According to official documents of the Chilean government, no fewer than 3,095 executions and forced disappearances were recorded during Pinochet's regime.
Through the instrument of the 1980 Constitution he foisted on the people of Chile, Pinochet made himself a senator-for-life in 1998, the same year he was arrested in London under an international warrant in connection with numerous human rights violations.
As at the time he died in 2026, about 300 criminal charges were still pending against him in Chile over numerous human rights violations committed during his 17-year rule, as well as tax evasion and embezzlement during and after his rule.
Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State now shares similarities with the late dictator. Adeleke's government runs roughshod over the people, believing that immunity, even though temporarily shields him of prosecution on corruption and other crimes, covers his high-handedness and impunity. He has, like Pinochet, become a repressive ruler and corruption personified. His aides and appointees, including his Chief of Staff, are now daily visitors to EFCC and other anti-graft agencies over contract inflation, personnel payroll scam of over N40 billion, local government allocation diversion and other fraudulent transactions.
In 2023, his government was accused of diverting N2 billion federal government grants meant for the purchase of CNG buses and the improvement of the transportation system in the state. Till date, the state has been unable to account for the money, as no buses were purchased by the government.
Adeleke's administration has also been accused of mismanaging the ecological fund meant to address environmental challenges in the state, as well as being accused of concealing the state's financial records for 2026.
Governor Ademola Adeleke, whose Pyrrhic victory at the poll led to no fewer than 35 deaths of opposition members and supporters, holds no respect for the citizens. Political thugs and chieftains affiliated with his Accord Party, such as Emir Ajagungbade, Nurudeen Alawonle, Small Rugged, Jide Joda, have been repeatedly accused of being responsible for some of these gruesome murders.
The latest manifestation of the dictatorship and oppression taking place under Adeleke's administration is the harassment of civil servants believed to be sympathisers of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Even though the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Governor Adeleke the winner of the election, Governor Adeleke still moves around like a bull in a china shop, aiming to destroy every state institution because of his unbridled bitterness against his imaginery adversaries.
Yesterday, some civil servants were reportedly invited for questioning over their electoral decisions in the election. Civil servants who are members or sympathisers of the APC are being singled out for punishment. They are targeted because they voted candidate of the APC, Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO), on August 15 and are also campaigning for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The local government staffers who reported to the Local Government Service Commission office at the state secretariat had their personal mobile phones scrutinized to determine whether they belong to APC WhatsApp groups. They suspect that such WhatsApp groups on their phones could indicate their affiliations with the APC. They have also mandated the affected workers to report today, Thursday, for further questioning.
Governance has never been this clownish, this petty and this low, in the state.
The reported scrutiny of personal phones is an infringement on the privacy of the workers and the state government should stop this crude harassment immediately.
Governor Adeleke appears to believe that the renewal of his tenure as Osun governor is a licence for him to turn himself into Augusto Pinochet, Adolf Hitler or Mobutu Sese Sekou. No. The renewal of his mandate is an opportunity for him to serve the people and redeem his image, particularly in the face of allegations of corruption and nepotism.
The governor should understand that an electoral victory is not a licence for political vengeance or a permission to intimidate, harass or persecute citizens because of their political choices.
The people of Osun, irrespective of the political parties they support, remain citizens entitled to dignity, freedom and equal protection under the law.
• ADEDEJI, a media practitioner, is Secretary Media and Publicity Committee as well as Team Leader Digital Media Committee, Osun APC Governorship Campaign Council
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