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Tag: Ekiti 2014 :

  • Ekiti 2014: PDP demonic plans shall fail

    Ekiti 2014: PDP demonic plans shall fail

    Vote Fayose and turn this distinctively unique state into a plaything for not only President Jonathan and his Niger Delta boys but also the likes of Buruji Kashamu and Bode George

    For ten straight weeks on this column, I have done nothing else besides predicting, from what as a trained historian ,I know of its decade and a half stranglehold on Nigeria, what the PDP  would be up to in the run down to the Ekiti election which they, from Abuja to Otueke, see as the opening chapter of  President Goodluck Jonathan’s consuming 2015 ambition for which nothing is considered too sacrosanct  to give and that includes the very survival of Nigeria. I wrote about the role of the first lady in Fayose’s emergence, allegedly claiming  that he is the only one with the ‘craze’ to deal with a stubborn Ekiti people as well as the recruitment  of some ‘billionaire’ political jobbers both of  which accounted for the emergence of Fayose and Omisore as governorship candidates in Ekiti and Osun respectively. As a result of that imposition in Ekiti, 18 chieftains of the party, in an advertorial in THIS DAY of Wednesday June 11, 2014  disowned

    Fayose claiming that  with ‘his questionable antecedents, and for not possessing  the required temperament, disposition, and the capacity to deliver good government to Ekiti,  they cannot, in good conscience, work for him’.  Among them are Chief Ojo Falegan, Dr Bode Olowoporoku, Rt. Hon Kola Adefemi, Otunba Reuben Famuyibo, Ropo Adesanya, Chief Dapo Alibaloye, Sir Kayode Otitoju and Justice Edward Ojuolape (RTD)

    I interpreted the involvement of a Niger Delta militant, as coordinator of their  South West  security strategy, not only as a cheap sellout  of Yoruba people to a tiny Ijaw nation, but as the most direct evidence of their plan to import  Niger Delta  thugs.  Hundreds of such thugs were infiltrated into Ekiti on the occasion of the President’s visit on Saturday 7 June when he primarily came to commission the  war already  promised by his Vice.  Dozens  of them were  allegedly arrested by security operatives at Fayose’s Spotless Hotel  on June 10 as reported in the IROHIN ODUA edition of June 11, 2014.  On interrogation they claimed Fayose invited them for ‘strategic reasons’ as they were paraded with their  charms, arms and ammunition.  This is, of course, a mere tip of the iceberg, as the dangerous  Southwest PDP cabal, among them ministers, have promised to capture Ekiti. Here truly  must be the changed Fayose which Jonathan said he was presenting Ekiti  on Saturday, 7 June, and upon whose victory, which God forbid, he will now develop the state. Hogwash!

    President Jonathan on that day flagged off  another of his many wars as in  the  North East, Rivers, and  freshly,  Kano and  his Vice stayed behind to personally observe the commencement of  their  one-sided hostilities. Since it has become known that the likes of Yuguda were hankering after his job,  that  man of the permanent  overflowing babariga, would do just about anything to survive.

    Ekiti people did not have long to wait. With the intent to ‘shock and awe’, they started with the state governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who was tear gassed and shot at, as they broke up a peaceful rally. But if they thought we can be intimidated then they don’t know the doughty Ekiti with a checkered history of confronting, and defeating foreign invaders. Fortunately, the governor showed that minion something of the Ekiti make-up on that day. The foreign legion was, appropriately, led by an  Ijaw police officer, one Gabriel  Selenkere,  the state MOPOL Commander,  who  was alleged to have served as Jonathan’s ADC when he was Deputy Governor in Bayelsa.  Apparently, the man  who most probably  does  not take orders from the state  Police Commissioner  had  impudently told the latter when confronted by him: who? Which governor? I know no governor when the Vice President is still around. I have orders from above’.  If I may ask of this impertinent man,  what federal project was his Vice President waiting behind to commission in Ekiti ? That, incidentally,  is what Nigeria has been turned to by these  cretins.

    But all  that is only the opening glee as there are worse lined up for election day in the state. As it happened in 2003 when a substantial part of Fayose’s votes  were allegedly  ferried in to Ekiti from  the amala empire in Ibadan; the reason Baba chose whatever contract in Ekiti suited him,  they intend to have police men and thugs escort stuffed ballot boxes into  the state on 21 June. Thugs are also primed to disrupt vote counting in APC strongholds. They will be under orders to  shoot into the air but if unsuccessful, to shoot directly at the people. They have  equally  recruited some mid level  rogue elements  within INEC who will ensure that voting materials are either not supplied at all, or brought in very late to polling centres where they  suspect the  APC candidate will win.

    The most sinister of this criminal gang’s plan which is already ongoing in all Yoruba states, however, is the devilish process of political recruitment to which former governor Segun Oni referred during the APC Mega Rally in Ado-Ekiti. Having been used to maximum effect in a particular Southwest state where millions were turned to literal political slaves ahead the 2011 general elections, it is now being extended into all the other states and as I write this, I have a copy of their  membership application form  which  the Lagos PDP is already distributing. I am reliably informed  Fayose is doing the same thing in Ekiti already. The phony empowerment organisation coyly  attracts recruits with promises of jobs and credits but the two most important  questions on the application form are: the applicants’ Voters card number, for purposes of  cloning ahead the 2015 elections, and his/her mother’s name, for ritual purposes.

    The initiation process, so beguilingly simple is extremely dangerous going by what a nearly entrapped woman confessed. According to her, she was ferried, with others in a luxury bus  to a certain town  ostensibly for empowerment.  Getting there, they were asked to fill a form in which it was compulsory for them to supply their mothers’ names and voter’s card number. Suspecting foul play she gave wrong names for both herself and her mother. Then  into an inner room where a Moslem cleric was waiting to administer oaths of allegiance. After this came a herbalist  for another oath.  From there  they were herded  to another town in the state  to swear to two powerful Yoruba Deities one of which is reputed to suck the  blood of those who backslide. Then comes the dark large space inside the building where they all stood on blood as a man in white emerged with a gourd of water for the final oath-taking. She said she pretended like drinking the water but did not.  Engr Oni has warned against going to seek help from people who will make you swear to oaths, naked in a coffin and  thereby succeed in making you their slave for life. Awo, the Avatar, must be squirming in his grave.

    If care is not taken, these questionable characters will turn most of  the youth in  Yoruba land to political zombies who they will use as bargaining chips for their political harlotry , especially in 2015 and even beyond.

