Both Governor Rauf Aregbesola and Bishop David Oyedepo seem to be in agreement with Kutadgu Bilig in some sort, written for Turkish ruler of the Karakhanids in 1069, which said: “To control the state requires a large army. To support the troops requires great wealth. To obtain this wealth, the people must be prosperous. For the people to be prosperous, the laws must be just. If any one of these is rejected, the state will collapse.”
The single most touching issue plaguing this nation or any other nation of the world today is religious crisis. Religious disharmony is so combustible that it could consume any nation or people if not properly managed. Political gladiators in history, especially in Nigeria, have manipulated the religious vulnerability of the people and still doing so for political gains.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in Osun State’s 2014 governorship election, Senator Iyiola Omisore, is frantically exploiting religious sentiments, blackmail, and other incendiary mechanisms to hoodwink the electorate. One of such gimmicks sold to the general public is the open allegation that Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration has not only blanked out the Christian community in the state in terms of patronage, but has made efforts to muscle them out of existence.
This charge falls flat on its face. Out of 36 members of the cabinet in the state, 26 are Christians; also, out of the 12 members representing Osun in the National Assembly, six are Christians. The Christians also had the majority among the local government chairmen. This shows how committed the governor in aiding religious peace and harmony in the state.
These allegations are without thorough checks by his critics. Also, it is common knowledge – except for the mischievous band of frustrated politicians – that the governor is out to Islamise the state. The charge bothers more on the wearing of hijab by the Muslim students in Christian schools.
The issue of hijab would have been rested by now, if not for want of excuse of failures on the part of PDP, which governed the state for roughly eight years before Ogbeni retrieved his stolen mandate from them. For the records, it was under Governor Olagusoye Oyinlola’s administration, a PDP governor, that the Muslim community went to court and insisted on their wards attending schools in their Islamic wears as part of the school uniform. As we speak, the matter is still being pursued in the court by the Muslim community. Dressing Ogbeni in a borrowed robe to score cheap political points on the basis of religious fanaticism is clearly a crass political opportunism and promotion of falsehood to a grand art.
On the other hand, the accusation that school re-classification process in the state did not factor in the National School Policy of 6-3-3-4 system is another tactical attempt to paint an otherwise noble policy in bad light. The need to provide world-class learning environment necessitates the ongoing building of model elementary schools across the state, in accordance with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) schools re-classification standard, which has since been adopted by the United States (U.S.) and other developed countries.
The elementary schools are state-of-the-art structures that accommodate 900 pupils between ages six to nine, in the first grade to the fourth grade, that is, Primaries One to Four. In the same vein, government has built over 15 middle schools across the state. They are also state-of-the-art structures with accommodation provisions for 1,000 students. The middle school is for the fifth to the ninth grade, which is the present Primaries Five to Six and the Junior Secondary School (JSS) One to Three in the age ranges of 10 to 14. Students in the High School are within the age bracket of 15 to 17. This category is known as Grades 10 to 12. The High School Infrastructural facilities will accommodate 3,000 students.
It is in the light of these strides and other innumerable achievements of Aregbesola that the General Overseer of the Living Faith Church (a.k.a. Winners’ Chapel), Bishop David Oyedepo, on July 9, 2014, said the infrastructural renewal, particularly the education revolution in Osun, deserves global applause.
Oyedepo gave his assessment in Osogbo, South West Nigeria, when he paid a courtesy call to Aregbesola. The cleric noted that any governance that is producing results and affecting the lives of vast majority of the people must be deeply appreciated, irrespective of religious inclination. He appealed to stakeholders to always be at the vanguard of peaceful coexistence, noting that there is nothing like living in peace, working in peace and promoting peace.
“There is nothing like peace in the whole world. We should always walk towards whatever will promote peace and peaceful coexistence among our people. Let us work for an atmosphere that encourages peace, which engenders growth and development. This is because life is all about promoting the well-being of the people.
“I deeply appreciate the infrastructural development. Besides, the educational revolution is, for us, a great achievement. I can see the massive road construction going on. This is to the benefit of the people. No policy can remove the roads. I am very impressed,” Oyedepo said.
Observers of political developments in Osun should know that Aregbesola’s administration has no political, religious or tribal preference. It is absolutely impossible for him to be a religious fundamentalist, owing to his all-faith inclusive background. One cannot but wonder why the governor has been so described by mischief-makers who erroneously tagged his administration as pro-Islamic faith.
The only description that suits Aregbesola’s administration by any forward-looking individual is zero-tolerance for religious cohabitation and opportunism. This largely accounts for near total peace in the state. Aregbesola has always encouraged people to practise whatever faith they profess, even within his own immediate family.
“My upbringing in Yoruba setting has given no basis for religious antagonism and mutual distrust. It is impossible in Yoruba milieu not to imbibe the culture of accommodation, tolerance and understanding of the faith of others.
“I guide my faith as much as I fight for the protection of the faith of others. If anyone would accuse me at all, it should be that I have zero tolerance for fundamentalism. Therefore, my liberal disposition to religion is thus farther from the erroneous impression of being an Islamic extremist,” the governor said.
• Ikhide wrote in from Lagos, Nigeria.