If you could suspend political cynicism, suppress political skepticism, and, just for a moment, set aside political stereotypes and partisanship, you’ll discover there’s so much to enjoy in Nigerian politicking, and that there are so many profound truths to learn. That’s what I did and that’s what I experienced and gained watching the video of the Wednesday, 9 July, 2014 People’s Democratic Party (PDP) thank you rally in Ibadan following the victory of former Governor Peter Ayodele Fayose in the 21 June, 2014 Ekiti State governorship election.
“PDP!” That was how, with a very loud shout, an umbrella-cum-walking-stick-carrying and dancing former Governor of Oyo State, Alao Akala, kicked off the rally. The mammoth crowd responded, “Power!” Again, he exclaimed, “PDP!” Again, the crowd responded: “Power!”, and he said, “Power to the People!” He then recognised party members present. These included the Governor-Elect of Ekiti State (Ayodele Fayose), the Chairman of the South West Organisation and Mobilisation Committee of the PDP (Buruji Kashamu) and the Chairman of the party in Oyo State (Yinka Taiwo).
After the recognitions, the politicking began, and Akala declared in English: “We in Oyo State PDP, we’re ready … for the elections. And I want to assure you that Oyo State is for grabs by PDP. … People in Oyo State are tired of APC [All Progressives Congress]. And by the grace of God, come year 2015, PDP is going to rule Oyo State.” He then raised a Yoruba song which was chorused by the audience: “Ó fé ìtójú nlá, ó fé àmójútó; ó fé ìtójú nlá, ó fé àmójútó; eni tó n se power, power tó wá fé di agbálè ojà, ó fé àmójútó. Ó fé àmójútó, ó fé ìtójú nlá; eni tó n se power télè tó tún wá di agbálè ojà, ó fé àmójútó. Mo le mo ba, mo tún gbàá padà. Mo le mo ba, mo tún gbàá padà. Mo le mo ba, mo tún gbàá padà. Mo le mo ba, mo tún gbàá padà. Ire gbogbo tó sonù lowó wa.”
Shorn of all rhetorical repetition, the message of this song is that the person who was a member of the PDP and was chanting the slogan “Power”, but who thereafter wanted to or had actually defected to the APC and was carrying a broom (the symbol of the APC), like a market sweeper, required serious medical attention. His message also included the declaration that he and the PDP were diligently seeking to reclaim the governorship seat of Oyo State which he, as the incumbent governor, lost to the APC’s Abiola Ajimobi in 2011.
He then addressed the audience, again in Yoruba, passing the following English-summarised message: Tell the ruling APC to be packing their things in readiness for a take-over of Oyo State by the PDP. And, stand by the PDP. He also declared: “Àwa lókàn.” (‘It’s our turn.’) He underscored the now famous claim (“Àwa lókàn.”) by citing the Yoruba proverb “Oyè tó kan ará Ìwó n bò wá kan ará Ede.” (‘The chieftaincy given to the people of Iwo assures that the turn of the people of Ede will come.’) He also reasoned that as the PDP defeated the incumbent APC government in Ekiti State, so would the party defeat the incumbent APC government of Oyo State.
The former Senate Leader, Teslim Folarin, who was the next to speak, made a very short speech. “PDP!”, he proclaimed. And the audience responded, “Power!” Again, he shouted out, “PDP!” And they responded again, “Power!” Then he spelt out the acronym of the party’s name: “P, D, and P!” And he raised his own song: “Mérin-mérin àròpò ebi ni o; mérin-mérin àròpò ebi ni o. Mérin-mérin àròpò ebi ni o; mérin-mérin àròpò ebi ni o.” (‘4+4 = Hunger.’ [i.e., should the electorate vote in the incumbent APC government in Oyo State, in 2015, for another four years, it would translate into more hunger.])
As with the case of Alao Akala, there is a grand irony to the song, because Teslim Folarin, like Akala, defected from the PDP to the APC, and their new party organised a public reception for them and others at Mapo Hall Arcade in Ibadan on Saturday, 16 December, 2017. In fact, Folarin was the candidate of the APC for the governorship election in the state in 2023; and he remains a member of the APC till today. This development underscores the shiftiness of Nigerian politics. The political somersault of Akala and Folarin validate the Yoruba proverb, “Iná ilé l’omo ehoro ó yá gbèyìn.” (‘The young bush rabbit ends up keeping warm at the fireplace of the hunter’s home.’ [i.e., it will eventually be killed by the hunter and become roast meat.])
Then came Fayose’s turn to address the audience. He started by saying, “PDP!” And the audience responded, “Power!” Again, he shouted out, “Power!” Then he raised the song: “Eni bá n fáyò ko nawó sokè; èmi n fáyò mo nawó.” (‘Those that want joy or love Peter Fayose, let them raise their hands; I want joy and love Fayose, so I raise my hand.’) Here, Fayose’s middle name “Ayòdélé’ (‘Joy which I experienced on my sojourn stayed with me even on my arrival home.’) This name is sometimes shortened as “Ayò”. When Fayose then asked that those who wanted “Ayò” should raise their hands, he was playing on the word “Ayò”, for rhetorical effect, because it was not likely that any member of the audience would not have liked joy. Now, in liking joy they concomitantly liked Fayose.
