This blog was created in other to air the views of the downtrodden in all spheres of life wherever they may be in the entire world. I am at the present time contacting and consulting with some contibutors for the blog which will eventually be opened to all. I have also decided to use the pen name "Aayekooto" (Truth is bitter) in all that comes out of my thoughts and my pen in realisation of the fact that "the truth is forever constant".
In today's contribution, my emphasis is laid upon the reason(s) why I believe that Senator Ibikunle Amosun of the Action Congress on Nigeria (ACN) political party should be made the Governor of Ogun State. I have tried to answer many questions from my friends on facebook(fb), twitter, linkedln, and some through phone calls and text messages but they have kept on coming and asking why I have kept "hitting hard" on our leaders and my simple response has always been because "our leaders have failed us". I have been in the UK for almost seven years and have travelled far and wide in Europe and America and ably realised that most of these nations do not have 1/10th of what Nigeria possesses in terms of human and financial resources, yet, these nations are acclaimed to be successful. This is mainly due to the vision and commitment of their past leaders who laid solid foundation of which the present leaders must continue with. To answer some of the concerned people through this medium, I have never for once had the thought or mindset of being a politician however, I cannot deny the claim that I am a political animal like every one else. I have therefore continued to pray to God to give me the opportunity through whatever means to be able to give help, no matter how small, to the common man on the street. This will definitely not be easy for me to achieve if I am a politician belonging to a party and needing to be guided by the party rules especially in a country like Nigeria where we have the mindset of "winner takes all" or "wait for your time syndrome". I have therefore found this medium as a starting point of achieving this objective. I have also looked at myself as being like a set of traffic lights and of being different person to different people at different times. I am therefore very mindful of my thoughts and actions when making contributions on a place as open as the facebook that reaches millions of people within a tinkle of an eye.
On the political situation in Nigeria, a lot of us in diaspora have come together to help and draw attention in different ways on the happenings in Nigeria and on how we can contribute positively in making democracy work in our country without making too much noise about them and this has worked till date. On my part, I have chosen to use the area of which I am an expert in and that is in the management of Information Technology tools that include devices and services of which internet is one. The reason for my using this blog and social media at all times even under very tight schedules.
Today, I have also decided to break one of the moral codes I set for myself at the start of making contributions on the social media fora by not canvassing for votes for any candidate in this year's general election, but to continue to use the information at my disposal to analyse the situations and inform the public in determining who they might want to choose to lead them, however, the problems in Ogun State over the years, months, weeks, and days need no longer be over-emphasised and this has made me to change this code even if only for this election and even at this eleventh hour. The problems of the state have gone beyond any form of description. The "Gateway State" has been turned upside down and it has suddenly become a "Lawless State" or the "Gateway to Lawlessness State" of which the rulers and leaders have completely lost their focus on the needs of the people. The likes of the Noble Laurette, Professor Wole Soyinka who is also from the state once described the crisis in the state as follows "I have made enquiries to assure myself that this is not a deliberate fabrication to bring a supposedly progressive state into international ridicule and make a laughing stock of the indigenes of that state. I happen to be a citizen of the affected state and I wish to state categorically that this cannot, and must not, be allowed to stand. I call on the citizens to ensure that democracy is restored"(This was when the minority 9 members of Ogun State House of Assembly torpedoed the leadership of the majority membership of 15 to claim leadership of the House). The situation rather than changing became worse till date. Some other people have also raised their voices but all to no avail. The information gathered in the last 72hours made some us to believe that it is no longer wise to keep quiet on who people should vote for to govern Ogun State for the next 4 years. At the present time, we have many candidates and amongst those jostling for the post are the visible three, namely, Senator Ibikunle Amosun of ACN, Chief Tunji Olurin of PDP, and Chief Gboyega Isiaka of PPN. The information we gathered on them informed that they are all credible candidates. However, with the way things are and where they belong and the vision expected from them in governing Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun is definitely the best and my choice is based upon some indices gathered through different fora.
This blog in not meant to examine the governship style, the person, or various contributions of the out-going governor, Chief Gbenga Daniel as that will definitely be done at the appropiate time. It is however meant to look at the information at hand and share with the good people of the State especially those who are still undecided on whom to cast their votes for; by deciding that at a time like this, Ogun State need somebody who is young, humble, competent, dedicated, have proper knowledge of the state, have vision that could be shared with others about the state and all-in-all, must be a leader that is accomodating and a manager who is prudent in the management of human and financial resources. These all might not be found in any of the candidates as they all have their strenghts and weaknesses. Recent comments from the likes of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo about Senator Ibikunle Amosun of being the best candidate amongst the lot cannot be wished away. Chief Obasanjo went further to say that the ACN governorship candidate in Ogun State can offer good leadership. That comments to me, is a pass mark to the candidature of an opposition party. When compared with what Chief Obasanjo has to say about his former political son and now the out-going Governor of the State, Gbenga Daniel came to me and asked to go for a second term in 2007, I asked him what he had done to merit it. I told him to go and find a solution to the problems he created in the state to which he promised me he would do in his second term. But his second term is worse than his first. Chief Obasanjo is further quoted as saying that Governor Gbenga Daniel has been a great disservice to Ogun State. He failed to connect with the people in the last four years and could not possibly annoint a successor to take over the reins of leadership. This statement not only affected the out-going Governor but also his annointed political candidate Chief Gboyega Isiaka. Another source further informed that Chief Gbenga Daniel accepted that Chief Isiaka could be told to step down from his position alongside some others from PPN political party if offered Federal positions by the PDP political party. This created an image of a candidate that is not ready to take on the mantle of leadership of the state. As for the candidature of Chief Olurin of the PDP, Chief Obasanjo, his promoter, has confirmed that he is not as good as Senator Amosun by his ealier statement. More importantly, age is not on his side for a state as vibrant as Ogun State; though with due respect, I am a believer in giving due respect to our men and women in the Armed forces that have served and are still serving the nation in various capacities of which Chief Olurin is one.
Finally, Ibikunle Amosun having being a former Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria definitely have some knowledge about Ogun State and being a Chartered Accountant like his counterpart Gboyega Isiaka, he must be assumed to be competent in financial management. The most important index is the acceptability of Amosun by the generality of the people without being anybody's lackie. I will therefore recommend his candidature to every voter in Ogun State for a better and brighter future that could be guaranteed.
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