*
By Hon. Femi Oluwasanmi
The beauty of having an elder in the marketplace is the hope and assurance that disagreements and challenges can be resolved amicably whenever they arise. This expectation is often rooted in the wealth of wisdom and experience associated with old age, except in exceptional circumstances where the elder has lost the value of wisdom and impartiality.
This is why the commencement of the three-day warning strike by the Osun State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) today should serve as a clarion call to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene in the lingering Osun State local government fund impasse in order to demonstrate, in practical terms, that he is truly a father to all.
Local government is the third tier of government and the closest to the people at the grassroots. Its importance in the pursuit of meaningful development cannot be underestimated. In fact, it is arguably the tier of government that most closely reflects Abraham Lincoln’s definition of democracy because its existence and responsibilities revolve around the people. This is why it must not be pushed into the corner of recklessness, dysfunction, and endless political crises, as is currently happening in Osun State.
The local government crisis in Osun State has deprived residents of the benefits expected to accrue from the financial autonomy granted to local governments under President Tinubu’s administration. It has also almost rendered the essence of local government administration meaningless, as local governments in Osun State appear to be operating under a different set of rules from their counterparts in other states.
This is a serious embarrassment to our democracy and a contradiction of the oath the President swore to uphold at his inauguration in 2023, where he pledged to defend the Constitution and serve the nation without fear or favour.
While it is understandable that the issues have become entangled in legal complexities, one particularly disturbing aspect is the unprecedented demand for tenure elongation by the APC-Yes or No chairmen, despite the fact that such a demand appears inconsistent with the established provisions of our nation’s laws and Constitution, which remains the supreme law of the land.
However, this development is not entirely surprising, considering the biblical admonition that people are known by their fruits. *But while a leopard continues to behave like a leopard, must a lion also join it?* This remains a troubling question in the minds of many people who wonder why President Tinubu has yet to resolve this crisis, especially considering the political importance of Osun State to him and the public support for his re-election bid expressed by Governor Ademola Adeleke.
Let the President make no mistake: the Governor’s public declaration of political support is a good development but at the end it is the people who will decide. Besides, five minutes is a very long time in politics, particularly in a political environment where public opinion and human sentiments are constantly evolving.
For instance, those who will participate in the 2027 general elections include the family members, friends, and relatives of the workers affected by this crisis. This is why the commencement of the NLC’s three-day warning strike, accompanied by a promise to embark on the *”mother of all strikes”* if the local government allocations are not released, is particularly disturbing.
This situation ought not to be happening under the watch of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who promised to build a nation of progress and prosperity, with tangible improvements in the lives and livelihoods of its citizens. Building a prosperous nation is not merely about making political speeches; it is about taking practical steps that improve people’s welfare and restore their confidence in government, particularly the welfare of workers who have, for nearly two years, been denied access to their offices.
This prolonged denial has inflicted psychological trauma on the affected workers and continues to undermine their emotional and professional well-being. The situation is particularly troubling when one considers reports of the assault, intimidation, and humiliation of some local government workers by the APC Yes or No chairmen when they attempted to resume duties at their respective offices a few months ago.
In some of the videos circulated in the media, workers were reportedly ordered to kneel down, even in the presence of law enforcement officers who were expected to protect their fundamental human rights without fear or favour. Such incidents raise serious concerns about the protection of workers’ dignity, the rule of law, and the fundamental principles of democratic governance.
*This makes the present moment a critical one for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to demonstrate leadership, act as a father to all, and heal the wounds of the past by facilitating an amicable resolution of the lingering impasse.*
Beyond the plight of the affected workers, the damaging consequences of the legal and political deadlock on grassroots development in Osun State are immeasurable. Several projects that should ordinarily be executed by local governments have been stalled, due to the freezing of local government funds domiciled with United Bank for Africa (UBA).
Similarly, many local government councils that had begun experiencing renewed administrative and developmental activities in 2023 before the crisis erupted have once again slipped into a state of near-comatose. This is why it is difficult to understand why the impasse continues despite the Governor’s public declaration of support for the President.
The President must therefore rise above partisan considerations and intervene decisively. He must act as a father to all by ensuring that the rule of law prevails, workers’ rights are protected, local government administration is restored, and the people of Osun State are no longer made to suffer the consequences of an avoidable political crisis.
This is particularly important if the President wants the 1.5 million votes promised him by the Governor and other stakeholders in Osun State to become a reality.
As the Yoruba proverb aptly reminds us:
*”Agba ki wa lo ja ki ori omo tuntun ko wo.”* An elder must not be present in a market and allow the head of a newborn to be bend.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, this is the time to act. Osun State needs your fatherly intervention. The workers deserve justice, the people deserve development, and democracy deserves protection.
*ACT NOW, MR. PRESIDENT. TIME IS NOT WAITING.*
(Hon. Femi Oluwasanmi,
Former Aspirant, Osun State House of Assembly, Atakunmosa East/West State Constituency.)
