On August 27, 1991, former President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, the then President and Commander in Chief of of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, announced the creation of Osun State and he also made it unequivocally known that Osogbo would be its capital city.
Within the last few months however, a number of developments evolved warranting asking our current political leaders including, but not limited to, his Excellency Governor Ademola N. J. Adeleke, the current Executive Governor of Osun State; all members of the 7th Session of the Osun State House of Assembly; all members of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; all Members of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria about the actual current location and the current name of the State Capital of Osun State three decades after its creation.
It is an incontrovertible fact that the official symbol of any Capital City of any State or Nation is the location of its Government Secretariat, which also serves as the seat of the corresponding government and power.
Immediately after creation of Osun State, a set of offices in the center of Osogbo were used as the interim State Government Secretariat for Osun State. In the early 1990s, which was around the time of the tenure of the former Governor Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke, a senior brother of the incumbent governor of Osun State, the permanent State Government Secretariat of Osun State was sited at its current location. The offices and structures were subsequently built by former Governor Bisi Akande.
Recent controversies about the ownership of the land of this permanent location of the Osun State Government Secretariat warrant this open letter. For peace and tranquility, which Osun State is historically known for, to continue reigning, our political leaders need to urgently address these dangerous controversies as detailed hereunder.
The community currently hosting the State Secretariat is known to the peace-loving people of Osogbo as Oke-Pupa. In fact, a traditional chief (Baale) was installed at this part of Osogbo as the Baale of Oke-Pupa by the then Ataoja of Osogbo. However, Timi of Ede also installed a Baale of Abere close to this same permanent location of the seat of the government of Osun State. Ede, a neighboring city to Osogbo where Governor Ademola N. J. Adeleke and his brother, former Governor Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke, hailed from, has a very long land dispute history with Osogbo.
At the eleventh hour of the administration of the immediate past governor of Osun State, former Governor Gboyega Isiaka Oyetola, his administration installed a few kings including a controversial “Alabere of Abere, Ede”. This newly installed Alabere reportedly visited private and public institutions that are in this community. These institutions are conventionally sited in capital cities of states across Nigeria. This newly installed Alabere reportedly claimed traditional territorial domain rights on the land upon which these government institutions and private businesses are located. This was an open affront that the good people of Osogbo maturely managed to averting chaos and or breach of peace and tranquility.
On December 22, 2022, the WhatsApp’s platform of the Osogbo Professionals Association (OPA or OPI), a registered entity in Nigeria representing and protecting interests of Osogbo and her citizens, was bombarded with concerning messages regarding copies of official documents claiming the location of the Osun State Secretariat’s as Abere, Osun State instead of Osogbo, Osun State. This misinformation unsettled the peace-loving citizens of Osogbo across the globe.
One of such documents was referenced as number SAAPRC/001/03 and dated December 21, 2022 and was signed by Olayinka Oderinde, PhD. This document’s caption read “OSUN STATE GOVERNMENT STAFF AUDITS/APPOINTMENTS/PROMOTIONS REVIEW COMMITTEE Address: Osun Investment Promotion Agency Building (OSPA), Abere, Osun State”.
The emphasis here is on “Abere, Osun State” instead of reading “Osogbo, Osun State”. This document is an official instrument of the Government of Osun State and it claims it emanated from a government office at Abere, not Osogbo. One of the questions that the peace-loving citizens of Osogbo across the globe need an answer to regarding this document, and many other documents, has to do with the current name of the city of the seat of the Government of Osun State or the State Capital of Osun State. Is it now Abere, Ede as opposed to Osogbo as announced by former President Babangida on August 27, 1991? An answer to this question will be highly appreciated.
If the Capital City of Osun State remains Osogbo, and not Abere, Ede, the peace-loving people of Osogbo across the globe implore our political leaders to urgently take necessary steps to ensure that all documents from Osun State correctly reflect the name of Osogbo as the seat of the government of Osun State.
The other concerning and troubling development is that our investigations revealed that Osogbo is about the on
ly state capital in the entire Nigeria where the signs and or signposts at the entrances of the State Secretariat and other important government institutions and offices like the State House of Assembly’s entrance, the INEC premises. entrance, etc, do not conspicuously read the name of such State Capital.
More specifically, the signage at the entrance of the seat of government of Osun State reads “STATE GOVERNMENT OF OSUN SECRETARIAT” without any clarification or information to advise visitors to the state that this seat of government and related government facilities and institutions are sitting in Osogbo, the true Capital City of Osun State. This is in total contradiction to signages at the entrance of the House of Assembly premises of Kwara State, a neighboring state to Osun State as an example. The signage at the entrance of the seat of the legislative arm of government of that
neighboring state conspicuously reads “KWARA STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY, ILORIN”. The peace-loving people of Osogbo across the globe would equally like to see important government buildings and premises in Osogbo reflecting the name of Osogbo as the true location of these edifices of government as reflected in other state capitals across the nation.
This letter serves as an urgent appeal to his Excellency, Governor Ademola N. J. Adeleke; the House Assembly members of Osun State; members of the House of Representatives, the Senate and the Presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and all other relevant or concerned stakeholders to take necessary steps in ensuring that:
(A). All documents emanating from the government of Osun State must reflect the name of the true Capital City of Osun State, which is Osogbo. Henceforth, all letterheads, documents and or any form of instruments of the government of Osun State that currently have Abere or any other town or city name other than Osogbo should be removed from circulation and their replacement should reflect Osogbo as the seat of the government of Osun State;
(B). All signposts and signages of Osun State and Federal government institutions, establishments and or offices including, but not limited to, those of the House of Assembly, the State Secretariat, the INEC, the Central Bank of Nigeria branch in Osogbo, NTA and other edifices of Osun State Capital should henceforth bear Osogbo as the location of such structures especially around the vicinity surrounding the Osun State Secretariat.
Signed:
Osogbo Professionals Association (OPA/OPI)
To: His Excellency, Governor Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke, the Executive Governor of Osun State
Members, the Osun State House of Assembly
His Excellency, President Muhammad Buhari, Commander In Chief of Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria
Members, Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
Members, House of Representatives of Federal Republic of Nigeria
CC: Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru, Spokesperson for the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria representing Osun Central Senatorial District
Alhaji Teslim Igbalaye, the Secretary to the State Government of Osun State
Hon. Taofeek Badamasi, Osun State House of Assembly Member representing Osogbo Local Government
Hon. Kunle Akande, Osun State House of Assembly Member representing Olorunda Local Government
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