    Obviously, they have, in their giddiness, forgotten that  there is God.  As a result, they cannot remember how God miraculously took Israelites out of Egypt or, nearer home, how God saved  the likes of  General Oladipo Diya  from certain death in Abacha’s gulag.  As the Lord liveth,  they will fall victims of their  own diabolical plans as Ekiti will never return to Egypt nor will it ever again be ruled by crooks. Ekiti, the land of honour and distinction requires  not ragamuffins but a  visionary leadership.  Vote Fayose and turn this distinctively unique state into a plaything for not only President Jonathan and his Niger Delta boys but also the likes of Buruji Kashamu and Bode George.

    God forbid.

    We must all therefore refuse to be intimidated  come  21 June 2014 whatever the enemy’s armada. For them, nothing is sacred or sacrosanct. They will therefore descend on us  in all their fury, believing we will vote with our legs. But as Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu never ceases to say, power is never served ala carte. We must stand our ground and shame these vampires. We must vote John Kayode Fayemi overwhelmingly to  victory.

  • Sweeping of campaign venue provocative – Mu’azu

    Sweeping of campaign venue provocative – Mu’azu

    The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Ahmadu Mu’azu, has described the sweeping of the Ekiti stadium by the All Progressives Congress (APC) after last Saturday’s campaign by the PDP as provocative.

    The police and PDP supporters had attacked APC supporters in Ado Ekiti during which Governor Kayode Fayemi was physically manhandled by the police.

    An APC member was allegedly killed by the police and PDP thugs during the encounter.

    Fayemi had described the encounter as an assassination attempt on him and had personally lodged a complaint with the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.

    But Mu’azu, who spoke at the All Party Summit in Abuja on Thursday, described the APC supporters’ action as provocative, wondering why “men should be carrying brooms.”

    He said: “I wonder why the APC would use brooms to sweep off our footprints each time our party goes to campaign in states under their control.

    “It was equally wrong for the APC to go to the stadium in Ekiti State immediately after our rally in the state to sweep off our feet. I was worried about such conduct and I don’t know when men started carrying brooms.”

    The PDP chairman also alleged that the “Bring Back Our Girls” protests were being sponsored by the opposition, saying the ruling party had since dismissed the protest as an affront against the government.

    “Initially, I thought the “Bring Back Our Girls” protests were well intentioned. That was why I asked my Chief of Staff, the former FCT Minister, to represent us and for two days, he was there.

    “Little did I know it was opposition protests against the Federal Government. But I want to remind us that the war against the abduction of the girls should not be politicised.

    He charged participants at the summit to take a critical view of the security challenges facing the country and act with one voice in bringing the problem to an end.

    Former military head of state, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, who chaired discussions at the summit, commended the political class for playing critical role in the successful transition from military to civil rule, which he superintended in 1999.

    Abdulsalami cautioned the political class against blame game over the challenges of terrorism and insurgency in the country.

     

  • Ekiti 2014: Of  sophists and despots

    Ekiti 2014: Of  sophists and despots

    Fayemi whose integrity has qualified him as the blue chip asset to our state needs another term

    Today, Phil Aragbada, a respected journalist and former newspaper editor, gives his perspectives on the Fayemi phenomenon and the impending governorship election in Ekiti. Happy reading.

    A “loving fear”, writes Gunder Anders, is not fear of the dangers that lie immediately ahead but for generations yet unborn. This is what underlies the current political landscape in Ekiti; a panoramic view of the interrelated transactions going on between the different entities across the land of honour which would, ultimately determine the future of the state. The future is a sacred trust held by the present generation. Yet, it is not an abstract concept. Rather, it is determined by the consequences of the decisions a people take in their separate but inclusive inter-relations.

    This poignantly brings to the fore, the forthcoming governorship election in Ekiti which has attracted gladiators at both intra and inter-party levels, thus reflecting the latitude, and, indeed, the beauty of democracy. Democracy, in spite of its attraction and elegance, however, has a major drawback in its systemic sifting process which, if care is not taken, can end up foisting on the people, clowns, spoilers, sophists, urchins, even, an outright criminal.

    The consolation is that politics, like religion, in spite of its tolerance of pretenders and the ignoramus, has a moderating fiat: the Judgement Day. In Matt. 13:24-30, Jesus told his disciples the story of the weeds and the wheat and declared, “let the wheat and weeds grow together until harvest, and at harvest time, I will tell the reapers: gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” Surely, the harvest day for political contest is Election Day. There is no doubt Ekiti people already know the weeds and the wheat and on 21, June 2014, Dr. Kayode Fayemi will be the anointed wheat of the people which the Bible calls the son of the Kingdom.

    Without a doubt, the massive transformation which has manifested in Ekiti since his emergence cannot but palpitate those who have in the past hindered Ekiti development as the natural reaction of evil-minded persons to any form of change, as is currently happening in the state, is to obstruct the path of change. This should be expected as the beneficiaries of the old order and the propagandists of obscene deceit are bound to be scared out of their wits. But man must live with change and those, who throughout history, have wrought changes on their environment despite daunting challenges and excruciating sacrifices have always turned out to be men of destiny.

    There is no doubt that Fayemi is a man who has a date with history. His path in life is strewn with multiple achievements that can only be ignored by incurable pessimists and pernicious scoffers who are incapable of being impressed by any form of success arising from brilliance, courage, resilience, integrity and measurable hard work.  Try not convincing these people as they are already trapped in their closet of pathological ignorance.

    Governor Fayemi, conscious of the groaning pain of the aged due to poverty, commenced a welfare package for senior citizens who have attained the age of sixty-five years. He also introduced free medical care for this category of Ekiti citizens. Despite paucity of funds, Fayemi, critically aware of the place of education in socio-economic development, ensured the complete renovation of all primary and secondary schools in the state, made education free to secondary school level and supplied students with free laptops to enable them connect, that early in life, with technological modernity. The tertiary institutions in Ekiti State were leveraged in the areas of infrastructure and funding to make them meet global standards. The immediate dividend of government’s investments in education is the ground-breaking 2012/2013 Bar results of Ekiti State university students who shone like a thousand stars at the last Law School exams.

    Fayemi’s empathy for the grassroots is palpable. His proximity to the rural dwellers is evinced by his novel State Assisted Community Projects Initiative acronym-ed SACPI in contradistinction to one of his opponent’s ‘Boli and guguru’ –roasted plantain and groundnut eating shenanigans, which has resulted in sundry socio-economic developments all over the state. The beauty of this project lies in the ability of the governor to personally meet community dwellers, feel their pulse and pains and get the state to assist in providing their needs. This evolutionary strategy has resulted in the provision of 1,906 SACPI socio-economic projects in 131 towns and communities, each executed, directly by the beneficiaries.

