Aregbesola Accumulates Frustrations After Failing To Regain Spot

BOSUN AWONIYI

Frustrated former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola on Sunday, withdrew from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Nigeria’s biggest political party, extending, the political turmoil that has gripped him and his supporters after failing to reconcile with influential political leaders and, his political leader and mentor, President Bola Tinubu, and Chief Bisi Akande, another former governor and party chieftain.

The former minister of interior stated that stakeholders across the state’s 332 wards reached the resolution to leave the APC during his group’s monthly meeting in Ilesa, his hometown.

The sliding politician cited several reasons for the decision, including allegations of ostracism, suspension, and expulsion of members without a fair hearing, and the perceived neglect and denigration of the group within the APC structure.

After failing to become head of the APC in Osun, Ogbeni, as he is fondly called, is continuing his tough apprenticeship in the upper echelons of political power.

His supremacy was challenged within the APC. He was deprived of the far right of all power and is proving to be the party leader in Osun.

Baba Kabiru hoped to break it by charming his followers and reminding them of the great Chief Obafemi Jeremiah Oyeniyi Awolowo, a Nigerian nationalist and politician who played a key role in Nigeria’s independence movement, and Chief James Ajibola Idowu Ige, another great lawyer and politician.

Symbol has joined the growing list of political heavyweights who have decided to retire from politics out of bitterness.

I used to be a proud member of the silent majority. Quietly making my choices whenever there were choices to make and speaking my conscience, being satisfied with my whatever-will-be-will-be judgment in matters of politics.

Awolowo, the Premier of Western Nigeria from 1954 to 1960, introduced free primary education in 1955. This program was a major turning point in the region’s literacy and social development.

He made primary education mandatory and free for all children in Western Nigeria. He provided free healthcare for children under 18. The sage awarded 200 scholarships in 1952 for Nigerians to study at universities abroad.

He introduced the Free Education Card in 1955.

Awolowo financed these programs through the cocoa industry, which was the region’s main economic driver.

The program had a lasting impact on education in Western Nigeria and the country as a whole.

The number of primary schools in the region more than doubled by 1958.

For Bola Ige, right from the Liberty Stadium, where he took his oath of office, he proclaimed his programs to the people and declared free education to all our children of school age.

The late Chief Bola Ige insisted that the administration should be guided by the UPN’s four cardinal programs: free education at all levels, free health services, integrated rural development, and full employment.

The late Ige was governor of the old Oyo State under the UPN.

The party’s leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, failed to become the president, and in Oyo State, limited resources were threatening the free education program.

Aregbesola’s announcement comes as a note of the dissatisfaction with the party’s handling of internal crises, which the group claimed contributed to the APC’s poor performance in the last election cycle.

According to him and his “Ganusi supporters,” this has significantly weakened the party’s popularity and strength in Osun State.

“The members were put to a voice vote by the leadership of the group, where they unanimously affirmed their readiness to switch allegiance to another political platform ahead of the 2026 governorship election,” he said in a statement.

Aregbesola, who spoke at his Omoluabi Progressives Caucus meeting, lauded members of the group for their commitment to the principles of integrity, character, and good governance.

Commenting on the group’s decision to leave the APC, Aregbesola said it marked the beginning of a new journey towards entrenching responsible leadership in Osun.

Aregbesola, the Mr. Know-it-all, allegedly feels marginalized and believes that the leadership has strayed from the principles he holds dear, i.e., the principle of Omoluabi.

Omoluabi is a Yoruba word that means “the virtuous one” or “the well-behaved person.”. It is a moral concept and philosophy that guides how people should live in society. It is based on the idea that people should respect others and live in harmony with them.

Omoluabi teaches people to respect others’ rights, dignity, and individuality. It teaches people to live in harmony with others and value their unique experiences.

It teaches people to be honest, humble, and hard-working. It teaches people to be courageous and intelligent. It teaches people to contribute positively to their community.

An Omoluabi is someone who embodies the values of Omoluabi and is highly respected in their community. They are honorable people, have integrity, and believe in hard work.

Which Omoluabi will ask God to bring another man down?

Tinubu was also instrumental in Aregbesola becoming governor of Osun from 2010 to 2018.

The then-Gov. Bola Tinubu appointed Aregbesola as Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure in Lagos State in 1999, a position he held till 2007.

Aregbesola unusually called Tinubu “my brother and my partner” on air, in place of the usual “my leader and my mentor”—and this did not escape the attention of some of Tinubu’s loyalists, some of whom questioned the minister on his “new direction.”.

He reportedly told them he was talking about a “partner in the struggle for democracy in Nigeria.”.

Blessing your enemies aligns with God’s wisdom, which suggests that the sweetest form of revenge is to bless your enemies by consistently showing kindness.

The idea of being forgetful, as if you don’t remember them as enemies, is powerful. When your enemies expect you to respond with evil, responding with kindness is like adding water to their fire, putting them off balance.

Tinubu must have been watching Aregbosola and his Ganusi supporters struggle with frustration that their actions don’t harm him; it can indeed be unsettling for them.

I can personally attest to the effectiveness of applying these principles, found in Romans 12:20 (CSB), which encourages actions like feeding your hungry enemy or giving them something to drink, as it symbolically heaps “fiery coals” on their head. Your experience demonstrates the transformative power of responding to enmity with goodness and compassion.

Indeed, vengeance belongs to the LORD, as it is written in Romans 12:19 (CSB). The verse emphasizes that we should not take revenge but leave room for God’s wrath.

God, being all-knowing and just, knows the hearts and deeds of individuals better than we do.

He alone possesses the perfect wisdom to judge and punish accordingly. The reality is that evil does not go unpunished, and those who engage in it bring judgment upon themselves.

In the end, God’s justice prevails, and those who persist in evil will face His judgment, as described in the concept of being judged and punished forevermore in the lake of fire.

Judging by the actions of Aregbesola, he must participate constructively as an opposition in Osun and hold the Gov. Ademola Adeleke-led government to account.

*Bosun writes from Lagos, Nigeria