● How A Special Adviser Emerged Most Powerful Figure In Osun
●The Bukola Saraki Connection
Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun corrupts the notion that people at the top of the power equation are those without qualifications to detain them at the bottom.
Even though his qualifications were adjudged suspicious, and eventually became the subject of a controversial litigation that almost cost him his electoral victory, the Governor of Osun State has failed to dazzle in his incumbent role.
Rather than commit to actual governance and so doing, justify the trust and sentimentality that brought him to power, the Osun governor has developed a knack for distracting his people and critics with his oft juvenile and salacious dance moves. He has never passed over an opportunity to dance at a party or political rally. Anywhere there was a beat, Governor Adeleke would twerk and roll his waist like a belly dancer.
More worrisome is his penchant for recruiting a mediocre team. State House legend avers that Governor Adeleke doesn’t want any member of his kitchen cabinet to outshine him and consequently pose a threat, thus his penchant for recruiting staff members who are a little less capable. Governor Adeleke extols an anti-Darwinian theory translatable as the survival of the “unfittest.”
But despite his fear of being outshone by his underlings, there is one staff member whose welfare and happiness Governor Adeleke does not toy with. His name is Bankole Omisore.
Once upon a time, at the beginning of Governor Adeleke’s administration, faced with the imminent disgrace of failing in a role that he was the least qualified for, the Osun governor sought the help of his billionaire brother, Adedeji Adeleke.
The latter who is the father of Afrobeats sensation, Davido, couldn’t bear to see his younger brother (Governor Adeleke) fail hence he contacted ex-Senate President and two-time governor of Kwara, Bukola Saraki, to pay constant visits to the Osun State House to assist the newbie Governor Adeleke with the business of governance.
But Saraki declined stating that it would be scandalous for every party concerned. There was no way he could pull it off without arousing suspicion, he said. Instead, he nominated Bankole Omisore for the role.
Ever since Omisore joined Adeleke’s government as a Special Adviser on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and Multilateral Relations, he has been the brain behind most of the governor’s decisions. So powerful is Omisore that several members of Adeleke’s defer to him. Irrespective of their glaring age differences, older members of Governor Adeleke’s team suck up to Omisore because they believe he has the ears of the His Excellency and could cause their dismissal or otherwise on a whim.
Bankole, a seasoned International relations and digital communications specialist was a digital tech and real estate investor; until his appointment by Adeleke, he has for years been a leading advocate for Gender Equality and youth inclusion in politics and governance.
Omisore was the lead coordinator of the Made-in-Nigeria Initiative, engineered by the Office of the President of the Nigerian Senate between 2015 and 2019.
He was also one of the lead facilitators in the promotion of the Procurement Act, a law, which is aimed at stimulating local production, promoting the patronage and consumption of local products, and enhancing the value of the naira.
In 2011, he was appointed as Special Assistant on Media and Advocacy to Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki of Kwara Central Senatorial District which facilitated his return to Nigeria and later promoted to Senior Special Assistant on International Relations in 2016 when Saraki was President of the Nigerian Senate.
He attended Coppin State University, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Management Science. He also has a certificate in digital transformation in journalism from the New York School of Journalism, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning – Strategy For Leading Business Transformation from NorthWestern Kellogg, and has Evidenced in Public Policy from the University of Oxford- Blavatnik School of Government in View.
As a cabinet-level special adviser, Omisore is expected to implement the 17 goals of Sustainable Development and report on all SDG engagement and projects in the state.
He is also expected to use the SDGs platform to drive innovation for an enabling environment that will create jobs, drive local consumption of agricultural produce in the state, reduce hunger, and improve quality health coverage.
In his capacity, he is also expected to serve as the representative and liaison officer for the Osun State government with foreign missions and developmental partners.
