Tag: Fresh FM

It is difficult for someone to comment on the face-off between the Oyo State government and ace musician, Mr Yinka Ayefele, without at least a tinge of emotions. And I guess that was one thing the Oyo State government did not reckon with or simply ignored or underrated in the build-up to the avoidable imbroglio. Yes, imbroglio because it has become messy. Governor Abiola Ajimobi can only claim not to be perturbed by the criticisms of his government over its demolition of parts of the Music House where Ayefele’s broadcasting station, the Fresh FM based in Ibadan, the state capital, is situated, only if (to recall the Yoruba saying) he has eaten the head of a tortoise. I have the feeling that the governor is just grandstanding in his statement that being handicapped is not an excuse for someone to break the law. Something tells me that if Governor Ajimobi is not already reflecting that he could have handled the matter differently, he would do so sometime in the future. Indeed, if there is anything going for Ayefele now, it is the fact the he is perceived as the underdog that is being harassed by the almighty state government. Simply put, Ayefele is riding on the crest of being an underdog in the matter.

As a Yoruba man, I guess the governor must be aware of the proverb o na mi ko dun mi; ko dabi ara ofo. In other words, there is a difference between someone that was flogged and says he did  not feel the pain and the person that was not flogged at all. The point I am making is that the state government does not need the kind of negative publicity that the demolition generated; it is not good for its image at all, this is much more so when it is avoidable. I do not know what the state government would have lost if it had tarried for the case in court over the matter to be decided. If the government had waited this long, why couldn’t it wait a little longer for the court’s pronouncement?

But this appears the predictable pattern in governments across the country. They appear to be ever ready and willing to show their ‘tigretude’ (apologies to Prof Wole Soyinka), sometimes even over inconsequential matters. I remember the story of one of the south west governors a few years ago who had gone to a trouble spot on the prompting of some local politicians in the state who told ‘His Excellency’ that he had to go there in order to  impress it on the trouble makers and their ilk who might be thinking of formenting trouble in future that he is the executive governor of the state! Pray, is there a non-executive governor? Can there be two governors in a state?  It is instructive that no life was lost when the governor’s wife who had earlier gone to the place visited. But when ‘His Excellency’ decided to go on a ‘reconnaissance mission’, a student was killed in the ensuing fracas. I wonder how, till today, the parents of that student would feel whenever they remember the sad incident. I wonder too if the said governor would still have handled the situation the same way if confronted with it today.

But that is the way of many of our political leaders. The kind of people that mill around them, the praise orchestra who clap for ‘Their Excellencies’ when they know in their heart of hearts that what their principals are about doing would have negative consequences on the government they are serving. Some of those who chose to be bold to tell it as it is would either get fired or the governors would keep them at an arm’s length, if they cannot fire them outright.

Although Oyo State government’s partial demolition of Ayefele’s property at about 5.30 a.m. last Sunday was not the first such demolition in the early hours, those of us out of government should be asking why most governments find it convenient to carry out such tasks at such ungodly hours. When in February, the Kaduna State government pulled down the building of Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi , a property used as the secretariat of a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna, it was done at about 5.00 a.m.

Then, in the Ayefele’s case, the man had approached an Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan seeking to stop the demolition. His counsel, Mr Olayinka Bolanle, in an exparte motion, filed before the court, sought for an order restraining the state government from demolishing the property pending the determination of the suit. He added that due process was followed in the construction of the structure while relevant approvals were obtained from the state’s departments and agencies associated with land and housing. Justice I. Yerima, in his wisdom, ordered the claimant to ensure service of the court process on the respondent and adjourned the case till Monday for the hearing of the ex-parte motion. But the court process would appear to have been aborted as the state government demolished the structure on Sunday.

I wish there is a way the courts could be punishing persons and institutions that treat court orders disdainfully. In several respects, the impunity that the Oyo State government demonstrated in violating the court order is what many governments, including the Federal Government, do. Yes, we could say Ayefele preempted the government’s determination to bring down his building, hence his rushing to court when he did when, actually, the issue did not just start today. So, why did he wait till now before going to court? But then, there is no time that an aggrieved party cannot go to court to seek redress. The moment Ayefele had gone to court, the government, as a law-abiding entity, ought to have suspended action on the property, at least pending the resolution of the matter. Our politicians should not give the impression that the courts matter only when their votes are stolen or election figures are altered in favour of their opponents.

Another common trend is that of governments taking on their opponents in the most cynical manner. Fresh FM might have been critical of the state government; that does not necessarily make it an enemy of the government. Even if it is an enemy; that is no excuse for the government to clamp down on it the way it did. After all, as we are seeing all over the country in the shameless defections by many of our politicians, there are no permanent friends or foes. What has remained permanent is the interest of the individual politician, not even that of their constituencies. At any rate, should a media house be friend to any particular government? Shouldn’t it carry out its functions as it deemed fit? Where then is objectivity if a station has to be a permanent friend of a government?

But nothing I have said so far should be taken as support for Ayefele, especially if he violated any building code. I love Ayefele’s music like millions of other Nigerians. But that would not make me support illegality on his part, or on the part of anyone for that matter. I perfectly understand the consequences of people violating building codes. But I am worried more because we are in a democracy and the government should be a little more sensitive to the public mood in many of the decisions it wants to take. This is not necessarily saying it should be led by it. Then the courts; our political leaders should accord them more respect. But we do not seem to have much of that anywhere in the country now. And it is worrisome.