    Relying on verifiable records the Fayemi administration has not restricted its road revolution to state roads alone. Rather, it took upon itself the burden of rehabilitating some federal roads as a way of minimising the transportation problems in the state. About 1000 kilometres of federal, state and local government roads have been constructed / rehabilitated at the last count.

    For a state that has long suffered from the pangs of industrial aridity, Fayemi’s revitalisation of ailing companies like the Iree Burnt Bricks and the Road Materials Company (ROMACO) which also provides jobs surely deserves accolades and a guaranteed cheque of continuity. Of course, the impetus injected into the tourism sector through massive investments in various tourist centres, especially the now world-class Ikogosi Tourist Resort has tremendously expanded the economic base of the state. The youth volunteer scheme has also provided a source of livelihood and hope for thousands of young men and women. This is besides the YCAD programme which has witnessed a trained Medical Doctor veer into commercial agriculture as one of thousands of young men and women enlisted in the programme.

    The performance of this human Trojan has not gone unnoticed by international bodies as epitomised by the following:

    •The Human Development Report (2012) rated Ekiti State as the most conducive environment to live for long and healthy living with a life expectancy average of 55 years (10 years above the national average).

    •The state has the lowest infant and maternal mortality rate in Nigeria.

    •It has the lowest HIV and AIDS prevalence in the country.

    •It has the lowest mother-to-child transmission of HIV and AIDs in the country just as it boasts

    •The least out-of-school children (2%) in the country.

    As the saying goes, you do not change a winning team; indeed, no sane people will dissolve a winning team. Ekiti can, therefore, not be enticed with juvenile braggadocio, illiterate pomposity, and some funny appeal to phony populism. Fayemi whose integrity has qualified him as the blue chip asset to our state needs another term. A people who once experienced a culture of economic haemorrhage and ‘janjaweed’ rule in the hands of a despot and kleptomaniac will not dare attempt a repeat.

    A shining star in the firmament, Fayemi remains a moral tone of his generation. A man of credible pedigree, he would always stand on the side of the truth even at a cost to his political popularity. A typical example was his plea to the teachers a few years ago to pay their 27.5% professional allowance as soon as the state finances improve. This, he has since done, thus bringing to a happy end, the festering acrimony between the state NUT and the government. This has again confirmed him as a promise keeper, thus re-affirming the people’s sobriquet for him: O WI BEE, SE BEE.

     Ekiti must stand up and be counted. A vote for the APC is a vote for continuity. A vote for an assured future for our children; even for generations yet unborn. A vote for tranquility. A vote for economic leverage and, a vote for everything that is good for humankind. Come Saturday, 21 June, 2014, the good people of Ekiti must troop out, refuse to be intimidated by the federal police and army lock down and vote Kayode Fayemi overwhelmingly. Enemies of the people must be permanently shamed.

    Phil Aragbada, Governor’s Ajasin’s Special Assistant in the ‘70s, is a veteran journalist, newspaper editor and a retired Bank Executive.

  • Ekiti 2014: Let us take it up to God in prayers

    Ekiti 2014: Let us take it up to God in prayers

    Ekitis say no more. For in God, not in men or money, do we put our trust

    For forty agonising years, the Israelites, a chosen people of God, wandered through a tough terrain of persons described by the holy writ as giants to claim what should have cost them nothing more than 40 days. In like manner, no thanks to the rigging machine, aka PDP, it took Kayode Fayemi three and a half years to reclaim a popular mandate twice given him by the good people of Ekiti. But then, even though the pronouncement was through a court of law, the miracle was wrought by God through prayers. It was nothing but the result of the prayers by hundreds of thousands of the faithful praying ceaselessly for him as he confronted the Philistines of Nigeria, big men of power who affronted God by playing god. They even said it would never happen in their life time but the good Lord confounded them to their eternal shame. What did they not do? What satanic device did they not bury round the entire state especially in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital where they, myopically believed all the court cases would begin and end? When it became clear Ilorin would feature as a centre of adjudication, didn’t a then serving, perennially notorious senator, all the way from another Yoruba state, go to the premises of the Court of Appeal in Ilorin, to bury a foul smelling satanic object built around a rat known as Asin in Yoruba land intending, thereby, to thwart what God had ordained and the Ekiti people had affirmed by their votes? Again, thanks to the many men of God – they know themselves – who through divine inspiration and words of knowledge had revealed all these well ahead of time. All it took these servants of God to neutralize the evil preparations by these devilish people were efficacious prayers over anointing oil which completely rendered them impotent to the glory of God.

    Another election cycle is here in Ekiti and apart from tons of money, both from Abuja and Ijebu-Igbo, being daily distributed through visits to wards and some other hallowed places, coyly designed as campaign, we know they must be back to their old ways of appealing to the devil itself. While that is their mode of electioneering campaign, Kayode Fayemi is out on the road, in the streets and city centres of all Ekiti towns and villages, campaigning on the basis of his achievements in office and giving insights into what more he would do for the people and asking only to be rewarded by the peoples’ votes for all he has done with the opportunity they gave him.

    However, apart from their money and resort to other worldly artifacts, those things the bible says have eyes but cannot see, mouths but cannot speak, the PDP, through its no.2 person, the warrior himself, Namadi Sambo, Nigeria’s Vice President, has added warfare, by petulantly declaring Ekiti and Osun as war zones even as hundreds of Nigerians are daily being slaughtered by Boko Harm and twice that number of our children are being ceased from the comfort of their schools and turned to sex objects even when the government in which Sambo serves could hardly do a thing to fundamentally alter that real war.

    This, of course, also conforms to all that the Israelites went through but gloriously triumphed over by the grace of God through prayers. I am, emboldened by the experience of the Israelites and the sure-footedness of the Almighty God, this Sunday, to ask all Ekitis as well as the millions from across Nigeria and the world over, who sympathise and pray with us in this war against principalities and powers, to invoke and support their prayers by claiming these promised, divine assurances as contained in the Book of Psalms, Chapters 7, and 94.

    Psalm 7

    Prayer and Praise for Deliverance from Enemies

    7 O LORD our God, in You we put our trust; Save us from all those who persecute us; And deliver us,

    2 Lest they tear us like a lion,

    Rending us in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

    3 O LORD our God, if we have done this: If there is iniquity in our hands,

    4 If we have repaid evil to them who are at peace with us, Or have plundered our enemies without cause,

    5 Let the enemy pursue us and overtake us; Yes, let them trample our lives to the earth, And lay our honor in the dust. Selah

    6 Arise, O LORD, in Your anger;

    Lift Yourself up because of the rage of our enemies;

    Rise up for us to the judgment You have commanded!

