It makes an interesting reading going through the piece of advertorial
placed in several newspapers by the governor of Osun state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola most recently. All his claims in the piece were of utmost interest to an average indigene and resident of the state, but personally, the most striking was his claim to abhorrence of lawlessness and impunity in governance.

The most important thing that a government should do, we all know, is to keep the law, peace and protect the lives and properties of the citizens. It is amusing that the governor was at such great pains to explain that his government is doing what it ought to be doing in the first place.

If the Oyinlola/PDP government had been effective in its duties, especially this one that is sacrosanct, what would be the need for spending the Osun tax-payers money to stressfully say it is doing what ought to have been done?

While the governor is at liberty to make claims suitable to him and extricate himself from allegations made against his ward and himself, on the wanton killing of Chief Ade Komolafe, his conducts at times, and that of his cohorts, agents, aides and party men leaves much to be desired as far as lawlessness and encouraging impunity are concerned.

It would not be out of place for readers to naturally ask for justification/s for submissions as above and I will proceed to provide just that now.

Some time late last year, there was uproar on the small size billboards of the Action Congress (AC) governorship candidate, Engr. Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola erected across some towns in the state by some of his admirers.

As it has become the norm, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) elements around, perhaps including the governor felt uneasy and unhappy that Aregbesola’s face is adorning the streets once more. As usual, something, more of evil machination/s has to be done about it. So, one evening in the month of November, one Akin Baluga Tailor, a Supervisory Councillor (now on suspension) in Osogbo Local Government Council led some thugs to destroy and burn some of the billboards in Osogbo township.

To put the official seal of government of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola on that brigandage, the following morning, the then commissioner for Environment, one Kassim Adio led officials of his ministry to attack, destroy and burn Aregbesola billboards at the popular Orita Ola-Iya junction in Osogbo.

When the people of Osun State were complaining loudly of the intolerance exhibited by the Oyinlola government on this matter, and in the light of similar matters that had occurred in the past, Adio, the commissioner who led the assault justified his action by alleging the Aregbesola people of not paying tax before erecting the billboards. He said there is a law, which required payment of tax in that regard. Adio added that the Oyinlola government was losing revenue with the erection of billboards without payment, as was the case with the Aregbesola billboards.

In reaction to this claim by the Oyinlola commissioner, Aregbesola’s friends who erected the billboards went, the following day to the Ministry of Environment to inquire how much they were to pay. They waited in the ministry for the whole day in vain. Nothing was given to them.

It is important to let it be known that until the Aregbesola billboards surfaced in recent time, nobody in Osun State ever spoke of payment of tax for billboards. Really, the billboards installed by all parties, including Oyinlola/PDP ones, during the 2007 electioneering campaign were not charged for any tax payment. The only remarkable thing then was that the billboards of Aregbesola were massively destroyed across Osun State by identifiable PDP thugs, apparently working with the official assurance that nothing will happen to them

Much more fundamental in the recalled instance, is the question of having to destroy the Aregbesola billboards as the panacea to collecting taxes due on them, especially when the destruction team was led by the Oyinlola commissioner himself in the full glare of the public. If it is true that the Oyinlola government is interested in collecting tax on the billboards, will it have been appropriate to have them destroyed officially? Why did the Ministry refuse to oblige those who went to ask for what it costs, officially to have those billboards erected?

It is certain that there is more to the Adio’s claims of government losing tax through such means if those who wanted to pay were not obliged by the officials of the Ministry. There can’t be a better view-point to it than to conclude that the Oyinlola government simply does not want to have any vestige of Aregbesola, the obvious nemesis/headache of Oyinlola/PDP, anywhere in the public, and to be appreciated by the people of Osun State who gave him their mandates as their governor in 2007.

But for the usual exhibition of maturity by the AC chieftains and members, that incorrigible action was sufficient to cause breakdown of law and order in the state. The attack, destruction and burning of the Aregbesola billboards was well reported in the print media. . Till date, Oyinlola has no comment credited to him on that abuse of fundamental right of Aregbesola because his boys had carried out their brief perfectly

What could be made of that scenario are simply intolerance, lawlessness and impunity. Governor Oyinlola, on the issue above could not claim to be a pious person he is trying to paint in his advertorial. Nothing else could have passed for impunity, except the word has acquired a new meaning, if Oyinlola should be told.

In order to confirm to the world that Adio acted that script very well, he has been rewarded. It was a handsome reward as he has been appointed the Secretary to the State government (SSG) in the recent cabinet reshuffle by Oyinlola.

The narrated event was not new in Osun State as indigenes and residents had been treated to many more of its types since 2003.

Impunity reigns almost supreme here as would be confirmed in the next narration which is the other side of the coin to the earlier one told.

