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Tag: Opeyemi Bamidele

  • Court remands Bamidele’s ‘aides’ in prison

    Court remands Bamidele’s ‘aides’ in prison

    A Magistrate’s Court, sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, yesterday remanded two “aides” of House of Representatives member Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central) in prison custody.

    Afolabi Oyediran and Oluwafemi Sunday were arrested at the home of the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Internal Security, Mr. Deji Adesokan, on December 20 after allegedly scaling the fence.

    A pistol, loaded with live ammunition, was found on one of the suspects.

    They suspects pleaded “not guilty” to the two charges of conspiracy and illegal possession of firearms.

    Defence counsel Chris Omokhafe urged the court to grant his clients bail on the grounds that they were first time offenders.

    Police prosecutor Bankole Olasunkanmi said the court reserved the prerogative to grant the accused bail and requested an adjournment to allow him study the case file.

    The Chief Magistrate, Simon Ojo, said: “Granting the suspects bail at this stage might not be appropriate because the charges are serious and the issue of security cannot be taken lightly. So, the application is hereby refused.”

    The case was adjourned till January 20.

    The suspects are said to be Bamidele’s aides, but the lawmaker disowned them.

  • ‘Why I want second term’

    ‘Why I want second term’

    Shortly after he hosted this year’s Nigeria Media Merit Awards at the Ikogosi Warm Water Spring Resort, Ikogosi-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Governor Kayode Fayemi spoke with reporters on the defection of five Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the defection of Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele from the APC to the Labour Party (LP) and his second term ambition. Assistant Editor ADEKUNLE YUSUF was there.

    Do you really trust that the five PDP governors, who recently defected to the APC, are bringing something good to your party?

    Political parties, by their very nature, always evolve. And in every political party, you have people who constitute a broad choice – some are left of center, some of right of center, you have the good, you have the bad and you have the ugly. What every political party aspires to everywhere that I know in a democratic dispensation is to have the dominance of the good and the dominance of the people who really adhere strictly to the vision of the party and can contribute positively to its development in order to attract the trust and earn the confidence of the populace. If you look at the five governors that have come to us, as broad as the ideological spectrum in Nigeria is, what really is it that I do here (in Ekiti State) or that Governor Fashola does in Lagos or that Governor RaufAregbesola does in Osunor any of our government that Governor RotimiAmaechi is not doing – free education, free health care, infrastructure development in Rivers State? So you could argue that although he was in the PDP, he was in the left of center of the PDP. If you take Governor Kwankwaso and look at his infrastructure development agenda or you look at his micro finance scheme, it is first of its kind in the country. Or you look at some of his focus on education, as I speak to you, Governor Kwankwaso has about one hundred people studying medicine outside the shores of the country – all sponsored by his government. Everybody who made a first class in Kano State gets an automatic scholarship to study abroad. This is the kind of thing you will associate with us because that is our mantra. Broadly speaking, in situations where ideologies blur, personalities become critical and the commitment to the people in their own agenda become central to the equation.And just as you have that in the PDP, even in the APC, we are not a monolith. We have people who are on the extreme right wing of our broad choice who may even pass for conservatives, just as you have people who are in the extreme radical bent of our politics. To answer your question, the five governors are now in our party. And the nature of our political processes is such that governors are not unknown quantities by virtue of office they occupy and the incumbency that is associated with it. They have what we politicians call structures.

    Talking about these five governors, your party alleged recently that there are plans to declare their seats vacant and probably remove them from office.What is your own take on that?

    If you were in the shoes of the leadership of the PDP, although they say good riddance to bad rubbish and that they won’t miss them and all those statements, they know what it means to be a governor.Governors are in control of paraphernalia of power in their states. The PDP will try everything within their powers to subvert that, but the question to ask is: what law are they going to hold on to in order to declare the seat of any governor vacant? A government or a party in power is deemed to be owned by all the citizens of the state once the person becomes the governor. Before you become the governor, you can say you are card-carrying member of any party and this voted for me and that did not vote for me. So it (removing these governors from office) is not going to happen. I don’t see it happening. Let look at our history again. How many people have been recalled in our National Assembly that has that provision that if you move from one party to another without evidence of a split in the party you are moving from, automatically you lose your seat?

    For example, Hon. Bamidele Opeyemi recently defected from your party and joined the LabourParty where he wants to run for governor. Does your party have any plan to recall him or ask the National Assembly to declare his seat vacant?

    Really, the case of Opeyemi is a case for his constituency. It is not really a party matter.

    But your party can ask the National Assembly to declare his seat vacant because there is no faction in the party is defecting from…

    That is not a matter we have given a serious consideration. I understand that he is saying that he is running in another party, but he is yet to formally inform his party that he has left the party. When he does that, there are two ways he has to do that to make it formal: it is not enough be rumoured that he is doing this or he is doing that. He has to formally notify the leadership of the House of Representatives that he has crossed to a purported party. He also needs to inform us that he is no longer a member of our party. When he does that, we will cross the bridge. And to the best of my knowledge, he has not done that.

