The Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola last Wednesday said he has laid the foundation for the state’s next 50 years in just 6 years.
The Governor who was the Guest Lecturer at City People Magazine’s 20th Special Anniversary Lecture, Titled: My Experience as Governor in the Past 6 years, stressed stated that he has no doubt that the seed he has sown will yield bountiful harvest for individuals and the state in the foreseeable future.
Aregbesola noted that the historical mission of his administration is to liberate the masses from the clutches and stranglehold of the few, by empowering them majorly through education, health and minimum resources needed for survival, thereby freeing their creative ability.
He said the mission of his administration has been to free those who are bound and make them to run on their own, without holding down those who are strong enough to also run on their own.
He added that through this the talents and creativity of both the strong and the weak will be let loose and there will be wealth creation and life more abundant for all. He said. “I am not a starry-eyed communist”.
“My mission has been to free those who are bound and make them to run on their own, without holding down those who are strong enough to also run on their own. “In this way, the talents and creativity of both the strong and the weak will be let loose and there will be wealth creation and life more abundant for all”.
Aregbesola recalled how he gathered his political wisdom and will by studying and working closely with great political figures such as the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Bola Ige, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and a host of others. He also recounted how he began building his political and administrative skills right from his days as a student unionist in school and as well when he was the Commissioner for Works in Lagos for eight years. “I was privileged to have horned my political and administrative skills, beginning with my student unionism days, culminating in my serving for eight years as Commissioner for Works in Lagos State under my mentor and leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in a progressive, visionary and people oriented administration that ushered in unprecedented prosperity and laid the foundation for the metastasizing of Lagos into the sixth largest economy in Africa”.
He described the people of the state as a wonderful set of people that have always showed great courage and steadfastness even in the midst of serious intimidation and economic hardship. The Governor stressed that the infrastructural development around the state have always been the motivating factor of the people towards supporting the present administration in the state.
Accoding to him,”The people of Osun are very wonderful people. They are fiercely loyal and courageous people. When you earn their trust they stand with you without flinching.”
“They have also showed great understanding and cooperation in the face of the grimmest financial challenge we faced. The workers of the state government, in particular, deserve special commendation. They have demonstrated fidelity and sacrifice in our greatest time of need”. “The people have displayed Omoluabi ethics of the highest order when the opposition flooded the state with cash, during the election. They collected their money and other gifts as we directed them but they refused to vote for them. They voted for principle”. “They will always be in my heart and any opportunity I have to serve them again, I will take it with both arms. “I have been privileged to affect the state by raising the standard of living of the people. For us, all our programmes, policies and activities since we came to office have been with the intention to eradicate poverty and create wealth for all our people”.
“Our six point integral action plan of Banishing Poverty, Banishing Hunger, Banishing Unemployment, Restoring Healthy Living, Promoting Functional Education and Enhancing Communal Peace and Progress are designed to lift the condition of our people from poverty stricken to being wealthy”. He emphasised.
The governor said as part of his sacrifice for the state, he has collected no salary since becoming governor. Publisher of the City People Magazine Mr. Seye Kehinde said the choice of Osogbo as venue of the 20th anniversary lecture was borne out of the conviction that “many great things are happening in this state.” The publisher said his Organisation had followed Aregbesola’s development strategies over the years and concluded that he has evolved a governance strategy that has given Nigeria as a whole to emulate.
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