Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola Profile

Engr. Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola was born in
the month of May, 1957. He had his
primary and secondary education in Ondo
State , and later attended The Polytechnic ,
Ibadan , where he studied Mechanical
Engineering and graduated in 1980 . As a
pupil in the primary school , Rauf was a
centre -point around whom his mates
hovered for guidance and direction . As a
student, he was focused for remarkable
performance which he made distinctively
and seamlessly . In the Polytechnic , he
positioned himself to conquer his
environment by engaging in prolific studies.
The career man
Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of
Management ( FNIM) , Fellow of Nigerian
Society of Engineers ( FNSE) , Fellow of the
Nigerian Association of Technological
Engineers ( FNATE) and Fellow of the
Certified Marketing Communications
Institute of Nigeria ( FCMCIN ) , Rauf
Aregbesola has a wealth of experience
garnered through wide exposure in the
private sector , such as the Nigerian
External Telecommunications, now
renamed Nigerian Telecommunications Ltd .
and Lagos Airport Hotel , before
establishing his own Engineering Services
Company , Aurora Nigeria Limited , in 1986.
The company had handled numerous major
projects for both government and private
organisations in most States of the
Federation.
The politician
Politically, Rauf has been no less a
phenomenon . His involvement in politics
dates back to his undergraduate days
when he was Speaker of the Students ’
Parliament ( 1977 /78) , The Polytechnic,
Ibadan , and the President of the Black
Nationalist Movement ( 1978- 1980 ) . He
was also an active supporter of other
progressive students ’ movements
nationwide, which earned him , for instance,
the life membership of National
Association of Technological Students . In
June 1990 , he became an elected delegate
to the SDP Inaugural Local Government
Area Congress. In July of the same year,
he was also a delegate to its first National
Convention in Abuja .
Rauf Aregbesola , as a pro - democracy and
human rights activist , was a major
participant in the demilitarisation and pro -
democracy struggles of the 1990s . Prior to
his appointment as the Lagos State
Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure
( 1999 -2007 ) , he was Director of the Bola
Ahmed Tinubu Campaign Organisation
( BATCO) , which engineered the electoral
victory of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as
the Governor of Lagos State in 1999 . He
performed similar feat using the platform
of Independent Campaign Group ( ICG) to
ensure the re- election of Asiwaju for a
second term in office.
The Commissioner
Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola acquitted himself
excellently as Commissioner for Works and
Infrastructure in Lagos State between 1999
and 2007 with the strength of his
commitment to selfless service . His
diligence, sincerity and tirelessness in the
administration of the vast Ministry of
Works and Infrastructure , as well as
supervision of the Public Works
Corporation and State Electricity Board,
has been acknowledged as being
responsible for the outstanding success
recorded by the Tinubu administration ,
especially in road rehabilitation /
maintenance and street lighting ; and
achievement that solidly laid the
foundation for the actualisation of Lagos
as the model of development and good
governance as being sustained by Governor
Babatunde Raji Fashola today . Indeed, it is
a known fact that he is one of the brains
behind the infrastructural re - engineering
that has now resulted in the
transformation of social amenities in Lagos
State .
Some of the novel achievements and
innovations due to Aregbesola ’ s visionary
qualities and enterprise include the
redefinition and application of new
aesthetic standards to ministry blocks and
offices as corporate workplaces ; vision and
mission definition , annual staff retreats
and modern manpower capacity building
trainings; introduction of facility
management practices ; pioneering
achievements in PR ( ministry journal ) and
IT ( website ) operation; Pioneering Private/
Public Sector Partnership Ventures ; Award-
winning best practices projects ; etc.
The believer and advocate of the rule of
law
Aregbesola ’ s belief in the sanctity of the
rule of law is exemplary.
Engr. Rauf Aregbesola , on the platform of
the then Action Congress ( AC ) contested
for the Governorship of Osun State in the
April 2007 elections , and won . To be so
declared, however , took close to four years
of what must go down as one of the most
titanic mandate recovery legal battles of all
time , and a moment for the manifestation
of the omnipotence of the Almighty God
and his steadfastness in support of those
who rely on him.
Having gone through the tribunal of first
instance, an appeal and a retrial tribunal ,
the second appeal court, delivering
judgment on October 26, 2010, declared
Aregbesola governor and ordered he be
sworn in the next day.
Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola , since
assuming office as Governor of the State of
Osun on October 27 , 2010 , has redefined
the meaning of governance in the public
sector , not just with symbolic posturing ,
but real and sustainable interventions that
will presently enhance the quality of life of
everyone that lives or works in the State of
Osun . Rebranding of the state as the ipinle
Omoluabi ( State of the Virtuous ) started
from himself, adopting the title Ogbeni ,
simply Mister, in deference to the singular
Excellency of the Almighty God. In just over
a year , the chronicle of his achievements is
astounding, and may be summarised as a
chain of “O -Models”, the most astonishing
been the engagement of 20 , 000 youth in
the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme
within his first 100 days in office; an
accomplishment without precedence that
has become the model for others to follow .
The strategist /visionary
Rauf is a born strategist . Throughout his
life , whether as a pupil, student or career
man ; political appointee or Governor,
Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola has
applied the art and science of strategy to
ensure success in all endeavours in which
he is engaged. He strategised and was
outstanding as a student. He strategised
and was efficient and effective as a career
man . He strategised and was
accomplished as a grassroots politician .
He strategised and was excellent as a
commissioner in Lagos State . He
strategised to reclaim his mandate when
he was rigged out in the race to offer
selfless service to the good people of
Osun . He strategised to lay a sound
foundation for a regenerated Osun State
knowing that sustainable development
does not happen with ‘ quick fix ’ methods ,
tools , and techniques. He is strategising
to position Osun and the good people of
the state appropriately in the geo-
economic milieu of Nigeria . He is a fervent
believer in the dictum that strategists do
not fail and so will not fail the people of
Osun .
Committed to a better, egalitarian society ,
Aregbesola , though fully anxious to build a
society with massive physical
infrastructures that promote better living ,
believes in first pursuit of those human
values that can pave the way for the
emergence of that total man , who is
socially responsible . Hence his dogged
pursuit of programmes extra - curricular
schemes, such as the Calisthenics ,
Omoluabi Boys and Girls Club, and other
schemes aimed at re -orientating the
youths to channel their energies towards a
society where the promotion of the
common , collective goods will dominate
the crazy pursuit of the good of the self .
He stirs the hornet’ s nests often ; but ,
these are in his determined attempts to
break the norms to achieve extra - ordinary
results . To date , he has ignited debates on
federalism , restructuring of education
towards functionality , equity, justice and
fairness in all spheres of life . Even in the
face of mounting criticisms, he holds
tenaciously to his ideas , convinced that
oppositions to them are products of long
years of military rule, ignorance of what is
even good for humanity and the acute
manipulative capacities of those whose
interest it is to keep the ordinary people
perpetually subjugated .
The family man
An exemplary family man , Rauf Aregbesola
is a loving husband and caring father .
Married to Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola , he
has nurtured his family with equal devotion
and commitment.
For these reasons, he is a thinker , ardent
performer, a visionary leader , a
transformational leader, an agent of
strategic change, a man for the people ;
Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola , Governor
of the State of Osun .