    Is it not a bad omen that a prominent member of your party (Opeyemi Bamidele) has chosen to run against you?

    What is wrong with that?

    At what point did you disagree with Opeyemi Bamidele?

    You don’t need to disagree to be ambitious. Ambition does not necessarily require any reason; just an ambition. I have not had cause to disagree with anyone, not least Opeyemi. If Opeyemi wants to run for office for whatever reason, the endorsement is not tantamount to refusal to run or not to run. Has he approached anybody in the party that he wants to run? Has he approached his ward? Has he approached his local government party leadership? Has he approached his state party leadership?

    Maybe, he feels he does not need to do that, since you have been endorsed by the powers that be in the party…

    For goodness sake, recall our history.Adekunle Ajasin was endorsed by Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Chief Josiah Olawoyin was endorsed by Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the UPN. The party primary took place and C. O. Adebayo, who was not endorsed, won that primary against Josiah Olawoyin, a close pal of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He was publicly endorsed, but Chief Obafemi Awolowo said all the candidates of the party at the time should be allowed to run in the primary. In Ondo State, Omoboriowo ran against Chief Adekunle Ajasin in the primary and lost. That was why he left the party. In Kwara State, C. O. Adebayo ran against Olawoyin and won.

    In essence, are you saying there is going to be governorship primary in Ekiti?

    As far as our party is concerned, there is a process. If you choose to run for governorship on the pages of newspaper, that is your own prerogative. This is a party that has process. Everybody who belongs to this party is fully aware of what the constitution of this party says. I am in this state, at least, no fewer than thirty aspirants have gone to PDP secretariat in this state to formally notify the leadership of the party that they are in the gubernatorial race in their party. How do you declare gubernatorial ambition in newspapers and you do not inform your party that you want to run?And then, you claim you have been debarred from running and say there is no internal democracy. Yet all you have a problem with is what the leadership of the party –both at the state and national levels – said that by what they have seen and the feedback they have got from people in the state,they don’t want to change a winning team. They want the governor to run again but they never at any point debar anyone from running.

    But, if the leadership of the party said they don’t want to change the winning team, it is a clear message that nobody should run against you at all?

    No, no, no. I just gave you an example from the same progressive camp. C. O. had no chance in the air if you go by the parameters of the politics of Kwara at the time. He won the primary in Kwara.

    Are you saying you could be beaten in a primary?

    It is about internal democracy. It is about allowing the people to have a say; it is not about portraying that you have support, you need to test the support you claim to have. That is what I am saying. I am not saying I could be beaten and I am not saying I could not be beaten. I am saying it is a democracy and I am a passionate democrat. If you believe that you have the popularity you often claim in the press that you have, test it with the people. And there is a process to do that. That is what I am saying.

    Why do you think you deserve a second term of office?

    In very simple terms, you were in my inauguration and you were here before then. All anyone needs to do, at the risk of sounding arrogant and immodest, is to take the Roadmap to Ekiti Recovery, which is my campaign promise, and take my inaugural speech on October 16, 2010, and mark it paragraph by paragraph. What I said I was going to do for Ekiti people and what I have done in three years. If you want to mark me on what I have done and how I have done it, you can judge whether I have passed the test of leadership or not.

    Are you jittery anything could go wrong at all?

    Am I am jittery? Not with the people of Ekiti.

    What with the quality of candidates that may be coming out from other parties?

    The quality of candidates will enhance our democracy, it will not diminish it. I really want a lot of good candidates to come up. But don’t forget that I ran for primary in this party in 2006 against some popular names you can imagine in Ekiti politics and I won when I was nobody. In fact, I was not known. I was an unknown quantity and a lot of people said I was a foreign candidate who just appeared from nowhere and came to run in the state. Compare that to now that I am seen across the length and breadth of this state as a promise keeper; a man whose word is his bond. He said he was going to do social security that has never been done anywhere in this country and he did it. He said he is going to do free education in a qualitative manner and he did. And the result in secondary school jumped from twenty percent pass rate to seventy percent pass rate. A man who said he was going to do free health care and he has done it.That’s what I want to be judged on. Of course, there are people who will want to judge me on other parameters. There are people who will say we don’t see him at parties, that we don’t see him eat booli by the road side, that he is not a populist noisemaker and he does not share money and that their personal infrastructure has been addressed, even though he is building Ikogosi and building roads and fixing schools and hospitals all over the state. He does not throw money at people, and in politics money is the oil of politics. But I will say that I share money. It is just that I have a different philosophy of sharing. When I give social security, the N5,000 old people collect at the end of every month is sharing. It is institutional sharing backed by law. It is not N200 thrown at people on the street that diminishes their self-esteem and dignity. I don’t share money as baba rere, baba ke, owomeji fun baba. I don’t come from that school of politics, and I am not apologetic about that. But it is a marketplace of ideas. Those who come from that line of politics will also come to the people. They had an opportunity and for seven and a half years, they were in this state. People knew what they did. It was one week one trouble. It was six governors in seven and a half years. So, why is it that we don’t deserve stability that others have had, especially where you have evidence that nobody has done what this governor has done in this state?

