In a standoff that echoes the worst nightmares of Kenya’s devolution journey, the Nigerian Federal Government’s withholding of Osun State funds serves as a chilling reminder: Financial autonomy is the heartbeat of democracy, and right now, Osun is in cardiac arrest.

The political theatre in Abuja has taken a punitive turn. President Bola Tinubu’s administration continues to withhold a staggering ₦46.9 billion (approx. KES 4.2 billion) intended for Osun State’s local councils. The justification? A legal tussle over the legitimacy of local council elections. But let us strip away the legalese: this is a power play. It is the centre squeezing the periphery until it gasps for air. The Supreme Court has already ruled that such seizures are a "grave breach of the Constitution," yet the funds remain frozen.

For an East African audience, the parallels are impossible to ignore. We have seen this movie before. The tension between the National Government and the Counties in Kenya often revolves around the same axis: money. When the Treasury delays equitable share disbursements, garbage piles up in Mombasa, hospitals run out of drugs in Kisumu, and ECDE teachers go unpaid in Turkana. What is happening in Osun is a cautionary tale of what happens when the "Big Brother" at the centre decides to weaponize the national purse.

The Weaponization of Allocation

The Editorial Board of Premium Times is right to demand the immediate release of these funds. The victims of this standoff are not the politicians in the Governor’s mansion; they are the primary school teachers, the local health workers, and the pensioners who depend on the Local Government Areas (LGAs) for their survival. By starving the local tier of government, the Tinubu administration is effectively punishing the innocent for the "sins" of their leaders.

Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun finds himself in a position familiar to many Kenyan Governors: pleading for resources that are constitutionally guaranteed. The dispute stems from the dissolution of APC-led councils and fresh elections won by the PDP—a classic partisan brawl. But the Constitution is not a party manifesto. It is the supreme law. Disobeying a Supreme Court order to release funds is not just contempt; it is an act of administrative tyranny.

Lessons for Nairobi

Why should a Kenyan care about Osun? Because the fragility of devolution is universal. If a President can unilaterally withhold funds to settle political scores, the entire structure of decentralized power collapses. In Kenya, we must remain vigilant. The Treasury’s "cash crunch" excuses must never be allowed to morph into the deliberate stifling of opposition-led counties.

• The Principle: Funds follow functions. You cannot mandate local services while withholding local cash.
• The Precedent: Allowing the centre to disobey the Supreme Court on financial matters sets a dangerous trap for any democracy.
• The verdict: Tinubu must pay. The grass suffers when two elephants fight, but in this case, the grass is dying.

The people of Osun elected their leaders, and they deserve their resources. President Tinubu, release the funds. Democracy is expensive, but the cost of autocracy is far higher.