    7 So the congregation of the peoples shall surround You;

    For their sakes, therefore, return on high.

    8 The LORD shall judge the peoples; Judge us, O LORD, according to our righteousness, And according to our integrity within us.

    9 Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, But establish the just; For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.

    10 Our defense is of God,

    Who saves the upright in heart.

    11 God is a just judge,

    And God is angry with the wicked every day.

    12 If they do not turn back,

    He will sharpen His sword;

    He bends His bow and makes it ready.

    13 He also prepares for Himself instruments of death;

    He makes His arrows into fiery shafts.

    14 Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity; Yes, they conceive trouble and bring forth falsehood.

    15They made a pit and dug it out,

    And have fallen into the ditch which they made.

    16 Their trouble shall return upon their own heads, And their violent dealings shall come down on their own crown.

    17 We will praise the LORD according to His righteousness,

    And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

    Psalm 94

    1 The LORD is a God who avenges.

    O God who avenges, shine forth.

    2 Rise up, Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve.

    3 How long, LORD, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be jubilant?

    4 They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting.

    5 They crush your people, LORD;

    they oppress your inheritance.

    6 They slay the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless.

    7 They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice.”

    8 Take notice, you senseless ones among the people; you fools, when will you become wise?

    9 Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?

    10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish?

    Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge?

    11 The LORD knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile.

    12 Blessed is the one you discipline, LORD, the one you teach from your law;

    13 you grant them relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked.

    14 For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.

    15 Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

    16 Who will rise up for us against the wicked? Who will take a stand for us against evildoers?

    17 Unless the LORD had given us help, We would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.

    18 When we said, “Our feet are slipping,” your unfailing love, LORD, supported us.

    19 When anxiety was great within us, your consolation brought us joy.

    20 Can a corrupt throne be allied with you— a throne that brings on misery by its decrees?

    21 The wicked band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

    22 But the LORD has become our fortress, and our God the rock in whom we take refuge.

    23 He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the LORD our God will destroy them.

    Amen.

    Ekitis say no more. For in God, not in men or money, do we put our trust.

  • Ekiti 2014: From Fayose to mysterious third opponent

    Ekiti 2014: From Fayose to mysterious third opponent

    The intrusion, or should we call it emergence, of Ayodele Fayose, as PDP’s governorship candidate in the Ekiti governorship elections coming up in June, has compelled the dynamics and the equations of Ekiti politics to be reconfigured. Ekiti has become the latest theatre of the absurd where peace itself is calling for help and protection

    Before Fayose’s “victory” in the PDP primary, all attention was on the incumbent Kayode Fayemi and Opeyemi Bamidele of the Labour Party. The stakes were indeed very high and the whole world was looking forward to an exciting political contest between two erstwhile friends.

    Those who understand the dynamics of Ekiti politics felt that at last, Ekiti State will continue to be governed by a reasonable, responsible, educated and civilised leader should anyone of these two emerge.

    Kayode Fayemi is a Ph.D holder who has distinguished himself as an international scholar of outstanding and remarkable talents. He has the advantage of using his achievements and excellent performance to boost his electoral value at the polls. Opeyemi Bamidele is a brilliant lawyer, a former commissioner, a member of the House of Representatives and a dignified gentleman of complex character. His passion and zeal for progressive politics galvanised his relationship with people like Bola Tinubu, Bisi Akande, Rauf Aregbesola, Kayode Fayemi, Femi Ojudu, Femi Falana, Lanre Arogundade and Adams Oshiomole. But his dramatic switch to the Labour Party was an anti-climax to an already complicated political profile riddled with a history of perfidious grandstanding. Notwithstanding, Opeyemi’s intellectual profile is still a sufficient credential for the position of a governor in a state like Ekiti.

    Suddenly, a dramatic twist was introduced into Ekiti politics when, against all expectations, Fayose became the gubernatorial candidate of PDP, the ruling party at the centre.  On behalf of the people of Ekiti, I felt scandalised and embarrassed that the PDP assaulted and insulted their cultural ego and collective pride by asking them to vote for a man like Ayo Fayose and even went to the extent of celebrating him in Abuja.

    It may be true that politics in Nigeria has indeed declined in quality and character, it is the height of immorality and irresponsibility to take it to the level of a Fayose. But that is the situation in Ekiti.

    Now that he is in the race, Fayose’s rascality, not his profoundity (does he even have it?) has pushed him into limelight with analysts assuming the ridiculous that the election is going to be a very tough and straight battle between the two Ifas-Fayemi and Fayose.

    My good friend, Opeyemi Bamidele, is no longer being factored into the whole equation. It is a shame that even some members of the elite in the state are also anticipating the possibility of a Fayose triumphing over both Fayemi and Bamidele, alluding to his defeat of Femi Falana in 2003. Since when did the people of Ekiti degenerate into Okada and Kerosene politics?

    If Fayemi has his performance as the governor of Ekiti State to flaunt, and Opeyemi Bamidele showcases his legal and political pedigree, what does Fayose have to show? Yet, some elite are joining okada riders to celebrate a man with a puzzling profile.

    But the greatest puzzle of Ekiti politics is the existence of a faceless opponent that is more dangerous and harmful than Ayo Fayose.

    In his maiden rally/campaign in Ado-Ekiti, Opeyemi Bamidele disclosed to his supporters that half of the members of Fayemi’s cabinet, that is Fayemi’s commissioners and special advisers, are his strong supporters. He confessed that they are not ordinary supporters but financiers of his governorship project. One, there is the possibility that Bamidele is playing mind games. Two, there is also the possibility that he (Bamidele) is only using that to destabilise the government and cause friction and confusion within the cabinet. Three, he may be saying this to create the impression that Fayemi is not only unpopular in the state  but that even his cabinet members do not like him.

    I know that politics is full of betrayals and disloyalties. And if Bamidele is saying or implying that some aides and commissioners of Fayemi are his secret supporters, I advise Fayemi to take the disclosure very serious. Judging from his antecedents, Bamidele understands betrayal when he sees one.