    So, based on your work in the three years, are you confident of victory, if an election is held today?

    Of course, yes. You know Ekiti people are very discerning. They are very educated and fastidious. It is difficult to please our people and I know. But once they discover the sincerity of purpose and they see that what you say is what you do, that you walk your talk, our people are generally passionate about that. And that is why we were more passionate about Awolowo here than in Ijebu. If you check the history, we were. It is because there is a connection. I was discussing what happened in Anambra with a couple of my friends and I said it cannot happen in Ekiti. In Anambra, you have non-governmental organizations, people who have more money than the government of Anambra, people who will run Governor Peter Obi out of the state because their own convoy is twenty times longer than the governor’s convoy.Here we all are very interested in governance and who governs. That is why you cannot take our people for granted. It was not fun for me to travel in the last one month to 131 communities as I do every November. In every single community that I went, people have their criticisms, they have their praises for government; they have what they will like me to do. I commissioned projects in 85 of those communities. So there is a direct connection because some of the projects are projects from our community government. The town unions run them – all we just do is to give them money because they decided on the projects themselves. There is no community you get to in Ekiti that people will not tell you that the government has just done this or that or that they gave us money to do this. And that is the greatest challenge anybody who is going to run against me in this state will have. That is why they resort to what they said I don’t do – the personal infrastructure that I don’t take care of. We will cross that bridge when we get there. We will define personal infrastructure the way we should.

  • Retrace your steps, Fasanmi urges Bamidele

    Retrace your steps, Fasanmi urges Bamidele

    Second Republic Senator Ayo Fasanmi yesterday lamented the crack in the Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (APC), warning the House of Representatives member, Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele, to retrace his steps to the party.

    Bamidele, who represents Irepodun/Ifelodun Constituency in the House, recently defected to the Labour Party (LP), where he hopes to contest for the governorship next year. He was one of the leaders of the party in the state before his defection.

    Fasanmi, who reflected on history, advised the federal legislator to ponder on the fate of prominent politicians, who left their political families for other camps, based on temporary political challenges.

    He also advised him to learn from the political career of the famous Ekiti son, the late Chief Akinwole Omoboriowo, who deserted his leader, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, in a bid to dislodge former Ondo State Governor Adekunle Ajasin from power. Fasanmi recalled that Omoboriowo, despite his popularity, never bounced back into reckoning after he left the proscribed Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).

    The elder statesman said that past experience should instruct ambitious young men and women to think deeply and peep into the future before taking far-reaching decisions that have implications for their political future, their political groups, and the welfare of the state they hope to govern.

    Fasanmi, who spoke with our correspondent on phone, said: “The defection of Bamidele from the APC is most unfortunate. It is an unfortunate incident. He is a boy I know very well. Well, he is a man now. I first saw him in 1994, when I was a member of the Constitutional Conference Commission set up by the late military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha. I have followed his career since then.

    “I am disappointed. This is an unfortunate situation. As an elder statesman, I will advice Fayemi (Governor Kayode) not to be diverted. The APC is on a sound footing. Fayemi is doing well as the governor of Ekiti State. The APC is on course in Ekiti”.

    Fasanmi recalled that the parting of ways between Awolowo and Omoboriowo was painful to many Ekiti patriots, who equally loved the former deputy governor. He said that history is merely repeating itself as Bamidele will be seen to be parting ways with his leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

    He added: “There were Awolowo and Akintola. There were Ajasin and Omoboriowo. Now, there are Fayemi and Bamidele. But this should not be so in Yorubaland. We should learn from the past”.

    The veteran politician noted that Bamidele’s career in the progressive fold under the Tinubu’s tutelage has been impressive, adding that he had climbed the ladders of leadership and fame as a key functionary of government in Lagos State.

    He said that it is risky for a promising politician like Bamidele to desert the party he had jointly nurtured with compatriots and seek refuge in another, where some people may perceive him as a stranger. Recalling Awo’s advice to his disciples, he said: “It is better to discuss and disagree in your party and fight for your interest there, but if it appears that you can’t have your way, you should jettison your personal interest and subscribe to the collective interest, where accommodation would be found for your interest. In the progressive camp, where service to the people is the watchword, you cannot be a loser”.

    Fasanmi, who described the LP chieftain as a competent and vibrant person, warned that a progressive politician may lose relevance outside his original political family.

