Why Oyetola nonetheless towers above Adeleke

By Soji Oni

In a political local weather more and more pushed by noise, optics, and social media theatrics, Osun State presents Nigeria a transparent and instructive lesson: governance shouldn’t be leisure. It isn’t choreography, neither is it sustained by applause alone. Governance is about self-discipline, construction, foresight, and outcomes. By these enduring requirements, Gboyega Oyetola stays a benchmark of competent management; one whose report continues to forged a protracted shadow over the flamboyant however faltering administration of Ademola Adeleke.

This isn’t nostalgia. It’s a sober comparability grounded in details, outcomes, and management temperament. Osun has now skilled each males. The distinction is now not theoretical; it’s lived.

When Gboyega Oyetola assumed workplace in 2018, Osun State was financially bruised, institutionally strained, and psychologically fatigued from years of fiscal instability. Salaries had been irregular, money owed had been heavy, and belief in authorities was skinny. Oyetola didn’t arrive with fanfare. He arrived with spreadsheets, restraint, and resolve. His governing philosophy was easy however radical in Nigeria’s subnational politics: spend solely what you possibly can maintain. For 4 straight years, Osun State underneath Oyetola did one thing virtually unprecedented, it didn’t borrow. No business loans. No reckless overdrafts. No mortgaging of the long run for political applause.

As a substitute, Oyetola targeted on plugging leakages, bettering internally generated income, rationalising expenditure, and restoring fiscal sanity. Salaries had been paid frequently. Pensioners had been attended to. Industrial peace returned. For the primary time in years, Osun employees may plan their lives with out concern of sudden half-salary regimes or limitless strikes.

This quiet {financial} self-discipline didn’t imply inactivity. Roads had been accomplished. Faculties had been stabilised. Healthcare supply was strengthened via the Osun Well being Insurance coverage Scheme. Youth empowerment programmes had been sustained and refined. Crucially, tasks inherited from earlier administrations had been accomplished, not deserted; a uncommon act of institutional maturity in Nigerian politics.

Oyetola ruled like a trustee, not a conqueror.

Management is revealed not solely in selections, however in temperament. Oyetola’s fashion was calm, consultative, and deeply institutional. He listened greater than he spoke. He acted greater than he introduced. Cupboard conferences had been working classes, not photograph alternatives.

Distinction this with the present administration. Since 2022, Osun has witnessed an explosion of optics; music-filled rallies, dramatic proclamations, viral dances, and populist gestures that generate headlines however battle to translate into sturdy coverage outcomes. Governance has been theatrical, episodic, and sometimes reactive.

The hazard of this method shouldn’t be merely aesthetic; it’s structural. Insurance policies pushed by applause slightly than planning are troublesome to fund, tougher to maintain, and sometimes collapse underneath {economic} strain. Osun’s growth wants consistency, not spectacle.

Maybe the sharpest distinction between Oyetola and Adeleke lies in {financial} philosophy. Oyetola believed in delayed gratification. He saved when others spent. He resisted populist strain to announce programmes with out funding readability. By the point he left workplace, Osun was not broke; it had money balances and pending grants.

The Adeleke administration, in contrast, started with dramatic reversals, sweeping bulletins, and mass sackings, strikes that excited political bases however unsettled establishments. Governance grew to become loud, quick, and legally contentious. Even allies quietly admit that coverage coherence has suffered.

Fiscal prudence shouldn’t be glamorous, however it’s what retains states solvent. Osun underneath Oyetola understood this. Osun underneath Adeleke remains to be studying it.

One among Oyetola’s most underrated achievements was peace. Osun remained one of many calmest states within the South-West all through his tenure. There have been no main labour crises. No extended shutdowns. No governance paralysis. This stability was not unintended. Oyetola revered establishments; conventional rulers, civil servants, labour unions, and safety companies. He ruled with the understanding that energy have to be exercised with restraint.

The early months of the Adeleke administration, nonetheless, had been outlined by abrupt reversals, institutional shocks, and authorized disputes. Whereas change is anticipated in any transition, the style of execution issues. Stability evokes confidence; chaos repels it.

Management is most examined not in authorities alone, however in moments of inside contestation. The current APC gubernatorial major in Osun State supplied such a check, and Oyetola handed convincingly. Because the chief of the get together in Osun, Oyetola supervised a major course of that was orderly, credible, and rancour-free. Aspirants had been heard. Pursuits had been managed. No parallel congresses. No post-primary implosions.

The emergence of Oyebanji because the get together’s flag bearer occurred with out bitterness—a unprecedented final result in Nigeria’s political tradition. This was not luck. It was management rooted in persistence, equity, and authority with out intimidation.

Whereas the ruling get together continues to battle with inside coherence, Oyetola quietly rebuilt APC right into a disciplined, united opposition prepared for 2026.

This comparability shouldn’t be tutorial. Osun is approaching one other decisive second. Voters should select between fashion and substance, noise and order, impulse and planning.

Oyetola represents a governance custom that values sustainability over sensation. Adeleke represents a populist experiment whose long-term viability stays unsure.

The selection earlier than Osun is stark: Do we would like a governor who dances, or one who delivers? Can we choose applause at this time or stability tomorrow?

Historical past is commonly kinder to quiet achievers than to loud performers. As time passes, Oyetola’s report grows clearer, stronger, and extra defensible. His legacy shouldn’t be constructed on slogans however on methods. Not on theatrics however on belief.

Osun has examined two management fashions in fast succession. The proof is now public. The lesson is unmistakable. Regular fingers construct states.

Flamboyance merely entertains them.

As Osun appears to be like forward, the reminiscence of disciplined governance underneath Gboyega Oyetola stays not simply related, however vital.

• Oni is a Professor of Sociology, within the Division of Instructional Foundations, School of Schooling, College of Lagos.