The Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on Tuesday reiterated that the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the presidential election in March was the culmination of the progressives struggles since the independence of Nigeria.
This was even as the Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, noted that Nigerians had faced the greatest challenge to their existence in the 15 years of misrule and maladministration of the Peoples Democratic Party and opted for Change to President Buhari of the All Progressives Congress in the last general election.
Aregbesola stated this while making his remarks as the Chairman of the first distinguished lecture of the Department of Political science and Diplomatic Studies of Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State.
Aregbesola stated that most of the sustained attacks against his person and government in the media was because he stopped the political machinations of the PDP in the South West.
The governor commended the University for fulfilling its role of idea generation and dissemination, through the interaction between town and gown.
He stressed that the emergence of Buhari is an idea whose time has come, adding that the President still won in spite of everything done to distract him before and during the campaigns.
Aregbesola recounted that after the APC lost Ekiti State governorship election last year, the evil machinery of the PDP, working in full tandem with all the security agencies, was moved to Osun State for the governorship election.
Aregbesola noted that the calculation then was that if Osun State could be seized, the whole of the South West would have be captured by the PDP.
According to him: “There has never been such an assemblage of military armada in a state in the history of Nigeria. By midnight of the day preceding the election, all notable leaders of our party had been picked up. It was a siege on the entire state.
“After I won the governorship election, it became clear that our party, the APC had become unstoppable and President Buhari would become president.
“We thank God that in spite everything, we are where we are today.”
Ajimobi, who was the Guest Lecturer at the event, observed that the election of President Buhari was the second attempt by Nigerians to crave for change.
He stated that the first attempt by Nigerians to vote for change was the June 12, 1993 election won by the late Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, which was unfortunately aborted by the military government of General Ibrahim Babangida.
The Governor argued that for a people to collectively opt for change, the socio-political situation in such a place must have been totally intolerable.
He said the hopes of Nigerians were very high when the country transited to civilian rule in 1999, but shortly afterwards the PDP-led administration thwarted the hopes and aspiration of the people by its ineptitude.
According to him: “No sooner had the PDP-led administration began governance than the trait exhibited by the potentates of the new government and the ruling party that midwifed the government could be seen as administrative ineptitude, lack of vision, unwarranted aggradisement cum corruption.
“However, the last straw that broke the camels back was the inability of the PDP-led government to guarantee safety of live and property. All these boiled down to bad leadership.
“Whereas, without effective and exemplary political leadership, stability and democracy will be elusive.”
Ajumobi added that the current financial crises all the states of the federation are going through was the manifestation of brazen corrupt tendencies of the previous administration at the federal level.
The Vice Chancellor of Bowen University, Prof. Matthews Ojo, in his welcome remark, said the university is strategic to the needs of the country.
Ojo disclosed that as the first Baptist University in Africa, Bowen is paying attention to the academic curricular of the school in order to churn out all-round graduates.
He commended the governor on the way he conducted his election petition tribunal in the most excellent and dignified manner.
The University don thumbed-up the governor for thoroughness in the presentation of his case at the tribunal, which later set the record for other election tribunals’ conduct across the country.
He said: “When we talk of excellence in administrative conduct, Governor Aregbesola epitomises this very well.
“And he demonstrated this during the election tribunal after the governorship election of August 9, 2014, which he won.”
The Vice chancellor said Aregbesola’s pursuit of his case has set the standards for future election petitioners in Nigeria.
Ojo said: “This is the kind of excellence that Bowen University is cultivating in its graduates. We pay attention to the socio-economic needs of our society by producing graduates with mental capacity to give Nigeria what it requires to drive it.”
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