    He added: “The question people are asking is: what does Bamidele want? I understand that he has served as a party officer, special adviser, commissioner for two terms. Now, he is in the House of Representatives. He who the god will destroy will first make mad. This should not happen to Bamidele. That is why I want him to retrace his steps. His grievances can still be addressed within the progressives family. I like him so much. So, I want him to learn from history”.

  • Retrace your steps, Fasanmi urges Bamidele

    Retrace your steps, Fasanmi urges Bamidele

    Second Republic Senator Ayo Fasanmi yesterday lamented the crack in the Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (APC), warning the House of Representatives member, Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele, to retrace his steps to the party.

    Bamidele, who represents Irepodun/Ifelodun Constituency in the House, recently defected to the Labour Party (LP), where he hopes to contest for the governorship next year. He was one of the leaders of the party in the state before his defection.

    Fasanmi, who reflected on history, advised the federal legislator to ponder on the fate of prominent politicians, who left their political families for other camps, based on temporary political challenges.

    He also advised him to learn from the political career of the famous Ekiti son, the late Chief Akinwole Omoboriowo, who deserted his leader, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, in a bid to dislodge former Ondo State Governor Adekunle Ajasin from power. Fasanmi recalled that Omoboriowo, despite his popularity, never bounced back into reckoning after he left the proscribed Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).

    The elder statesman said that past experience should instruct ambitious young men and women to think deeply and peep into the future before taking far-reaching decisions that have implications for their political future, their political groups, and the welfare of the state they hope to govern.

    Fasanmi, who spoke with our correspondent on phone, said: “The defection of Bamidele from the APC is most unfortunate. It is an unfortunate incident. He is a boy I know very well. Well, he is a man now. I first saw him in 1994, when I was a member of the Constitutional Conference Commission set up by the late military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha. I have followed his career since then.

    “I am disappointed. This is an unfortunate situation. As an elder statesman, I will advice Fayemi (Governor Kayode) not to be diverted. The APC is on a sound footing. Fayemi is doing well as the governor of Ekiti State. The APC is on course in Ekiti”.

    Fasanmi recalled that the parting of ways between Awolowo and Omoboriowo was painful to many Ekiti patriots, who equally loved the former deputy governor. He said that history is merely repeating itself as Bamidele will be seen to be parting ways with his leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

    He added: “There were Awolowo and Akintola. There were Ajasin and Omoboriowo. Now, there are Fayemi and Bamidele. But this should not be so in Yorubaland. We should learn from the past”.

    The veteran politician noted that Bamidele’s career in the progressive fold under the Tinubu’s tutelage has been impressive, adding that he had climbed the ladders of leadership and fame as a key functionary of government in Lagos State.

    He said that it is risky for a promising politician like Bamidele to desert the party he had jointly nurtured with compatriots and seek refuge in another, where some people may perceive him as a stranger. Recalling Awo’s advice to his disciples, he said: “It is better to discuss and disagree in your party and fight for your interest there, but if it appears that you can’t have your way, you should jettison your personal interest and subscribe to the collective interest, where accommodation would be found for your interest. In the progressive camp, where service to the people is the watchword, you cannot be a loser”.

    Fasanmi, who described the LP chieftain as a competent and vibrant person, warned that a progressive politician may lose relevance outside his original political family.

    He added: “The question people are asking is: what does Bamidele want? I understand that he has served as a party officer, special adviser, commissioner for two terms. Now, he is in the House of Representatives. He who the god will destroy will first make mad. This should not happen to Bamidele. That is why I want him to retrace his steps. His grievances can still be addressed within the progressives family. I like him so much. So, I want him to learn from history”.

  • Youths urge Bamidele to respect their rights

    Youths urge Bamidele to respect their rights

    Youths in Emure-Ekiti, under the aegis of the Emure Youth Development Council, have urged a member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele (Ifelodun/Irepodun), not to turn their community into a battle field because of his governorship ambition.

    In a statement, the organisation’s President, Mr. Kayode Ojo, urged the lawmaker to play politics decently by respecting the wishes of the people.

    Ojo said: “We believe the recent event by Bamidele in Emure-Ekiti, which led to the death of Mr. Foluso Ogundare, who is yet to be buried, is a good ground for him to let our people be, instead of creating a scenario that will deepen their pain.

    “We see Bamidele’s choice of Emure-Ekiti as the venue of the declaration of his governorship ambition as insensitive to the pain of our people, more so, with the impression he is creating that Emure people do not have the human milk of kindness to deeply feel the pain of the loss of their illustrious son.”

    He said the youths acknowledge the lawmaker’s right to contest any position he desires, but they do not want the community to be turned into a battle field by thugs.

    The organisation said Emure-Ekiti is the stronghold of the All Progressives Congress (APC), “which has contributed to the community’s progress in various ways”.