    Though this is a very dangerous situation, it can be well managed if there are no sentiments and sympathy for those who indulge in perfidy. It is unfortunate that every member of the cabinet has to be treated as potential suspect. Everyone of them should be under the searchlight because nothing kills easily than the death that resides in the house. Nothing could be more wicked than having people who sit at the supper table with you plotting your fall and your death. Jesus Christ knew who Judas Iscariot was and still tolerated him and even allowed him to sit at the same supper table. He encouraged him to go ahead with his evil machinations knowing that it was the only way that nations and humanity could receive their salvation. The difference is that Jesus was not a politician but Fayemi is. The only way the poor people of Ekiti can be salvaged from their poverty is if Fayemi remains the governor of the state. For Fayemi to remain the governor of the state, he needs to be alive. For Fayemi to be alive, he needs to be alert to the clandestine intrigues and machinations of the Fifth Columnist in his cabinet. Most politicians are “gambling investors”; they are here and there scheming to eat their cake and still have it. They are working with Fayemi, plotting for his fall with Bamidele and romancing and flirting with Fayose, so that whoever emerges victorious at the polls will still be their friend. One needs wisdom from above to be able to unmask them.

    From experience, I know that Fayemi, as a perceptive leader, knows those in his cabinet who fall into this category but he needs to be very careful. I must let him know that from my interactions with a cross section of people in the state, he is well loved by the people but some people dislike him because of his liberal attitude to some members of his cabinet whose excesses the people abhor with a passion. Some of the people I spoke to in Ekiti commended him for his humility, hard work and love for the poor. But the same people condemned some of his close aides for their arrogance, selfishness, irrational behavior and lack of respect for the people. All these people are those I conveniently refer to as the third opponent.

    Ayodele Fayose is opponent number one. Opeyemi Bamidele is opponent number two. The unidentified Judas in Fayemi’s government (and they are legion) is the opponent number three.

    I agree that Fayemi has been very outstanding and unique in terms of governance. I agree that his achievements in less than four years of being the governor of the state are sufficient credentials to guarantee him victory at the polls. I agree that Fayemi deserves another term as a kind of appreciation for his hard work and rapid transformation of the state. I agree that Fayemi has a massive advantage over Fayose and Bamidele in the coming elections but this can only come to play if he can pray for wisdom to conquer the opponent within. My dear friend, remember Artemidorus’ letter to Julius Ceasar? May the good Lord help you.

  • Ekiti 2014: The odds against Fayose

    Ekiti 2014: The odds against Fayose

    Unperturbed by the fierce opposition to his victory at the primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Ayo Fayose’s confidence that he would pull an upset in the Ekiti State governorship poll come June 21 has not waned. He, however, has a huge hill to climb to make his dream come true, writes Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo

    Controversial politician, Ayo Fayose, never gets tired of referring to himself as a street-wise, grassroots politician with the magic wand to win elections.

    Responding to a question on his chances against the incumbent governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in the forthcoming governorship election in the state, Fayose said rather boastfully: “I will defeat Fayemi just like I defeated his godfather, Niyi Adebayo.”

    The Afao Ekiti-born politician, who crept into the political consciousness of the South West state in the early 2000, was apparently referring to his unexpected victory against the then incumbent governor, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, in the 2003 governorship election.

    But can he re-enact his 2003 feat against an incumbent, who has received applause within and outside the state on account of his impressive performance in the last three years? Within Fayose’s camp, confidence has soared that he has all it takes to challenge Fayemi at the polls.

    The Nation gathers that Fayose’s optimism has also been boosted based on the support he is receiving from the presidency and the national leadership of his party, which recently issued him the Certificate of Nomination in spite of objections by other aspirants who contested for the PDP ticket against Fayose.

    Sources disclosed that Fayose’s victory at the primary gladdened the hearts of the powers-that-be, who regard him as a “rugged politician that can deliver when the chips are down.”

    Albeit for a different reason, we learnt that palpable excitement also rent the air in Governor Kayode Fayemi’s campaign organisation as soon as the news of Fayose’s victory at the PDP primary filtered in.

    This is because Fayemi’s supporters and many other stakeholders in the state believe that PDP’s choice of Fayose, in spite of his “political baggage,” could ensure a smooth sail for Fayemi in an election believed to be a three-horse race among three political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Labour Party (LP) and the PDP.

    A house divided within

    Following the controversial primary that produced Fayose, other aspirants including a former deputy governor of the state, Abiodun Aluko; former Minister of Police Affairs, Caleb Olubolade; Senator Gbenga Aluko; Adeyanju Bodunde; Omoyeni Adebisi, to mention but a few, have repeatedly argued that Fayose will be a hard sell for the party.

    Speaking with reporters in Abuja last week, Aluko reiterated the opposition of the G13 to Fayose, who, he claimed, is facing serious charges in various courts.

    Aluko added, “In most communities in Ekiti, it is shameful to be seen following Fayose. As a matter of fact, the majority of our people are now saying that it is better to stick with Gov. Kayode Fayemi than to follow Fayose.”

    Warning the national leadership of the PDP on the consequences of fielding Fayose, Aluko continued, “Already, our party is facing a serious meltdown in Ekiti. But if the PDP insists on fielding Fayose, a majority of our supporters will leave the party…if they insist on Fayose, we wish them good luck. June 21 is around the corner.”

    Posers over Fayose’s eligibility to contest

    Beyond the opposition within the PDP against Fayose, questions are also being asked as to whether the former governor is eligible to contest the June 21 governorship election having been impeached in 2006 by the state House of Assembly.

    Fayose, according to Aluko, “is not eligible to contest any election until 2016 when his impeachment would have run the mandatory 10-year period of grace.

    The recent ruling by an Ekiti High Court that the PDP candidate has a case to answer in respect of the N1.2billion poultry farm case instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is also being cited by many PDP stakeholders as sufficient enough to ‘replace Fayose with a credible candidate.’

    Will traditional rulers support Fayose?

    During his iron-fist rule as governor from 2003 to 2006, the fear of Fayose was the beginning of wisdom for many traditional rulers in the state.

    The running battle the former governor had with the traditional institution while his tenure lasted has once again taken the front burner as campaign for the governorship election gets under way.

    However, his undisguised cold relationship with the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe, generated the most tension, with Fayose once allegedly threatening to depose the influential monarch.

    There are insinuations in certain quarters that the monarchs, who largely determine the pattern of voting in their respective domain, may work against Fayose at the poll.

    But in a recent interview, Fayose dismissed reports that he is not in the good books of traditional rulers in the state, noting, “I have a cordial relationship with a majority of the traditional rulers in Ekiti. They are solidly behind me. Just wait and see.”

    Between Ekiti elites and Fayose

    As governor, it was an open secret that Ayo Fayose brooked no opposition. His usual refrain was: “you are either for me or against me.”

