By Dr. Jimoh Olorede
The word “politics” has been variously defined by different political scientists and scholars across the globe from varied but similar perspectives. The concept has always been similarly defined as the “activities that relate to influencing the actions and policies of a government or getting and keeping power in a government.”
Absurdly, some politicians in Nigeria misconceive the concept and context of politics as “ …getting and keeping power, at all cost, in a government,” and the misconception presupposes their propagandistic disposition to politics in Nigeria. This explains why Nigerian politics is characterized by propaganda, politicking, falsehood, machination, conspiracy, intrigue, scheme, shrewdness and mischief. To be a good politician in this part of the world, you must be good at all these! Unfortunately, this obviously is the bane against the boon of Nigerian politics and the nation’s nascent democracy.
This is exactly what the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman in Osun State exemplifies and typifies as evident in his leadership disposition and activities, not only aiming at influencing the actions and policies of Ademola Adeleke led-government, but also and more especially aiming at keeping and retaining his party in power at all cost.
It’s however disheartening that Hon. Bisi believes the only way to ensure his party’s retention of power and perpetuation in government of Osun State is by continually disparaging, defaming, blackmailing and assassinating the character of the immediate-past governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, who is now Hon. Minister of Marine and Blue Economy.
On many occasions, I have heard Hon. Sunday Bisi field questions from journalists, and feed them lies. Initially, I didn’t bother. But what I heard him say during a broadcast (radio) personality interview programme in Osogbo recently about the former governor, and the “sale,” according to him, of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Ogbomosho, attracted my attention, as it was bizarre and baffling!
Hon. Bisi’s busy business of propagandistic politics is obviously bizarre and maliciously inclined to harm the personality of Oyetola. Responding to questions from the interviewer on the radio programme, he alleged Oyetola to have sold Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Ogbomosho, an institution formerly jointly owned by Oyo and Osun States, for the sum of 8 billion!
As an educationist and someone who knows Oyetola very well and his love for education, I launched and conducted an independent investigative research into the dissolution of the 30-year-old Oyo-Osun joint ownership of LAUTECH. Contrary to Hon. Bisi’s baseless and spurious allegation, the outcome revealed the joint-ownership saga as an intricate, complicating and complex issue, which took the ingenuity, conflict-resolution skill and mastery as well as friendly disposition of the former governor Oyetola to thwart its degeneration into violent conflict between the two states. In actual fact, the joint-ownership was mutually and amicably dissolved by the two owner states for obvious reasons.
In November 2020, the National University Commission (NUC) announced the dissolution of the joint ownership of the institution by Oyo and Osun States. According to the Executive Secretary of the NUC, Abubakar Rasheed, at a Press Conference in Abuja, “It is gratifying to note that after extensive deliberations, negotiations, and consultations, both owner states mutually agreed terms and the joint ownership of LAUTECH was formally dissolved.” With the involvement of the relevant stakeholders and mutually transparent process of the dissolution, how could Oyetola have singlehandedly sold the university as alleged by Hon. Sunday Bisi?
It’s an indisputable fact that LAUTECH had been in crisis over the years, as far back as during the administration of Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola of Osun State with Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo State, duo of whom, as shown in the available records, had reached an agreement to separate the ownership of the university before it was stalled, almost at the verge of implementation, when APC took over the mantle of leadership in Osun State on November 27, 2010, via a Supreme Court pronouncement. As a Special Adviser or Assistant to ex-governor Oyinlola, and current party Chairman, Hon. Sunday Bisi would be mischievous if he claims ignorance of these facts!
As revealed by investigation, it was in the interest of the students and the management of the university that the institution be born, borne and owned by just one parent rather than two, who may not be compatible thus creating problems every time. There was lopsidedness, disparity and inequality in the fiscal contribution and commitment by the two states, resources distribution, organisation, structure and management of the University. These always led to crisis resulting in poor funding, incessant workers’ strike, students’ riots and closure of the university. It was always a case of a bird perching on rope; uneasy lies the rope hosting the bird, uneasy lies the bird perching on the rope. This scenario was the main remote and immediate cause precipitating the dissolution of the joint ownership of LAUTECH, as against Osun PDP Chairman’s shameless, baseless and spuriously malicious allegation.
To be continued…
Dr. Olorede, a strategic communication expert and media professional, writes from Osun via oloredejimoh@gmail.com/08111841887.