  • Group urges Fayemi, Bamidele to reconcile

    Group urges Fayemi, Bamidele to reconcile

    The Coalition of Oodua Self-Determination Groups (COSEG) has urged Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi and House of Representatives member Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele to reconcile in the interest of the progressive bloc in the state.

    The group also warned politicians not to plunge Ekiti State into chaos, ahead of the 2014 governorship election.

    COSEG’s warning came on the heel of the recent reports of disruption of political meetings, maiming and killings, accusations and counter-accusations between the two camps in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The group urged the supporters of the two politicians to embrace peace.

    COSEG warned in a statement by its Chairman, Mr. Dayo Ogunlana, and Secretary, Mr. Razaq Olokoba, that any crack in the wall may make the enemy of the progressives to plot evil.

    The group urged the two leaders to guide against any act that could cause irreparable damage to the polity and socio-economic life of the people of the state, in particular, and Yoruba nation in general.

    COSEG wondered why should two brothers from the same party, who have paid their dues in the struggle of the Yoruba people and Nigerians for democracy, could become political foes.

    The association advised them to sink their personal differences and work for the good of Ekitiland.

    The group said that the political rivalry should not be allowed to degenerate into the ugly rift between Chiefs Adekunle Ajasin and Akin Omoboriowo, which led to killing, maiming and wanton destruction of property in the old Ondo State.

    COSEG added: “Ekiti is not only a centre of knowledge well known for the industry, it is also an important epicenter of Yoruba politics. Any major crisis in Ekiti would definitely not augur well for the rest of Yoruba, particularly at this time when the grounds lost to political miscalculations about a decade ago have just been regained and are being consolidated.

    “It is on this note that COSEG calls on well meaning Yoruba elders, both within and outside political parties, to join hands in stemming the tide of an impending disaster because a stitch in time, it is said, saves nine”

     

  • Bamidele resigns as Ekiti caucus leader in House

    Bamidele resigns as Ekiti caucus leader in House

    Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele has resigned his position as the Ekiti Caucus Leader in the House of Representatives.

    According to the lawmaker who is also the Chairman, House Committee on Legislative Budget and Research, the resignation is to allow him realize his ambition of governing Ekiti State in 2014.

    In a letter to the state governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and copied to the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and the Minority Leader of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, Opeyemi said he could no longer tarry in responding to the yearnings and aspirations of the people in the state.

    The letter dated October 22, 2013 and titled: “Resignation as Ekiti Caucus Leader in the House of Representatives,” reads in part: “I hereby resign with immediate effect, my appointment as the leader of Ekiti State Caucus in the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “This resignation has become a cogent and compelling step for me to take at this time to enable me pursue, by the special grace and uncommon favour of Almighty God, my aspiration to be the Governor of Ekiti State by the year 2014 based on my personal conviction and in response to the popular demand and clarion call of well-meaning Ekiti sons and daughters at home and in the Diaspora who believe that our dear state needs a critical intervention at this time so as not to become a failed state.

    “I can no longer tarry in responding to the yearnings and aspirations of the violated children, the deserted youth, the disillusioned women, the unfulfilled civil and public servants, the neglected artisans, the jobless and underemployed men as well as the heart broken elder statesmen and frustrated founding fathers who genuinely desire to see the emergence of a rallying point ( across political and ideological divides) that would herald in a new and united Ekiti State where our past glory will be brought back from sabbatical ; where integrity and strength of character, which is the hallmark of Ekiti personality, will be celebrated again; and where job creation, food security, law and order, as well as infrastructure and human capital development with high premium in health and education will be the utmost priority as the minimum agenda for good governance in compliance with global best practice standard.”

     

     

  • Opeyemi Bamidele’s selective amnesia

    Opeyemi Bamidele’s selective amnesia

    In a democratic dispensation, anyone has a right to aspire to any political office so far he is constitutionally qualified for that post. I have watched for a while now the political developments in Ekiti State, especially within the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) where a member of the House of Representatives, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, seems to be lurked in a battle for the governorship seat with the incumbent governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

    Without being unnecessarily critical of Opeyemi’s ambition, the constitution allows him to realize his ambition and this is despite entreaties from his party leadership to forgo it so that the party can consolidate on the achievements of Fayemi which many daily applaud. The party leadership has also acted within its rights by endorsing the incumbent for a second term for two reasons, I guess: (1) it is always dangerous and politically unethical to rock the boat from within, as it could ruin the party. So by stepping in, the party leadership is only trying to keep its house in order and not lose what it presently has; (2) allowing an incumbent to go into primaries could greatly polarize a party and leave aftertaste of unamenable differences. This is why in the United States of America, an incumbent has a right to a second term in office unless he wishes otherwise.

    As much as I do not begrudge Bamidele the right to contest as Ekiti Governor, I am not however comfortable with most of the statistics he has been bandying about in his bid to sway public opinion in his favour.