Recently, I, like many others, were at the Licensing office in Igbonna to obtain vehicle particulars. It was shocking to be told that the website by which one can obtain vehicle papers had packed-up since November 2009 and was yet to be repaired. Many of us, vehicle owners must have repeated our calls to that office some more times without succeeding. Yet, the police, (selected specifically to monitor obtaining of vehicle license by the Oyinlola/PDP government and more importantly (?) ensure revenue generation) has been tough on road users over non-availability of vehicle license. For those Oyinlola police who mount road blocks in the name of forcing motorists to pay their rates for vehicle papers, they won’t take the genuine explanation that the problem is with the government, whose facility to pay is not working. Twenty naira can not get you a pass with them; it is something much more than that, if you pay three times, may be enough to pay for vehicle license. The situation with the obtaining of vehicle papers is so bad that officials of the department were advising that we go to other state/s to be able to have free passage on the roads.

If Osun State is in dire need of revenue, as claimed by Adio, the worst way to look for it is the way in which the Oyinlola government is handling the vehicle licensing matter. This brought to the fore, the farce, chicanery and mischief in Adio’s claim that Oyinlola/PDP government wants revenue badly.

It was easy for the Oyinlola/PDP government to promptly destroy Aregbesola billboards for not paying tax on them even when owners wanted to pay. Yet the same Oyinlola/PDP government has failed to give attention to its facility that would earn it mandatory tax payment. This is impunity o!

The impunity of Oyinlola/PDP government does not end there.

Oyinlola/PDP government is known to disregard court orders a lot. Former Chairman of Ila local government, Late Prince Adebiyi Adedotun had his Prado jeep illegally impounded by the Oyinlola government early in 2004. The government’s claim had been that the vehicle was thought to be an official vehicle for the state ALGON chairman and thus it should be taken from Adedotun. This couldn’t have been any serious matter to find out if it was not out to pursue vendetta agenda. But because there was an agenda, the Oyinlola/PDP government resorted to lawlessness; would not go through the due process; and thus the Prado jeep was forcefully taken away from Adedotun’s home by towing.

This was in spite of the fact that the owner, Prince Adedotun was critically ill, really oscillating between life and death at that time. With the help of God, Adedotun recovered and went to court. The court ruled, after genuine evidences showed that Adedotun owned the Prado jeep and not in any way an official car, ruled that the vehicle be returned to the rightful owner, Adedotun while one million naira (N1Million) be paid him as damages. Reluctantly, Oyinlola/PDP government let go the Prado jeep while it has refused, in its usual lawless characteristics, to pay the fine for the damages ever since and up till now.

Oyinlola/PDP should tell the world what else amount to impunity and lack of respect for the rule of law, if this will not pass for it.

If it is lawlessness and impunity in regards to the conduct of the Oyinlola government in the last seven years ago or so; it is “melo la o ka leyin adipele”, meaning it is countless. In my home town, Ikirun, Oyinlola’s convoy knocked down an Okada rider, killing the two people on it instantly. The convoy went on as if nothing had happened. Oyinlola’s deputy, Erelu Olusola Obada’s convoy similarly killed an Okada rider at Oke Baale, Osogbo. Tosin Ajakaye, 16 year old girl was raped by known PDP hirelings and in the presence of people old enough to be her grandfather in late 2007. Oyinlola/PDP felt it is none event and thus kept mute over this heinous crime. Even Mrs Oyinlola, who was blessed with female kids and claim to be running an NGO that has interest in women and children, could not comment on it ever since. People were killed during the April 2007 elections and Oyinlola/PDP felt they never existed in the first place and so declared that nobody was killed. But the same governor was enthusiastic to pay, with the tax payers’ money, members of PDP whose properties were destroyed by the mob who spontaneously rejected the announcement of Oyinlola as the winner of the election. The Alliance or Democracy (AD) challenged the nomination fee charged by the Osun state Independence Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) in court as illegal and unconstitutional. The courts, up to the Supreme Court level ruled in favour of AD but the Oyimlola/PDP, in its usual lawlessness, has refused to refund the money.

There are many more,

If the top echelon of government has this kind of attitude to law and human rights, its followers will take for granted that it could do anything, just anything and get away with it.

That is why the likes of Ibukun Fadipe, (I swear they are many) will have the audacity to attack the likes of Ade Komolafe, a man who, in other climes will be usefully engaged by the state government for his internationally acclaimed enterprise/business prowess. Since the Oyinlola/PDP government has decided not to be concerned about the welfare and well-being of its citizens, thugs will easily do what they like with the citizens.

This is the dilemma of an average Osun indigene and residents. They know the Oyinlola/PDP government will not protect them and will always be at the mercy of the marauders who are on the peowl. In any case, the thugs and marauders are actually instruments with which the Oyinlola/PDP government has been tormenting them in the last seven years or so now. They are used to the thriving culture of lawlessness and impunity under the leadership of Oyinlola/PDP government in the last seven years. They see no reason why the governor should ache so much over matter of lawlessness and impunity which they have already identified as part of state administration under Oyinlola.

By ADELANI BADERINWA

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