Osogbo Professionals reject Osun Govt’s attempt to build private estate on educational facility in state capital
The Osogbo-born professionals under the auspices of Osogbo Affairs Forum (OSAF) has raised the alarm over alleged attempts by the Governor Ademola Adeleke-led Osun State Government to cede a significant portion of Government Technical College’s land to developers to build a private estate.
Members of the Forum in their outrage questioned the state government’s motive of placing private profit over public welfare by ceding an education institution’s land for business without due consultation with established authorities or indigenes of Osogbo town.
According to them, the Osun State Government should have further upgraded the facilities in the College to world class standards and explore options of vast availability of lands in other strategic areas including Ring road, Abere and other places more suitable for the purpose.
‘One would have expected that the land would be better used for expanding educational facilities, creating a vocational innovation hub, establishing recreational spaces, building a community resource centre, or developing an agricultural training and research centre. The land in question has so many long-term social and economic benefits keeping and dedicating it to public education and community development other than using it for self-serving, pecuniary gains,’ one of the Forum’s representatives said.
When NewsClick Nigeria’s team visited the College, a gigantic billboard with the inscription ‘LSTC Estate selling now’ with Governor Adeleke’s photograph had already been erected. The billboard also reflected that the project was in conjunction with Osun State Capital Development Authority.
Another member of OSAF told NewsClick Nigeria that the State Government’s decision to encroach and forcefully take a sizable proportion of the College’s land for a private motive will not go unchallenged. He noted that the injustice against the College will not be left in the hands of OSAF alone to fight but all true sons and daughters of the soil will resist the government’s move.
“This provocative attempt by the current government in Osun to trample on rights and interest of Osogbo has to be resisted by all true sons and daughters of Osogbo – individually, groups and as a collective and I urge all men and women of conscience and goodwill of Osogbo descent at home and diaspora to rise against this provocation by the Adeleke government against the interest of Osogbo.
“And as the American Author and Poet, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, admonished, silence will not cut it for us true sons and daughters of Osogbo to allow this among several acts against our dear town to stand… ‘To sin by silence when they should protest makes, cowards of men’, he noted.
Meanwhile, efforts by NewsClick Nigeria to reach Governor Adeleke’s spokesman, Mallam Olawale Rasheed and promoters of the Estate, Zoe Global Industrial Limited for comments was unsuccessful as at press time.