    For the elites who dared to call his bluff, they have a not-too-palatable story to tell.

    One of such influential indigenes is Chief Afe Babalola, a foremost Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who is revered as one of the founding fathers of Ekiti.

    His disagreement with Fayose was alleged to be one of the reasons the then president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who is a close friend of the respected lawyer, moved against the former governor and subsequently imposed a state of emergency in the state.

    Will Babalola, the Founder of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD), whose voice carried tremendous weight in Ekiti, throw his support behind Fayose? That is a puzzle many are eager to unravel.

    Another prominent lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, who is an indigene of Ilawe Ekiti, is also an unrepentant critic of Fayose.

    On more than one occasion, Falana had been involved in a verbal warfare with the then sitting governor over his alleged autocratic style.

    Igbimo Ekiti yet to take a stand

    The Igbimo Ekiti, the umbrella organisation of all Ekiti indigenes led by former Secretary of Health, Chief Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, The Nation gathered, will play a major role in determining where the pendulum of victory will swing in the June 21 election.

    While the organisation has not taken a formal position on the candidate to support at the election, it is, however, believed that a majority of its members are positively disposed to Governor Fayemi’s re-election.

    With all these odds against Fayose, it remains to be seen how far he can go in the June 21 poll.

  • Ekiti 2014: Groups vow to resist rigging

    Pan-Yoruba groups across the Southwest, last Saturday, vowed to resist any attempt to rig the forthcoming governorship election slated for June 21 in the state, adding that it would be a major test of the dignity of the Yoruba people.

    The groups, under the auspices of Oodua Nationalist Coalition (ONAC), comprising self-determination and Pan-Yoruba groups from nine Yoruba-speaking states, including parts of Edo and Delta states, said the adoption of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate last Saturday signals the form that the election would take.

    “We urge authorities to realise that the rigging of elections in 1964 and 1983 led to violent uprising. The rigging of 1983 led to a military coup, while the 1964 rigging eventually led to civil war. The crisis began in the Southwest and took 30 months of bloody conflict to resolve. Nigerian political leaders appear to have learnt nothing from history,” the groups said at the conclusion of a two-day conference at Ado Ekiti.

    The groups adopted the incumbent, Dr. Kayode Fayemi as the sole candidate of the groups in the election, describing Fayemi as the Pan-Yoruba candidate because of the progressive bent of his administration.

    Leaders of other ethnic groups drawn from Ekiti and other parts of the Southwest especially Hausa-Fulani, Tiv, Igbo and Ebira communities were also at the event. The groups also set up what it called Pan-Yoruba Campaign Movement for the election of Dr Fayemi on June 21.

    The groups expressed worries that the PDP in the state is beating its chests that they have the support of the president to ‘turn Ekiti state into ashes in the name of power,” saying that such arrogant posture will only burn out the patience of the people of Ekiti state and the entire Yoruba nation.

    The groups suspect the current registration of voters in Ekiti state, saying: “It gives us a lot of concern and suggests that INEC has shown a prelude to massive election rigging in Ekiti state. We call on INEC to conduct a free and fair election and resist attempts to turn Ekiti state into an axis of turbulence.”

    “We warn politicians that have not learnt anything from history. The Yoruba people must not be taken for granted. The Ekiti election is a Yoruba affair; it is also a local and international affair. We do not want the current democratic experience to fall. But we warn that any attempt to rig the forthcoming election in Ekiti may lead to mass resistance and the eventual torpedo of the emerging electoral culture.

    “In the past, we did not see anything to defend, but now the Ekiti people and the greater Yoruba family have seen what is worth defending in Ekiti State”, the groups stated in the communiqué, which was signed by 55 groups and was proclaimed on behalf of the groups by Mr Popoola Ajayi and Mrs Adenike Ojo.

    Several leaders of the groups who spoke at the two-day meeting said the Ekiti election is crucial to the survival of the progressive movement and its transformation agenda in the South West states. The gathering was attended by about a thousand delegates drawn from the south west states. National leader of the TIV community, Mr. Yaro Gowon said he was in Ekiti to join forces with Pan-Yoruba groups to ensure victory for Dr Fayemi at the poll.

    It stated “We have an historical duty to defend the gains of the past three and half years. In 1965, our people rose up against attempts to impose alien values on us. The recalcitrant posture of the Federal Government eventually led to the civil war that engulfed the country. In 1983, our people laid down their lives in defense of the gains of democracy under the Unity Party of Nigeria, (UPN) led by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo.”

    The groups added: “Today we have seen the transformation of the government in Ekiti state. We have seen gains in the area of education, health and the drive for over all human development. We are here to defend the radical tradition of the people of Ekiti state and the revolution that has made Ekiti state the destiny of local and international interests.”

