AMBO! AMBO!! Everywhere, Why AMBO?-Kola Odepeju

The way the catchword ‘AMBO’, which is the acronym of Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji is spreading rapidly across Osun State like the harmattan fire tells much about the personality of the man.  Every nook and cranny in Osun State today, ‘AMBO’ has become a household name. It’s on the lips of everyone; both old and young ones, youths and children, indigenes and non-indigenes in the state.

The fast and vast acceptability of this campaign slogan reminds me of when we started ‘ORANMIYAN’, the name with which the former governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf  Aregbesola launched out in 2004 to sell himself to Osun people for his governorship aspiration then. It would be recalled that ORANMIYAN – within just a month that it was launched – had become a mass movement. It had become like sugar attracting ants in multiples from all angles. No doubt the situation we have now in respect of the name AMBO can be likened to the ORANMIYAN or the Ó TÓGÉ movement in Kwara State in 2019.

As one of the promoters of AMBO, l receive calls and messages daily from people especially Osun indigenes in the diaspora inquiring about AMBO. Questions like; Kola, ‘what’s the full meaning of AMBO?’, ‘who’s he?’, ‘why are you supporting him of all the other aspirants?’, and ‘what’s his antecedent?’, “how much of him do you know?”, “can he deliver the goods?” etcetera etcetera. Of course these are questions that are very simple for me to answer. Very simple to answer because I don’t really need to stress myself much to provide answers to them as AMBO is a credible and sellable candidate.

I endeavor to explain to my inquisitors the full meaning of AMBO and that he’s the Asiwaju of Ikire town and that he gains this much acceptability within this short time due to the fact that he’s a symbol of charismatic leadership; that some certain attributes endear him to many people. These are integrity, competence, humility, resourcefulness, vision and some other positive character traits.

INTEGRITY: To say that AMBO is a man of integrity is to simply state the obvious as his antecedent testifies to this. A very honest man who has demonstrated this quality in the different capacities he had found himself in the past; both in the private and public sectors he has never been found wanting in terms of moral principles.

COMPETENCE: Talking of competence, AMBO is eminently qualified. He possesses the needed educational qualifications and also the skill requires to provide quality leadership. Given his antecedents as a performer and a result-oriented person, he’s undoubtedly capable of taking Osun to greater heights.

HUMILITY: Another lofty quality that endears AMBO to the people is his humble nature. The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of the English language defines the word *humility* as a modest and low opinion of one’s own importance. Just like his boss, the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Alhaji Isiaka Adegboyega Oyetola, AMBO’s unassuming nature is not only commendable but enviable. It’s also one of the reasons why he commands massive followership in the state.  Never would anyone know that he’s the Asiwaju of Ikire. He’s not a noise maker. He lives a simple life and he’s not given to unnecessary grandstanding to attract attention.

RESOURCEFULNESS: Resourcefulness is defined as the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties. AMBO is a highly resourceful and result-oriented person. He knows how to wiggle around a difficult situation to bring about positive results. As the commissioner for finance under governor Oyetola then he demonstrated that capacity as his creativity brought about appreciable increase in Osun IGR (Internally Generated Revenue). This assisted the state substantially in meeting up with people’s expectations with respect to the duties and obligations of government to the citizens.

VISION: Vision is the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom. The hallmark of a visionary leader is not only in having vision, but knowing how to translate that vision to reality. This quality isn’t lacking in AMBO. This is evident in the way he envisioned increase in IGR as commissioner for finance under Oyetola and how he brought it about through his ingenuity. This indicates that translating his vision for a greater Osun to reality is possible, no doubt.

CHARACTER: AMBO is a man gifted with positive character traits viz; honesty, transparency, empathy, loyalty, kindness, generosity; just to mention a few. AMBO’s good character earned him the title Asiwaju of Ikire, no doubt. Like the Yorubas do say;  ‘Ki a to fi eniyan joyè ninu ìlú, o ni lati jé eni rere’ (Before a person can be made a chief in any community he or she must be of good character).

The aforementioned, are the reasons why AMBO is gaining acceptability daily in the state as people know that he towers above others in terms of those charismatic qualities a leader who should lead the state of ‘OMOLUABI’ must possess. That he has all it takes to take Osun to the next level cannot be disputed–  Mr Kola Odepeju, a political activist and social commentator, writes from Iragbiji, Osun State