He raised another chorused song in which, through innuendo, he referred to the incumbent APC Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State as “Eléyí”, as follows: Fayose: “Eléyí ó lo!” Audience: “Yíó lo!” Fayose: “Eléyí ó lo!” Audience: “Yíó lo!!” Fayose: “Eléyí ó lo!” Audience: “Yíó lo!” Fayose: “Bó gbé’ná karí!” Audience: “Yio lo!” Fayose: “Eléyí ó lo!” Audience: “Yíó lo!” Fayose: “Eléyí ó lo!” Audience: “Yíó lo!” Fayose: “Eléyí ó lo!” Audience: “Yíó lo!” Fayose: “Eléyí ó lo!” Audience: “Yíó lo!” Fayose: “Eléyí ó lo!” Audience: “Yíó lo!” Fayose: “Eléyí ó lo!” Audience: “Yíó lo!” Fayose: “Bó gbé’ná karí!” Audience: “Yíó lo!” Fayose: “Bó gbé’ná karí!” Audience: “Yíó lo!”
The key message of the song was that whatever gimmicks Ajimobi might play, “Eléyí ó lo!” (‘This one will go.’) As with other Asiwaju-Ahmed-Bola-Tinubu-popularised range of political expressions such as “Èmilókàn” and “Àwalókàn” at the Tinubu campaign speech of 3 June, 2022 in Abeokuta, “Eléyí” (that ultimate political put down) resonated at the 9 July, 2014 PDP rally in Ibadan.
Like Akala and Folarin, Fayose appeared to be so sure that the PDP would defeat the APC in the governorship election in Oyo State in 2015. But this did not come to pass. APC retained the governorship of the state. The PDP’s grandstanding as shown in the speeches of the PDP’s leading members at the Ibadan rally therefore came to be a validation of the English proverb, “Talk is cheap.” This idea is more picturesquely expressed in the Yoruba proverb, “Enú dùn rò’fó.” (‘It’s easy to cook vegetables with the mouth.’)
From the grim perspective, watching today the video of the 2014 Fayose thank you rally demonstrates the mortality of human beings. Alao Akala who was at his boisterous best at that event died on 12 January, 2022. The sturdy and confidently calm Buruji Kashamu died on 8 August, 2020. And the “Eléyí” of Oyo State, the vivacious Abiola Ajimobi, who was the primary object of rhetorical attack at the PDP rally, died on 25 June, 2020. As a Yoruba proverb articulates the lack of immunity to death, “Ikú ó pa eni à n pè; ikú ó pa eni tí n pe’ni.” (‘Death will kill the person we’re condemning, and death will kill the person condemning us.’) The challenge that the inevitability of death throws is therefore that life should be lived with humility, circumspection and a desire, at all times, to leave behind a noble and enduring legacy.
Furthermore, in the 2014 thank you rally in Ibadan, Fayose underscored the value of ensuring a level playing field in the primaries of parties, and that he had no preferred candidate among the aspirants for the governorship ticket of the PDP in Oyo State. He appealed in English: “Let us work for the most popular candidate. There must be no imposition. … There must be no imposition. … The Muazu-led Exco gave me the rare opportunity of allowing a level playing ground which produced me as the candidate of the party [in Ekiti State]. … Let the best candidate win the election for the party.”
It is significant that it was in Oyo State that Fayose was making the point about creating a level playing field for aspirants. In fact, it is widely agreed that imposing a governorship candidate on the APC in the state for the 2019 election accounted for the loss of the party in that year’s election. In protest against the perceived imposition, some dissatisfied aspirants and party members defected to other parties. Some of those who stayed back decided not to work for or vote for the APC’s governorship candidate. The PDP candidate, Seyi Makinde, therefore won the election. The incumbent Governor of Oyo State at the time, Abiola Ajimobi, who was believed to be the key actor in the imposition, was also made to lose in the senatorial election.
In 2023, history repeated itself in the APC, as the governorship primary of the state was believed to have been manipulated with the acquiescence of the national hierarchy of the party; and Governor Seyi Makinde of the PDP won re-election for a second term in office. The question now is, “Would Oyo State APC learn from its bitter experience, follow Fayose’s invaluable counsel, and provide a level playing field in choosing its candidate for the 2027 governorship election?”
Former Governor Ayodele Fayose is steadily building for himself the image of an astute politician. When he wanted to be governor for the first time, he identified water as a critical problem for his people. So, he got water tankers into Ekiti State to supply water free of charge to them. In appreciation, they voted for him, and he won. He also created the concept of ‘stomach infrastructure’ – those things that could be used to satisfy the immediate survival needs of the populace. Moreover, Fayose attended Governor Nyesom Wike’s end-of-tenure activities in Port Harcourt in 2023. At the programme, he counseled the then-Governor-Elect of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, to be circumspect and avoid conflict with Wike, if he desired to enjoy his tenure. It’s not certain whether Fubara took Fayose’s advice, but crisis broke out between Wike and Fubara shortly after Fubara assumed office, and it continues till today.