  • Ekiti 2014: Let the people decide

    Ekiti 2014: Let the people decide

    THERE is no room for clairvoyance in the rules of ascendance into political offices—not in Nigeria, not elsewhere in the world. The rules are simple: politician’s campaign and pass through primaries in their parties, compete with candidates from other parties, win the election and get sworn into office. A politician may get elected twice consecutively, but in some countries, including Nigeria, it will not exceed twice in succession, as stipulated in the constitution. Now within the co-ordinates of the above analysis or rules, a politician who completes a tenure with tremendous achievements, almost certainly will get elected for a second term, as evidenced by global statistics. The reason is simple and a function of common sense; He has been tried and found to be true, unlike others who are merely, as the saying goes, ‘the angels that the people do not know!’ This is actually the synthesis of the phrase: ‘Power of Incumbency’. Voters are usually more preferential of politicians who were known to have delivered on their promises in their first term in office. The fact that these politicians have had the opportunity of being tested and proven by the electorate confers on them an advantage over untried and unproven contestants, for the same offices. True, power of incumbency has nothing to do with using state funds to sponsor massive rigging of elections as practised in Nigeria. This same reason is responsible for the fact that no politician has ever ruled in Ekiti State for two terms so far! An attempt to opine that a leader like Kayode Fayemi will not be elected in Ekiti State for a second term, simply because no politician before him had achieved that feat, is like using clairvoyance to predict election results; that is pure nonsense and balderdash. It is an argument being projected by those who intend to use it as a smokescreen to manipulate election results by rigging. They are in advance, trying to explain their future intended evil actions—let the electorate beware. In Ekiti politics, the second term issue is a little more protracted. It is indeed true that no governor has ever had the privilege of governing the state for two consecutive terms. As a matter of fact, most of them did not complete their first terms. The first civilian governor of the state, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, who governed between 1999 and 2003 on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) could be said to be the luckiest man among the people who have had the opportunity to govern the state. The two other elected governors, Segun Oni and Ayo Fayose, were not allowed to complete their terms in office. While Fayose was impeached, Oni was booted out of office by the court. It is, however, on record that the three former governors had a second term ambition. Adebayo actually lost to Fayose of the PDP in 2003. Kayode Fayemi assumed office on October 15, 2010 on account of an Appeal Court verdict which voided the election of Segun Oni of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Aside the fact that Adebayo was the first and only governor to have completed his tenure, he was also said to be the only one whose tenure witnessed uninterrupted peace and tranquility. Governor Fayemi’s tenure in Ekiti State has exceeded all records of leaders past in the state in terms of peace, tranquility, progress and development. He has made strides in infrastructural development in the state that only an avatar can achieve. His ability to integrate all, both friends and opponents, into a cohesive government in the state cabinet, thereby giving the people the full benefits of leadership talents with which God has endowed the highly educated state, is a pointer to his true calling as an emancipator and developer. For instance, the Fayemi administration in the last three years has rehabilitated a total of 728.365km of both federal and state roads at a cost of N8billion. Besides, a total of 81.2km of roads across the 16 council areas have been completed under the 5km road per council area. This is in addition to the initiated urban renewal programme already implemented in Ado-Ekiti and which is now being extended to Ijero, Ikole and Ikere. The urban renewal programme has led to the installation of street lights in Ado with the attendant aesthetic value to the beatification of the state capital at night. Also included in the programme is the walk ways for residents. Some of these roads which have been commissioned by the governor include dualisation of old garage-Ojumose; dualisation of Atikankan-Nitel Baptist; Fajuyi- Teaching Hospital; Ojumose –Basiri/Police Hqrs; Ijigbo – Baptists College; Ado – Ilawe; Ado – Afao; Ilawe – Igbaraodo – Ibuji; Ikogosi – Ipole iloro – Efon; Ijan – Ise; Ikole- Ijesa Isu – Iluomoba; Ijero- Ipoti- Ayetoro; Ado- Ikere; Ikere – Igbaraodo; Ilupeju –Igbemo-Ijan; Oye-Ikun-Otun; Igede- Awo-Ido; Iropora-Epe-Araromi-Ijero; and Ayetoro-Ewu-Iye, to mention a few. In the area of water supply, the governor has increased water supply in the state from 25 percent to 52 percent, while it has reactivated all mini dams in the state. Also, the Fayemi administration has commissioned five mini-water treatment plants while water pipes laying to replace dilapidated ones is ongoing. This is in addition to the construction of 167 modern fetching points across the 16 council areas. The administration has provided fire fighting trucks and equipment to the state fire service, while operational vehicles have been provided to the state command of the Nigeria Police Force through the Swift Response outfit. Fayemi’s administration has completed the rehabilitation of Oluyemi Kayode Stadium making it to rank among the best in the country. The state’s new mega pavilion is nearing completion with a new civic centre named after the late Deputy Governor, Mrs. Funmi Olayinka. In the area of agricultural development, the Fayemi administration has recorded monumental achievements with the establishment of the Youth Commercial Agriculture Development , YCAD. The programme seeks to achieve the twin objective of creating employment for youths and increase food production. About 250 youths are currently participating in the programme and are into cultivation of different agricultural products to earn a living. At present, the state is reported to have achieved the largest productivity yield/Ha and cultivation in Nigeria. Ekiti yield at 15T/Ha is above the national average of 12T/Ha. In the area of education and capital development, the governor in the last three years, distributed 30,000 units of laptops to students of public secondary schools and another 18,000 to teachers in public schools, renovated 100 dilapidated secondary school buildings across the state, employed 4,643 graduates under the Youth Volunteer Scheme, facilitated the acquisition of critical skills by 200 youths at Oodua Skills Acquisition Centre, distributed 20,000 sets of lockers and chairs to public schools across the state, trained 4,160 teachers under the Universal Basic education Board, procured and distributed diverse science equipment to 179 public schools, restructured the technical colleges for quality technical manpower development and trained 4,000 teachers in e-learning techniques. It also distributed school bags to secondary school students, paid WAEC and NECO fees for students in public schools, procured and distributed textbooks in core science subjects to secondary school students, constructed and renovated 1,533 classrooms within the last three years and delivered 11,700 pupils desks, established remedial colleges in the 16 council areas, awarded bursary to all Ekiti indigenes in tertiary institutions, engendered significant improvement in the aggregate examination performance of students in public examinations among others. Following the huge investment in the education sector, it is noteworthy that students of the state origin recorded 66 percent credit pass in the 2013 WAEC result compared to 23 percent of the previous year. Fayemi’s administration has elevated the health sector in the last three years. It not only treated over 300,000 indigenes free under its Free Health Mission, it has paid over N93million as medical bills of indigent indigenes, capitalised nine new facilities through unified drug revolving fund scheme and supplied N40million worth of drugs to the centre, implemented new salary structure for health workers, renovation of 18 general hospitals and the construction of three mother and child hospitals in the state, established Funmi Olayinka Centre for Cancer Diagnosis, upgraded, renovated and extended six secondary health facilities across the state. It also engendered reduction of infant mortality rate to 98 per 1000. This is currently the lowest in Nigeria and below the national average. The administration through its health programme has achieved 55 years average life expectancy of citizens which is over and above the national average of 50 years. One area the governor has recorded excellent performance is in the tourism sector where the administration undertook the revival of Ikogosi Warm Spring’s Tourist Centre. The hitherto neglected warm spring has become a beehive of activities with tourists from far and near trooping in to have a feel of this wonder of nature. Already, the phase one development plan has been completed with standard, executive suites and VIP villas accommodation facilities, multi-purpose conference hall, six-seat meeting and functions rooms, shopping mall/variety buildings/ fitness and business centre, amphitheatre, warm water adult swimming pool, children’s pool and water features, restaurant/bar among many facilities. Fayemi has raised the bar of governance in the state and as a result of the giant strides of his government, he was conferred with the Zik Award for good governance. Thousands of Ekiti indigenes have indicated that come the 2014 governorship election, it is Fayemi or no other. The people see and they feel. They know and they remember their past. As the 2014 elections approach in Ekiti State, let the people decide, let no man predict the outcome based on clairvoyance! •Ibikunle Ajala, a political commentator, writes from Ado-Ekiti.

