Is Osun fulfilling its manifest destiny at 35?

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Last Thursday, August 27, 2026, Osun, the state of the Living Spring clocked 35 years having been created by military fiat in 1991. I was one of the advocates for the creation of Osun from the old Oyo State. My advocacy piece was published in the defunct Daily Sketch newspaper of Friday, August 16, 1991. Though Oyo State is the land of my birth as sang by renowned reggae artiste, Eric Donaldson, my ancestry is however in Osun. My dad is from IleOgbo, headquarters of Ayedire Local Government, same town where the current Director General of National Youth Service Corps, Brig. Gen. Olakunle Nafiu hails from while my mum is from Ikire, headquarters of Irewole Local Government.

Osun is very unique in many ways. Spiritually, Ile-Ife is believed to be the source and cradle  of Yoruba race. Several world-famous religious leaders such as Apostle Joseph Babalola the founder of Christ Apostolic Church, Pastor Enoch Adeboye the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor J.F. Kumuyi, founder of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor Matthew Asimolowo the founder and the senior pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre are from Osun State. Renowned Ifa priest, Chief Ifayemi Elebuibon is also from the state. Prominent Islamic clerics from Osun State include Sheikh Daood Imran Molaasan, the founder of Jama'at Ta'awunil Muslimeen and Grand Mufti of Yorubaland, Edo, and Delta States, based in Iwo and Sheikh Dr. Abu-Abdullah Adelabu, a London-based Islamic scholar, thinker, and author who originally hails from the state's capital city, Osogbo.

In the field of politics and governance, Osun has produced primus-inter-pares political juggernauts. The only female Speaker of House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Patricia Olubunmi Ette is from Ikire in Osun State.  The first executive governor of Oyo State, Chief Ajibola Ige is from Esa-Oke in Osun State. He was assassinated in his home in Ibadan in December 2002 while serving as Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. It is an open secret that President Bola Tinubu’s ancestry is in Iragbiji, Osun State. Former Deputy Governor in old Oyo State and first Executive Governor in this Fourth Republic, Chief Bisi Akande is also the first national chairman of All Progressives Congress. He is from Ila. Former Military Administrator of Lagos State and ex-governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola also had a stint as the national secretary of Peoples Democratic Party.

Ex-Commissioner for Works in Lagos State, former governor of Osun state and immediate past Minister of Interior, now national secretary of African Democratic Congress, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is from Ilesa.  Former deputy governor, former senator and former national secretary of APC, Chief Iyiola Omisore is from Ile Ife. The incumbent national secretary of the ruling APC, Senator Ajibola Basiru is also from Osogbo.

Osun has also produced the most illustrious political dynasty in Nigeria. That is the Adeleke political dynasty. The patriarch of Adeleke family, Chief Ayoola Adeleke was a Second Republic Senator. Two of his children has also become senators and governors. The late Isiaka Adeleke was the first governor of Osun State at the age of 36 between 1992 and 1993. He died in 2017 as a serving senator. His younger brother, Ademola was elected in his stead and later elected as a governor in 2022. Ademola Adeleke just won his reelection on August 15, 2026.

The Osun Osogbo festival and the Olojo festival in Ife are two prominent religious festivals held annually in Osun State. Osun Sacred Grove, Erin-Ijesa waterfall, Oyi Ayikunnugba Oke – Ila waterfall, Moremi Statue of Liberty, Oranmiyan Staff, National Museum Ile-Ife, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ibodi Monkey Reserve, Ooni of Ife Palace, Aafin Ilu in Ede, Nike Art Gallery, Oduduwa Shrine and Grove, Obatala Centre for Creative Arts, Owa Obokun Statue and Oke Maria are some of the tourist sites in Osun State.  I have been to some of these sites.

The reason for my advocacy for the creation of Osun State 35 years ago was to bring development down to the grassroots. Oyo State at that time has about 42 Local Government Areas and the feeling then was that the state was unwieldly for easy administration and development. I wouldn’t say that Osun has fared badly in over three decades. However, there is a lot more to be done.

Osun has remained an agrarian and civil servant state with no significant industrialisation. I should think the state is long overdue to be an industrial hub by now. Even if its agro-allied industries, some of them should have sprang up to process many agricultural products such as cocoa, cassava, maize, yam, palm trees, timber and citrus fruits that the state has in abundance. While the township roads are fairly okay and have been largely rehabilitated; many rural roads are impassable and need urgent attention, especially during this rainy season. This will help to reduce post-harvest loses incurred by our farmers.

Osun State holds major deposits of solid minerals, including gold, talc, granite, feldspar, kaolin, columbite, and tantalite. Given the fact that solid mineral is under exclusive legislative list, I enjoin the people’s governor, Ademola Adeleke to apply for license from the Federal Ministry of Solid Mineral and go into joint venture with a foreign or local partner to explore and carry value addition to these solid minerals. This will generate employment opportunities and revenue for the state government. 

Sports development is another sector I will like the governor to go into. We need to harness the skills and energy of our youths in football and sports generally. Osun State does not currently have a football team in the elite National Premier Football League. Sports development will generate employment for our young people and help to curb youth restiveness.

It is saddening and preposterous that my state is now notorious for election violence and vote trading. The just concluded August 15, 2026 off-cycle governorship election leaves a sour taste in the mouth in this regard. Over 30 people were reportedly murdered in pre-election violence. This has been a recurring decimal since 2007. Election rigging of that year led to the ouster of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and the installation of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in 2010 by the judiciary. Every off-cycle election since then – 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026 have been increasing in pre-election violence. This has to stop forthwith. This post-election period is also time to finally resolve the lingering political crises that have engulfed local government administration in Osun State in the last two years or thereabout. It is unhealthy that local governance is comatose in the State of the Living Spring.

I.G: @jideojong

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