    Opeyemi, in an interview, stated the following: “The Ekiti State that I see is an Ekiti of 494, 000 buildings and out of this we still have a situation where only 64, 000 houses have water closets. And over 219, 000 houses still rely on the use of pit latrines and over 34, 000 still rely on nearby bushes to defecate. That is the Ekiti that I see. Again it is not about Dr. Kayode Fayemi but we must face the kind of situation that we know. The Ekiti that I see is that one that out of the 494,000 houses only 90,000 houses have pipe borne water; over 214,000 houses still rely on well and fetching water from nearby streams and rivers. The Ekiti that I see is where only 23,000 houses use gas and electric cookers and 207,000 houses still rely on the use of firewood to cook their meals. The Ekiti that I see is one where only 18,000 houses can boast of electricity while over 289,000 houses lit their lanterns with kerosene. That is the Ekiti that I see. People should then understand if I am not on the street celebrating like some other people are doing. But I feel that the least I can do is to continue to encourage those who are there to put in their best rather than us trying to mislead them. The Ekiti that I see is one that still grapples with the problem of over 25,000 people who are blind, over 7,000 people with hearing defect and over 9,000 people, according to the population census, with speaking defects. The Ekiti that I see is one with over 6,000 disabled people in the area of mobility and one with 1,700 mentally ill persons in the various rehabilitation homes and on streets in the state. That is the Ekiti that I see.”

    Listening to Opeyemi reel out these statistics, the unintelligent may applaud him for being brilliant with numbers, but the truth is that these statistics are based on 2006 census and Opeyemi must be saying there has been no development in Ekiti since 2006 to still be going about with the outdated figures. Worse, the outdated statistics-garnished statement of Opeyemi is now being selectively posted on several sites on the internet and one cannot but wonder what correlation these 2006 statistics have with the present realities in Ekiti and why Bamidele is trying to be clever by half with such statistics. For instance, in 2006, 539, 825 were never married. Will this statistic still be relevant in 2013? Are there not people who got married in Ekiti since then?

    The reality is that over 400, 000 people have so far benefitted from the free health mission of the Fayemi administration while over N125 million has been doled out to financially handicapped persons to take care of surgical and chronic ailments within and outside the country between October 2010 and April 2013. When Fayemi took over in 2010, the maternal mortality rate was 420 per 100, 000 live births as against the current figure of 135 per 100, 000 live births. The value of drugs dispensed in the state has increased from N11, 038, 007.77k to N25, 926, 398.93k due to increase in demand and utilization. In 2010, only 45% percent of women in Ekiti had more than 4 ante-natal care visits from pregnancy to delivery, but as at July 2012, 10, 787 women had registered for ante-natal care under the Fayemi administration free health programme. This is just a fraction of the 112, 395 people who had registered for the programmes by July 2012. Of this figure, the aged account for 51.15%. Besides all these improvements in the health sector, the state’s Unified Drug Revolving Fund has been adjudged the best in the country, as attested to by NAFDAC boss Paul Orhi when he paid a visit to the state.

    Everyone conversant with the present-day realities in Ekiti is aware of the increasing number of households and that houses in the state must have surpassed the 2006 census figure of 494,000 houses. Bamidele’s house in Iyin-Ekiti was at least built after 2006. One also knows that the minimum wage in 2006 was N7,500 as against N19,300 (an increment of 1,500%) currently enjoyed in the state. With this, the living conditions of many have improved, so is the number of houses with water closets, thus bringing about a reduction in the number of people who defecate in the bush. Those bushes are even fast disappearing, especially in major towns, with the increasing number of houses. How then did our governorship-fixated representative come about the 219, 000 who still rely on pit latrine and 34,00 who defecate in the bush?

    Anyone who is familiar with happenings in the Land of Honour will in good conscience know that more aged people who had hitherto been going to bed hungry are now living well because they are given N5, 000 monthly stipend by the state government. The number of needless deaths, especially maternal mortality and infant mortality, has also reduced owing to the free health policy of government for the aged, pregnant women and children under the age of five. Crime rate is also reducing because the youth are gainfully employed in schemes such as the Ekiti Volunteer Corps, Ekiti State Traffic Management Agency, the Fire Services and many more. Many of these youth who could have been drawn into crime are gainfully engaged by the state government. Presently, more of these youths are being absorbed into the teaching service.

    Roads are being constructed and rehabilitated. New structures are springing up. Ikogosi Warm Spring and Ire Burnt Bricks Industry, which have been abandoned for years have been revived, renovated and remodelled, thus providing employment for more people and drawing tourists into the state.

    These are what we see. These are what other states see and are emulating. The Ekiti State social welfare scheme for the aged, first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa, has been implemented in states like Osun and Bayelsa.

    These are the current statistics in Ekiti State, not the 2006 census statistics Opeyemi Bamidele is maliciously spreading.

