The bold statement within the State of Osun All Progressives Congress (APC) government circles is that the state workers are distinguished, defined by their distinction and high enterprise, away from their counterparts elsewhere in Nigeria.
The statement speaks eloquently to the law abiding propensity and ethical, professional high standards of the state public servants who neither go off the rails to enkindle, invoke narcissistic disorder to make Osun ungovernable nor feed the Osun publics on any diets of falsehood to flare up or arouse social dislocation.
The Osun workers’ disposition to dependability, maturity, judgment, loyalty, enthusiasm and professionalism at work, increasing productivity helped correspondingly by evidently conspicuous strength in public morality, public peace, public trust and public integrity, has strikingly autographed, imprinted the state civil servants for contrasting eminence, reputation and fame under the APC – Governor Gboyega Oyetola.
And today, what finest virtues of Osun workers under the APC- Oyetola that make them command respect the public servants in other states should aspire to acquire? The exceptionally uncommon good attributes of the state workers have practically made possible the unprecedented transformation of Osun and as corollary, the deservedly admiration of the state workforce incumbent on the state government.
Determinedly caring and meaningfully communicating, the Oyetola government is every inch driven by a positive sense of purpose and vision, unrelenting energy, perseverance and sacrifice, plugging the diverse state challenges for greater strength, greater knowledge and greater experience by guided, cautious efforts and listening agility. The government’s open respect for ideas other than its own has called up sustainable developments across all sectors of the state economy, the demonstrable offshoot of the far reaching industry, resilience, cooperation and proficiency of the causatively engaging Osun workers, proudly upbeat. Meaningfully, the Osun workers have a good work reputation, an air of distinction at work, made manifest by excellent work output, conflict resolution without voice displeasure and selflessly orchestrated service delivery, evident of discernible mind even when the deadline is starring them in the face. They are generally dignified in good manner and appearance, exhibiting ingenuity, courage, dignity, responsibility, optimism and gratitude.
Gratitude for what?
The Osun workers appreciate certain observable and observed facts. One is Oyetola’s democratic leadership, invoking consultation with the civil servants and engendering intelligent contribution in them as collective efforts towards achieving common objectives of serving Osun populace. He’s not the end justifies the means’, the Italian Thomas Niccolo Machiavellian cunning, unscrupulous methods of an achiever in power. Oyetola is neither one given to ambiguity, aligned or hooked to the Hobeson choice.
Two, Oyetola’s social contract motivates or generates in the state workers a set of standard values, attitudes and behaviour as valid, reliable and appropriately desirable psycho-ethical controls, conducive to their continually high performances at work or delivery of high quality services to the governed. Three, his hard, tangible, standard and reproductive infrastructures have made huge differences in the state political economy with causal linkages to developments in the state. Four, the development infrastructures, of redistributive contents have substantially impelled reduction in any vertical and horizontal development disparities among Osun communities, and sequentially, switched down costs of production of goods and services. Five, the massive development infrastructures, right, left and centre of the state and composite social intervention policies and projects arrayed for enduring socio-economic prosperity and greatness of Osun are social contract, accountability and transparency compliant.
And six, the implementation of the new minimum wage far ahead other states, prompt payment of salary, regular promotion and conversion of qualified civil servants, appointments to vacant permanent secretary cadre, regularisation of the redeployed 138 teachers in the civil service, done; and upgrading the 2016 downgraded LAUTECH Teaching Hospital Staff, Osogbo, employment of 275 ad hoc staff to push O’Amblance service, made.
And the leadership of labour in the state says, the good happenings to Osun workers under Oyetola’s government have fostered work satisfaction, work appreciation; and general morale fired up, with probable frustration bred disaffection and dissatisfaction capable of stimulating certain behaviour pattern that corrupts civil servants and productivity, all nipped in the bud.
True! His government knows the place of state workers in any strategic peace and development calculus and also knows the Osun civil service is the cut-edge instrument of governance and service delivery, viably ensuring a successful execution of government policies, programmes and projects in the state all through now.
