Call it the drama of politics or the politics of drama — an “Arakunrin” just dawned on Ondo State.
That land must be rich with political symbolism, with telling meanings. But could there also be, in that land of sunshine, the politics of meaning? Ask the doughty players.
Only yesterday, there was an Iroko. As elected governor and political Iroko, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, a medic-turned grassroots politician, of “Gba sibe” fame, was as formidable as they come.
For 12 years, at least, he held the Sunshine State in thrall, so much so that his powerful Iroko boughs could cut out the sun from any opponent’s political aspiration.
If he favoured you? You were in political el-dorado, of perpetual sunshine, perched on its mighty boughs. But that could, with the speed of light, turn ashen, if you developed any fanciful ideas outside the received wisdom of the strict lord of the manor — cynical, street-wise and full of nativist intrigues.
Twelve years? Yeah, but do the math, if you doubt. As the late Governor Adebayo Adefarati’s Health commissioner, the Iroko’s yellow card eventually changed to red. That tossed old man Adefarati out of the Alagbaka State House window in Akure. The mighty Iroko just secured a new, sweetheart deal with the late Segun Agagu.
Though Mimiko was Governor Agagu’s Secretary to the State Government, yet another Iroko yellow card would send Agagu out of power, after a hotly disputed election, eventually awarded Mimiko, by the courts.
The Iroko, who would go on to enjoy two terms (for the first time in Ondo State history) promised a lot. But almost by consensus, from his electors, he delivered pretty little, though the Iroko and his men would hotly dispute that.
Well, during the Iroko reign also came another, sworn to unhorsing the lord of the manor. His name was Jimoh Ibrahim. He dubbed himself “Araba”. Just imagine a war of the forest, when the Iroko charges against the Araba! A leafy Armageddon?
Well, something close happened during the 2015 Ondo gubernatorial election. The Araba later claimed he “tied up the Iroko” for three crucial weeks — three weeks of fatal distraction. That was when the Araba claimed he was the valid Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, in lieu of Mimiko’s chosen, Prof. Eyitayo Jegede, SAN.
Well, the Ondo political forest throbbed and rocked, as the Iroko and the Araba tried each other for size, in Abuja courts. The rest, as they say, is history. The Iroko got a pyrrhic victory by getting his man back on the ticket. But the Araba got the real victory: three days to the election, the election appeared already lost and won, and the Iroko finally got unhorsed. Despite a nice try, the Iroko couldn’t instal his chosen successor.
But the Iroko’s loss is the Arakunrin’s gain. In that symbolic tradition, new Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, aka Aketi, decreed that he, as governor, would be simply “Arakunrin”. Not as formidable as Iroko, to be sure, but the robust tradition of colourful monikers is alive and well!
Still, the Arakunrin had better learn from the Iroko’s pitfall. The Iroko tried his best. But if he had plotted less, been less cynical and shunned the hubris of over-reaching himself, he would have left a far better Ondo.
That is the task before the Arakunrin. Even if he wins a second term, eight years, as Mimiko found out the hard way, is too fleeting. Before you know it, it’s gone!
So, Arakunrin, stay focused!