By Rotimi Fasan
IS this a case of politics carried too far, genuine fear requiring explanation or could there be any merit to the claim that Rauf Aregbesola, governor of the State of Osun is bent on Islamising the State? Please note that I have referred to the governor of the state of Osun and not Osun State.

Yes, that is the way Osun State is referred to in official media in the State. State of Osun, aka ‘State of the Living Spring’, with all its echo of Americanism is the preferred designation, I cannot say name, of the Nigerian state with its capital in Osogbo under Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

The FM radio station in Ilesa is called Unique FM and it would appear that the governor of the state is determined to run his state with some uniqueness. Shortly after he was declared governor, he made it known that he simply wanted to be called Ogbeni (the Yoruba equivalent for Mr or the leftist Comrade) Rauf Aregbesola.

This many saw then as an assertion of his unionist (or is it leftist/proletarian orientation), a way of saying he was a simple man, at the same level with his people- the citizens of the state. He wanted it known that he was an Awoist not by mere avowals but in action through and through- an Awoist determined to govern the state over which he presides as governor on the template provided by Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

I have said it here before that he is the most obviously pro-Awoist of the ACN governors. In this wise he adopted the anthem of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria, the party founded and led by Chief Awolowo on the eve of the lifting of the ban on partisan politics in 1978.

Aregbesola’s six-point programme for the State of Osun is more or less a clone of the four point-programme of the UPN. He is the most passionate advocate of the economic integration of the South-West along the line of the old Western Region.

When all of these are considered, it should be clear where this man is coming from. It is not clear when and how the idea of calling Osun State the State of Osun first came about but somehow it gradually crept into the media and those sensitive to language obviously took note of this earlier than others. For someone with an obvious leftist bent, Aregbesola presents what might seem a contradiction as a deeply religious man- a proud follower of Islam. He takes out time to observe the demands of his religion and partakes in events connected with it unabashedly.

Right or wrong, a few of the activities of Ogbeni Aregbesola who the title-prone mentality of many Nigerians cannot help calling Engineer Aregbesola- a few of his subtle innovations have caught the attention of persons in Osun State belonging in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party. Of late, Aregbesola has come under serious accusations, one of which borders on treason if proven.

Which may explain why the ACN is not leaving the matter lying low. Among other criticisms, Aregbesola has been accused of changing the name of Osun State to the State of Osun, commissioning an official logo for the State and adopting an official anthem for the State, cloned from the former UPN. The most serious of these allegations is that the Governor has done all of this in bid to secede from Nigeria while harbouring a hidden desire to turn Osun into an Islamic state, in other words impose the Sharia on the state.

Well, these are serious allegations indeed and both politicians of the ACN and traditional rulers in and outside the State (Osun State or State of Osun?) have risen in defence of the governor. The ACN are accusing the PDP of a desire to cause trouble in Osun by stirring bad blood in a bid to prepare the ground for the ouster of the ACN from the State in the next election.

The PDP and the ACN had bitterly fought for the control of Osun for several years before a court ruling finally gave control of the State to the ACN barely six months before the PDP governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, now National Secretary of the PDP, completed his second term in office. The issues have never been resolved and now both parties are back in the trenches again.

I have alluded to the overt religiosity of Aregbesola and I give one instance of this. At a public lecture early 2011 to mark the 70th birthday of Comrade/Alhaji Hassan Sunmonu, former NLC president and perhaps the best known living labour leader from Nigeria in Africa- at a lecture in honour of this indigene of Osun, leading labour leaders and activists, past and present, were invited.

Sunmonu would later be hosted in his home state. Apart from Comrade Adams Oshiomole,  Edo State (not State of Edo) governor, Ogbeni Aregbesola was the other governor present at the event which took place at the Airport Hotel, Ikeja. At a point, Ogbeni Aregbesola left the venue of the event even before he had been invited to speak.

The impression all had was that he was leaving for good that day although Comrade Oshiomole was still around and the lecture had yet to take off fully. But after about half an hour or a little more, Aregbesola returned to the head table to join the other dignitaries.

Soon it was bruited round that the Governor had only gone out to observe the afternoon prayer. I wouldn’t know how often the Governor makes out time, even at public events, to attend to matters of this nature. But it proves he is one who takes his faith seriously, even though some might accuse him of wearing his religion too obviously on his sleeves.

On other occasions, he has been seen on state media attending events organised by members of his religious faith. At no time during these events which I have not followed too closely has the Governor given the impression of wanting to turn his state into an Islamic one or demonstrated a desire at subtle proselytising.

The impression one has is that the Governor sees himself purely as an individual exercising his rights to follow his preferred faith like any other citizen in the State even while attending to his official responsibilities.

Continues next week