As one of the Yoruba Proverbs goes “Ogun Omode Kole se’re f’ogun Odun”,My late brother and friend,Barrister as he was fondly called by majority of us his political associates was a good man during his lifetime. He was actually the brain behind the formation of Osun number one online media Group called Progressives e-Group in Osun which was founded in the year 2014.
He is in the best position to tell the actual year or month he mooted the idea of the formation but,he started coordinating the group singlehandedly in 2014 by collating the datas of everyone he noticed has the progressive tendency in his/her social media posting during that period.
He started talking to us individually online before facilitated the first physical meeting on Friday 14th of February 2014 at his then law office beside Moye fuelling station,along Osogbo/Iwo road Osogbo with just three people namely, Himself,comrade Abeegunde Omo Igbaye and i.We agreed on the first meeting to hold enlarge meeting the following Sunday 16th of February 2014 at Kosemani house,opposite Nigeria Road safety corps office,Ogo Oluwa area, Osogbo where we had in attendance people like comrade Wahab Omo Abiona, comrade Abeegunde Omo Igbaye, comrade Wale Alabi, comrade Adabanija, comrade Abdul lateef among others whose names i can not remember now.
We only had few meetings at the Kosemani house where it was suggested that we move our weekly meetings to another suitable venue for security reason. It was Barrister that voluntarily agreed and surrendered his sitting room at Testing ground area Osogbo for the group for our weekly meeting and continue coordinating the meeting until we choose our first coordinator in person of comrade Wale Alabi in the same year 2014.
HOW THE NAME PROGRESSIVES e-GROUP CAME ABOUT.
We had several meetings before we finally named the group Progressives e-Group and the name was coincidentally suggested by the same man because we have so many names been suggested by members before we all arrived at the current name as suggested by Barrister who gave reasonable reasons why the group should be named Progressives e-Group which we all eventually agreed with and it becomes our name since then till date.
REASON BEHIND THE FORMATION OF THE GROUP ACCORDING TO LATE BARRISTER ADEDIRAN MUFTAU ABIODUN.
This group was formed purposely to support the reelection bid of our Life Patrion Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and according to barrister Adediran Muftau Abiodun,then some disgruntled elements on social media have mounted serious opposition against the second coming of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola who was busy days and nights then transforming the state and in order not to truncate the waves of development in Osun, people of like minds started to forming coalitions to support the second term ambition of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola especially by projecting the good works of his administration and this was where the slogan and motto of our group came about. “Truly in support of good governance”
The group swung in to action by started visiting the projects site across all the local government areas in Osun and some individuals who we believe shared the same ideologies with us. We visited some traditional rulers to seek for their support for Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and we moved rounds every nooks and crannies of the state to capture all the ongoing projects both completed and uncompleted ones to solicit people’s support for Ogbeni and the reasons why we must all support his second term ambition for continuity of the good works he started.
We named Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola our life patron after he successfully won his reelection in 2014.
Until he died last year 2023,Barrister Adediran Muftau Abiodun was still at the vanguard of how to bring back the glory of the group after the former governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s system of operation as the leader of the party that succeeded Aregbesola scattered the group and bring it to disrepute.
May his gentle soul continue to rest in peace.
