The people of Osun State, residents and indigenes alike, have lifted up their voices in one accord, groaning about the current governance of the state. The source of their agony and horrors can be linked to one man — state governor Ademola Adeleke. Known for being gifted with a pair of happy feet that can glide across any dance floor, it appears the governor’s feet are failing woefully in the task of leaving any remarkable footprints in the sands of time.
Lucky to have been named governor of the state, despite his underwhelming capacity to function in that office, after fractures within the APC, he has littered his government with nepotistic appointments while his son cavorts all over the place on scarce state funds. He appointed himself as Commissioner of Works. As if he did not have enough on his plate already as the governor of the state. Those who are in the state are sure that the portfolio actually belongs to someone of the fairer gender but that he is too afraid to appoint the person openly because his spate of nepotistic appointments is getting insufferable.
The people also lamented that the man they thought was exceptional has shown his exceptional lack of knowledge of public administration as he does not know the difference between a Commissioner and a Minister. During the swearing-in of his Commissioners, he declared one of them a Minister. This has led people to theorise that the man is a misfit in governance and he will feel more at home in a dance club than in a government house.
His appointment of a lawyer as Health Commissioner is as uninspiring as it would be if a medical doctor were appointed Attorney General of the state. It smacks of deep-seated contempt for the famed intelligence of the people of Osun. Governor Adeleke, however, governs with the same reckless and soulful abandon with which he hugs the limelight on dance floors. He appointed his late brother’s widow and son into governance without batting an eyelid, despite everyone noting that the nephew in question knows precious little about the appointment. It seems the governor does not care; his nephew will learn on the job.
Indeed, Osun state may effectively have two first ladies because sources have reported that the stepper-governor is also fiercely romantic and does not mind using state funds to treat his women nicely. Therefore, he has appointed aides for his two wives. This is the kind of thing people hear of in monarchies and there is no evidence that the governor knows Osun State is not monarchical by constitution. He just does as he likes, and he often likes wrongly.
His son, who is addressed among social circles as Sina Rambo, is probably more controversial than his father and attracts public scrutiny with his ostentatious expenditure of funds believed by many to be from the state’s coffers among other nebulous sources. His former lover, as careless as the Rambo she once loved, announced she was giving away her diamond ring after her separation from him. No one evidently took the ring, for everyone said it was a cursed heirloom.
Governor Adeleke may not be given to appreciating the finer points of governance and public administration but he really needs to slow down. He is living out his tenure hard and fast and there is no way any sane person in Osun will give him a second term with the way he is doing things. He has turned the state into his fiefdom and governs it now like an overlord while his son occasionally hands out ₦2000 on the streets. Osun state is not his personal estate and he should know that he will give account for all his appointments.