State Creation: Aregbesola Preaches Peace, Hardwork, Virtue

In the midst of hate speeches and threats of evacuation by ethnic groups and heightened political unrest across the geo-political zones, the Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has joined believers of one strong and united Nigeria to condemn all forms or utterances and acts that are capable of ripping the country a party.

Aregbesola made this call Sunday morning in his address to mark the 26th anniversary of the creation of the state. Osun was created on 27 August 1991.

In the address entitled: ‘We Have Overcome,’ the Governor enjoined citizens of the state in particular and Nigeria in general to eschew all forms of anti-social behaviours and discriminations based on faith and ethnicity, for the nation to move forward as a united entity.

This was as he also issued a ‘wake-up call’ to Nigerians to prepare for an impending economic revolution, which wind is blowing across the world in the form of recession and the ongoing global efforts to discover a ‘new world economic order without crude oil,’ urging the people to be prepared both intellectually and spiritually so as to be able to stand up to the new development.

He averred that if the people unite, work assiduously, harness their God-given potentialities and pray fervently, the nation will overcome any challenges that come its way be it in mode of economic, political or social problems.

He said: “We should practice tolerance in religion, ethnicity and ideology and abhor any form of hatred or discrimination against anyone different from us in any social category. We should remain strong, united, unbroken and unbreakable, in the spirit of togetherness.

“We should show kindness, love and generosity of spirit and of our substance to others needing. We must love our neighbours just like ourselves.

“An economic transition is in the horizon in which our national dependence on oil will end as we know it. We should all brace up for this development by preparing spiritually and intellectually, using our God given endowment. Our faith in God and responsible use of our endowment will see us through. We will overcome any challenge we face. Our best is yet to come.”

He noted that the state must not detract from the path of greatness and development it is currently treading in and its people should more than ever before demonstrate virtues in all their dealings as well as cultivate the spirit of hard-work, loyalty, chivalry, honesty and courage.

 He asserted that the creation of Osun in 1991 was the realisation of the demand of the people for a state of their own, describing the birth of the state as ‘a dream come true,’ as it brought government closer to them and through which they have been experiencing human and infrastructure development and life more abundant.

According to him, 26 years after, it was time to assess how far the ship of the state has fared, not minding the present trajectory of the Nigerian state and her social and political evolution, adding that the state had, no doubt, gone through ups and downs, but it has remained strong and thrived under successive administrations.

Aregbesola stated that his administration, building on the achievements of the past successive government, had positioned the people to realise their greatest potentials by bringing them to the consciousness of who they are as Omoluabi (the virtuous people).

Taking stock of what the state has achieved so far, the Governor said: “Under our watch in nearly seven years, we have worked hard to establish a people-friendly government whose resources have been judiciously used for the development of the people in every area. Though we went through a daunting financial challenge occasioned by tumbling oil price, but we have steadied the ship of state, ushered in unprecedented peace, prosperity and human development.

“We have made agriculture to be important and assisted farmers to excel in their vocation and banish hunger as we promised during our campaign. We have invested huge sum in education and our brand new state-of-the-art schools are now the reference in quality and standard for others. Our social protection programmes like youth engagement and empowerment, women development and empowerment, care for the aged and care and rehabilitation of the destitute have won laurels and hoisted for others to duplicate.

“It is our fervent hope that the foundation we have laid would determine the course of events in the state for the next 50 years. This of course should be for good.

“I will therefore like to urge us all to continue on our journey to greatness and remain on that glorious path. We should more than ever before demonstrate virtues in all our dealings. We should be hard working, loyal, chivalrous, honest and courageous.

“I will like to thank you all for your support and unflinching faith in us. I thank most immensely the women and their groups, market women and men, traders, artisans, workers, active and retired civil servants, students, transporters, commercial motorcyclists, employers of labour, organised private sector, the business community, non-governmental organisations, community based organisations, youth organisations, security agencies, the media, political parties, traditional rulers, community leaders and religious organisations and their leaders.