8 October 20227K Views

Uproar as Obi demands over N1M in gate fees to address Nigerians

4 September 20226K Views
Lifestyle
Entertainment

‘I want my old life back’, BBNaija star, Phyna cries out

By Victor Fola15 March 20231 Views

Big Brother Naija Season 7 winner, Ijeoma Josephina Otabor aka Phyna has yearned for her…

Cubana Chief Priest endorses Sanwo-Olu for second term

6 March 2023

I didn’t collect money from any candidate — Toyin Abraham

21 February 2023

Rema returns with two new songs for 2023

17 February 2023
Find us on social media folow
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest news from us.

Demo
About
About

It is our belief that the growth of any society depends on the quality of its journalism. We live up to this ideal by providing factual and full information on politics, sports, entertainment and culture so citizens can make informed decisions and act in defence of the truth.

Facebook Twitter
Recommended

Tinubu’s election free and fair, sign of Nigeria’s enduring democracy – Washington Post

22 March 20232 Mins Read

Victory not just mine, but every Lagosian — Sanwo-Olu

20 March 20233 Mins Read

INEC declares Sanwo-Olu winner of Lagos Guber polls

20 March 20231 Min Read
Most Popular

EXCLUSIVE: Obi agrees to deal to clear path for Atiku’s emergence

26 August 202222K Views

“We have no record of crime against Tinubu” – US declares, falsifies drug dealing allegations

8 November 202211K Views

“Yorubas are from lineage of traitors and cowards, will soon be landless” – Kennena Eloka, prominent Obi supporter, fumes on social media

8 October 20227K Views
© 2023 The Podium Reporters. Designed by Marvelworx Limited.
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Science
  • Sports

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.