Recall Oyetola’s inaugural indaba in the first quarter of 2019, highly resourceful a powwow, confab with the Osun civil servants on how the state productivity could best augment the meagre monthly handouts from Abuja as antidote to the persistent financial insolvency, scantiness of funds in the state. His government-labour dialogue was a commendable effort in transactional leadership that has had the state Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), workers’ welfare, productivity and service delivery surged up, and government’s efficient multifarious services to the governed made possible, abetting socioeconomic advancement of Osun. That explains the State Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Comrade Jacob Adekomi’s gratitude to the APC–Oyetola government ‘‘for bringing succour to the workers and people of the state,’’ with the labour force, particularly turned on or activated to high productivity, and increased government revenue for the people centric developments.
The implication is that, it’s not just the state workers that have bountifully benefitted from the Oyetola government, the equitable state welfare mimes or gestures also get to every stratum of Osun people through government’s immense financial empowerments – the conditional cash transfer scheme inked, made to 15,562 assailable, vulnerable Osun residents; monthly N20,000 stipends paid to artisans after free training; N250,000 to N2.5 million loan ranges also accessed by artisans in the state; N500,000 each to 2,000 on the line beneficiaries; and free Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) business registration certificates blazed for about 3,000 youths, out on a limb. The vulnerable.
The state government welfare gestures, also have been through such social intervention gesticulations, with underlined plausible economic impact on the life and living of the grantees or beneficiaries as the N30,000 each paid to some 3,000 legatees, called recipients from the post COVID-19 Survival Fund along side the April 2020 6,020 bags of palliative rice, and the March 2021 Osun Food Support Scheme, continuously distributing, monthly, Food Without Payment to the vulnerable, the weak and sensitive Nigerians, cross cultural, resident in Osun. And the School Free Feeding Scheme with 2,196 food vendors hired to serve 98,690 school pupil-beneficiaries with trickle down positive effects also on the producers and suppliers of raw foodstuff; the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) reinvigorated with additional 3,082 ad hoc cadets on revitalized monthly take home between N12,000 and N15,000; and the indigent Osun students’ West African School Certificate Examination (WAEC) fees paid by the government as a rite.
In the Oyetola context, the assignees or beneficiaries are the defenceless, unsafe Osun residents, susceptible, exposed to risks of poverty, social exclusion and in the count down, agitation or outright violence. The welfare packages have qualitatively re-charted them for improved well-being, healthy life, good sleep, useful thought to start on a scales of business, commerce and get connected with better others for economic harmony to remove probable depression, anxiety, stress, disorder and suicide.
That’s why the Osun government posited, “the state workers are the indirect beneficiaries of the government welfare gestures,” with the state workers now being relieved of the burden of dependants outside nuclear family just as Adekomi, the state labour chief and apostle of reciprocal relations charges labour unions in the state to further strategic upscale in productivity and wealth creation to cause significant improvements in the Osun business climate, attractive to many more investors and investments. Any other parallel view must be out-and-out wicked and politically appalling.
Generally, the government has not shirked its responsibility of providing sufficient avenues for the citizenry to realise their potentials or be at their best to contribute to the Osun development governance. The “Governor’s Family Meeting,’’ now crisscrossing the state, not on any premium, is a practical expression of an all-inclusive governance, social collaboration and social fairness, drawing standing ovation from the Osun people and workers, with the latter’s endorsement of Oyetola’s conscientious leadership that continues to facilitate democracy and democracy dividends on grand scales in the state, uncorrupted by any manipulation of popular preferences.
And the Osun workers’ endorsement of Oyetola for gubernatorial victory, reeling in the glow of his contrasting achievements, came after the state labour movement’s inquisitive assessment of him, with the labour, not dancing a little to the right, a little to the left in the orchestra of indecision. The endorsement entrusts constitutional power and responsibility in him for another term of 4years, measuring his today’s achievements as they unfold with an eye on the future, the hope evoked for tomorrow, June 16, merely days on fingertips.
In more ways than one, Oyetola is a treasure island of the aspirations of the Osun workers as they speak the Holy Writ: ‘‘Be still, only believe, those you see today as working not for the Governor, shall tomorrow support his value bid for second term in office.” And the prophecy’s fulfilment is the Rt Hon Najeem Salam directive, lately to his supporters to vote en masse for APC, impliedly, Oyetola on election day.
And Osun moves on the wings of utilitarian support to coast home to triumph, victory for the state APC at this week governorship poll
Olusesi writes via [email protected]