    • Olufemi writes from Igede-Ekiti, Ekiti State

  • Open letter to Opeyemi Bamidele

    Open letter to Opeyemi Bamidele

    Frustrated that a chance encounter with you was irritatingly turning into a protracted waiting game, I have decided to breach communication protocols and confidential niceties by communicating with you through this unorthodox channel. I can assure you my intentions were noble, honest and sincere. I never wanted any third party intervention but if it happens that this exchange degenerates to that level, the burden of public involvement should be borne by you having decided to be a public personality through your representation of the people of Ekiti Central at the House of Representatives.

    Different stories of strange happenings that I have read and heard about NIPOST would not let me move near that courier agency with a long pole. I therefore had no mischief for anointing the public with a disclosure that was meant to be strictly confidential. Kindly accept my explanation for this minor infraction. However, I expect people to show some decorum by not meddling into the affairs of two friends simply because one has employed this unorthodox medium to communicate with the other.

    I am discussing the state of Ekiti and its war of attritions. By this time next year, the governorship election in Ekiti would be in process. From what is on ground as at today you are determined to contest for the gubernatorial office with Kayode Fayemi, the incumbent. This is the crux of the matter. My intervention, which is personal, is to see how we can manage aspirations and ambitions without destroying fraternities. One of the reasons for employing this ‘column factor’ channel was that most of the members of the fraternities-Great Ife and the Tinubu Boys-that had discussed the Bamidele-Fayemi rift with me told me that all propitiatory overtures made to you were rebuffed. While I am not counting on any special relationship with you to guarantee a breakthrough, I believe that my intervention may be useful in the pool of various constructive preachments you would have received since the whole saga started.

    The genesis of the crisis is unfortunate. Three of you, Dele Alake, Femi Ojudu and you, all from the same Tinubu fraternity, wanted to be senator for Ekiti Central. The governor, also from the same group, found himself in a dilemma. Expectedly, there were intrigues, button-pressing, politicking, intensive lobbying, primordial sentiments and other things that politicians do. Finally, one intrigue outplayed the others. One interest was more important than the others. And Femi Ojudu, who eventually became the senator, was favoured. Dele Alake was furious. He withdrew from the contest. You were bitter but you never withdrew. You fought till it was obvious there was nothing to fight for again. Disturbed and worried by the implications of your exclusion and abandonment, the elders pacified you with the House of Representatives slot that was meant for another person. You collected it with unctuous pretension and concealed animosity against the elders and the governor.

    Let me make it clear to you that I was bitter too. Not because it did not go to you but because, of the three of you, only Dele Alake was not compensated or pacified with any political office. And I expressed this in a piece I did on the issue. For a long time, Dele felt betrayed and abandoned. But trust Asiwaju, he found a way to pacify him and explain things to him. Now, he is back into the fold.

    My dear friend, I ask: why is it so difficult for you to embrace reconciliation? I am asking because at this stage when all hands should be on deck for Fayemi’s re-election, efforts and energies are still being wasted in getting you to suspend your aspiration and extend your support to the governor in this battle against a common foe.

    From the body language of the governor, I know he is unfazed and unruffled about your stance and posturing but I am. Regardless of his confidence, Fayemi’s campaign machinery for re-election cannot operate with the same focus and effectiveness for as long as there are distractions from a “competitor within”. Why should you be the one to distract the governor of your party whose performance had been commended by all and sundry, indigenes and non-indigenes, scholars and illiterates men and women, children and adults and non-partisan assessors. Your present stance is sending wrong signals to the opponents and what do you gain if posterity records you as one of those who sabotaged the progress and goodwill of the party in Ekiti State?

    My dear friend, forget politics and tell me the truth if Ekiti, your state, was like this three years ago. In Unife in those days, when you were campaigning for Student Union election, one statement you made that won you a deafening ovation was this exuberant phrase: “I am a revolutionary who wants to revolutionise a revolutionary revolution”. Even though this did not make any sense and still does not make any grammatical sense, the rhythm alone and the word “revolutionary” was enough to send some hysteric students of little contents into frenetic jubilation.

    If you want me to tell you the truth, your letter to Fayemi after the landmark judgment of May 31, by the Supreme Court, should have been an opportunity for you to end all the suspense game about your ‘ambition’ or ‘aspiration’ and extend a hand of friendship to the government of Ekiti State. But instead, you were appealing for amnesty for looters of the State treasury. When did revolutionaries start indulging in absolution for rogues and looters. When did revolutionaries and reactionaries become dizygortic twin? A revolutionary advocating amnesty for looters of public treasury is not only putting his integrity in jeopardy, his own activities should also be subject to scrutiny to determine the credibility and sincerity of his revolutionary ministration.

