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| Chief Olusegun Osoba |
The Governor of Ogun State,
Prince Dapo Abiodun, has acknowledged the larger-than-life image of the second
Executive Governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba.
Governor Abiodun said,
"Chief Osoba will be remembered for his resilience, tenacity of purpose
and political brinkmanship that has honour".
In a statement issued in Abeokuta
by Kunle Somorin, the Governor's Chief Press Secretary, Governor Abiodun said:
"The title 'Statesmen' is not an honorific ascribed or acclaimed by
default of social status. It is a journey through the path of excellence,
sacrifice, selflessness and dedication to the destination of honour and
fulfillment.
"You have journeyed that
path for eight decades as a thoroughbred reporter, politician and
administrator."
Gov. Abiodun said as a political
son of Osoba, he has learnt a lot from the octogenarian. "We are so very
proud of the heritage you bequeath to us"
The governor described Chief Osoba
as not only a quintessential statesman, but a thoroughbred professional
journalist whose legacy will be an inspiration to the successor generation of
journalists.
In his biography, ‘Battlelines:
Adventures in Journalism and Politics’, the statement added, "Baba Osoba
reminisced on his sojourn in the past for his rise and rise in his first
constituency – Journalism, and recalled that “In 1964, I was the only Lagos
reporter that had home telephone".
"Even with limited understanding
in pragmatics," the governor noted, "it’s not difficult for an
uninitiated to observe that what helped him to succeed in those years was an
early investment in acquiring a telephone at home, which was a rarity in those
days particularly for a young reporter. He also had a small notebook which he
always carried with him. It was filled with addresses and phone numbers of contacts,
politicians and newsmakers."
Gov. Abiodun said,"If I were
to deduce anything from the extract above, more than being the first reporter
to own a telephone in Lagos in 1964, it has to be how a highly motivated and
visionary young journalist was so determined to succeed in his calling that he
invested heavily in a tool which was seen then as a luxury. How it indeed
helped him succeed!
"Aremo is arguably the
most successful journalist of his generation and it is not difficult to see why
he did."
As a politician, the statement
described Chief Osoba as, "one of the finest, principled and pro-poor
leaders who put the people first. That is discernible in how he led Ogun State
twice as governor, how he still leads APC in our state and how he fought for
the actualisation of June 12 when Chief MKO Abiola's mandate was annulled in
1993. He is a progressive of prodigious hue".
Gov. Abiodun thanked Chief Osoba
for his inspirational leadership and prays that the Almighty will keep the
reporter-statesman in good health.
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