  • Ekiti 2014 : Between jkf and mob

    Ekiti 2014 : Between jkf and mob

    I believe strongly that MOB remains essentially progressive and humane at heart. However, he has embarked on a political trajectory that may force him to collaborate with the same forces of retrogressionthat he has opposed all his life 

    The die is cast. The Rubicon is crossed. The line has been drawn and there seems to be no going back. Opeyemi Bamidele, former students’ union leader, pro-democracy activist, lawyer, commissioner in Lagos State and now member of the House of Representatives has obviously taken the decisive plunge to contest for the governorship of Ekiti State next year. Would he or would he not? That had been the question in many minds for some time now. Would Michael Opeyemi Bamidele defy the collective wisdom of his party, the promptings of his political mentors and the admonition of his ideological soul mates to contest against Dr John Kayode Fayemi in the next governorship election in Ekiti? Would he jettison the political tendency and platform he has identified with all his life in pursuit of his ambition? The answer to these questions no longer lies in the realm of conjecture. Opeyemi Bamidele spoke and acted decisively last week. He dumped the APC. He declared for the Labour Party. All things being equal, he will be a major contender against Fayemi next year.

    Until he took his apparently irreversible decision last week, I was firmly of the view that Bamidele would in the final analysis subordinate his personal ambition to the strategic collective interest of the progressive movement. For one, he had consistently stressed over the years that he is a product not necessarily of individual brilliance but of collective struggle. When he clocked 45, Bamidele launched a book titled ‘Errands of Progress’. In it he reiterated the position that he was a product of collective struggle. Reading through the book once again, Opeyemi came across as one individual whose personal interests and ambitions matter far less to him than his commitment to the struggle by progressive forces to liberate Nigeria from the stranglehold of underdevelopment.

    Again, I am of the view that there is really not much of a difference between Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (MOB) and Dr. John Kayode Fayemi (JKF), the incumbent Governor of Ekiti State. Both men are cerebral. They are accomplished professionals. They have both devoted their lives and paid their dues in the struggle for progressive change in Nigeria. Either man would make outstanding governors of Ekiti or any other state in Nigeria. Yes, Bamidele is more of a populist in the likeness of an Engineer Raufu Aregbesola. Fayemi is more reticent and reflective in the mould of a Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN). But both men are invaluable assets to the progressive movement. Much more importantly either man has achieved success in their respective spheres of endeavour irrespective of whether or not they govern any state. I thus did not believe that governing Ekiti State should be a matter of life and death particularly for Bamidele since it has pleased God that Fayemi should occupy the coveted position at least for now.

    Of course there are those who have insisted all along that MOB is an active participant in a script not just to oust Fayemi from power but to undermine the progressive forces in Yoruba land and Nigeria as a whole. They contend that he is nothing but a traitorous quisling bent on collaborating with the same nefarious and venal forces he has fought all his life all because of an inordinate ambition for power. I believe strongly that MOB remains essentially progressive and humane at heart. However, he has embarked on a political trajectory that may force him to collaborate with the same forces of retrogressionthat he has opposed all his life. That would be extremely tragic. For, there are too many examples of those who have chosen this path only to become no better than the living dead- veritable living corpses.

    There are at least three issues raised by MOB in his defection to the Labour Party which are worth commenting on. First, he claimed that his move was informed by the lack of internal democracy in his former party. This perception is no doubt informed by the decision of the APC leadership to endorse Fayemi for a second term based on his record of performance. It would appear to me that by his defection, Bamidele has made it impossible to prove whether or not the APC adheres to internal democracy at least in Ekiti State. Yes, the leadership has endorsed Fayemi but they have not precluded any interested member from participating in primaries.

    We will recall, for instance, that in the second republic, the Chief Obafemi Awolowo-led leadership of the UPN endorsed all the five governors of the party for an automatic second term. Yet, the incumbent governors faced stiff challenges in the primaries particularly in the old Ondo and Oyo states. Of course, the question is: with the endorsement of Fayemi for a second term by the party leadership, could Bamidele have a chance of triumphing in the primaries? It is highly unlikely. The Ekitis are very proud, principled and stubborn people. They worship no human being and their conscience is never for sale. If they are truly supporting Bamidele’s ambition, no force on earth would stop them from voicing their opinion.

    Despite Awolowo’s personal charisma and influence, for instance, the Ekitis even within the UPN staunchly stood by Omoboriowo until his politically fatal decision to defect to the NPN. Members of the UPN at all levels including members of Chief Michael Ajasin’s cabinet openly supported Omoboriowo despite Awolowo’s preference for Ajasin. In the case of MOB, I am unaware of any declaration of support from his ambition right from the ward through the local governments to the state level of the party. Not even a single member of the Ekiti caucus of the House of Representatives which he led has expressed support for his aspiration. Bamidele’s winning the party primaries will certainly be easier than a Camel passing through the eye of a needle. But then, will we have internal democracy only if Bamidele is guaranteed to emerge as governorship candidate?

    Again, MOB claims that his ambition is driven by a desire to extricate Ekiti from the clutches of poverty. This is an indirect insinuation that Fayemi has not performed. But is that an intellectually honest position to take? I think not. From easily verifiable indications, Fayemi has fundamentally elevated the paradigm of governance in Ekiti State. Just as Aregbesola has done in Osun, no more is the horizon of aspiration in Ekiti limited by the state’s paltry allocation from the Federation Account. Fayemi has blazed a trail in social security by paying a monthly allowance to aged citizens above 65. The efforts of his administration in the provision of infrastructure are there for all to see. For me, the most eloquent evidence of his performance is the open identification of the highly respected Chief Afe Babalola with the Fayemi administration. Ideologically and politically, Chief Babalola is conservative. Despite his personal closeness to Chief Obasanjo, Afe Babalola never appeared on a political platform with the Owu chief. He has openly supported Fayemi’s second term. It is unlikely he would do that for a non-performing governor particularly of the APC.

    Lastly and most sadly, MOB claims that the Labour Party is a genuine progressive platform for national emancipation. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nigeria still awaits a truly ideologically driven Labour Party; one that will rigorously articulate the case for a new social order that will be beneficial to the working class and peasantry. The truth is that there is absolutely no difference today between the so called Labour Party and the PDP. Yes, both the PDP and the APC are essentially bourgeois parties but, with all its faults, a genuine Labour Party should be more in tune with the opposition than a self- styled largest party in Africa that has plunged Nigeria deeper into underdevelopment in the last 14 years.

    This column takes serious exception to MOB’s latest antics. But equally objectionable is the harsh language with which the Ekiti APC has denounced him. Nothing must be done to make it impossible at the end of the day for Bamidele to return to his true political family lending his considerable talents to the struggle for the liberation of Nigeria.