    Even if you wanted to play ‘statesman’, was that an appropriate moment to do it? People were rejoicing and jubilating that God had at last vindicated the just and the righteous, you were preaching reconciliation with enemies of the government. If you were after genuine reconciliation of friends and foes, why did you not start it by reconciling with the governor openly and truthfully. You preached reconciliation but you failed to act it.

    Have you sat down to calculate the political cost of your uncooperative attitude to the Ekiti governor? If against all your expectations and calculations, the governor goes ahead to win the re-election without your support, what damage will that do to your political rating and overestimated ego? I have not carried out any study on you and your group to be able to determine your popularity empirically, but I am warning that you do not underestimate the capacity of others to diminish your political machine. You almost caused confusion with your “amnesty for rogues” appeal. At a stage, a spokesman for the government said the government had handed all treasury looters to GOD to deal with them. There must have been a spontaneous outrage by the people because in less than 24 hours, the government denied it saying that there was no truth in the story. It stated in a statement: “the administration would not drop the plan to probe the Segun Oni administration because doing so would give others corrupt persons the leeway to embezzle government fund”

    Though as a Christian I believe in forgiveness, this should not be extended to looters of state funds whose serial frauds and misappropriations have brought misery and hardship into many homes. Many have also died because of their criminal engagements. So, if a revolutionary like you is now canvassing for amnesty for rogues, what then becomes of the revolution?

    Another critical look at the statement you made in Ife during your campaign tends to suggest that “you will undo the revolution that a revolutionary has done. Please read it again to see the import. I hope you are not acting it. People have tagged what Fayemi is doing in Ekiti a revolution. So, that makes him a revolutionary. If you now want to “revolutionise a revolutionary revolution”, does that not suggest that you want to undo what he has done? That statement was made some 28 years ago, but your present attitude is giving it some prophetic relevance.

    You may be wondering how you can fulfill your aspiration if you do not go for it now. You need some patience, my brother. The goodwill you have now and the will of God for you are all the ingredients you need to realise your dream of serving your people as a governor. That is why you should not fritter away your present goodwill in your haste to serve the people. This is a period when you should be consolidating and building on your political leverage within and outside Ekiti. If you fail to suspend your ambition for the re-election of the incumbent who is a member of your party and it affects the fortunes of the party in anyway, there is no way it will not affect your political career in the future. In our haste to fulfill our ambitions, we must be guided by the stories of men in history who raced and rose to power through intrigues and traitorous conspiracies but ended up becoming villains of history because of their downward trajectories.

    Godhas been very good to you. Since you returned from “exile” in America in 1999, you have been occupying one political office or the other. You moved from Special Assistant to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to become one of his commissioners. And for almost 10 years you were a commissioner in Lagos state which is not even your state of origin. You occupied a position of a commissioner for that long not because the state did not have qualified people to occupy that office but because both the political leadership and the indigenes of the state created a conducive atmosphere and environment for you to function unhindered. It is worrisome and strange that in your own state you found it difficult to work with the government in power despite the fact that you are from the same party. Strong societies are built with the collective spirit and character of their citizens. But here in Nigeria, building a national spirit and character is a major problem because of some peculiar ironies. Overwhelmed by our collective iniquities, the foundation of the nation is further weakened by the irrationalities and eccentricities of parvenus who have suddenly developed a jumped-up mentality that makes it possible for social reprobates to place the nation under a virtual siege.

    If indeed it was the Senatorial issue that caused the rift between you and the governor, I am enjoining you to forgive and forget and cooperate with the government in order to consolidate the revolution that Fayemi had started in Ekiti. When a “revolutionary” distances himself from the revolution of another revolutionary, it shows that there is misjudgment or misperception about the identity of the revolution we are talking about. In that case, we need to make some conceptual clarification. Is the revolution the type that brings total change to a system or the type that accommodates those who are the targets of the revolution thus polluting the system further through some strange political alignment and corruptible integration. The former seems to enjoy universal acceptability while the latter appears more of a political contraption developed from unconscionable prebendalism and philanthropic opportunism.

    I accidentally came across a copy of “The Mirror”, a campus journal you edited in Ife along with people like Bunmi Oyewole, Ajayi Owoseni, Sola Bolomope, Tayo Alabi, Sumbo Agbaje, Olumide Adeyinka, Debo Olagunju, Kehinde Bamigbetan, Raji Ahmed and Biodun Owonikoko. It was a product of an amateur bunch because it carried no date and volume number. I found it very interesting, not the contents, but the collection of people on the Editorial Board who are now influential and powerful members of the Nigerian State. Then, the editorial caught my attention. It was an appeal to the students body that seemed to be in disarray at that time to come together to fight a common enemy-the federal government which was contemplating the introduction of school fees.

    Let me copy and paste the conclusion of the editorial titled: “Onward Match: As The Storm Settles” to see if it is a food for thought in this Fayemi’s scenario: “Having viewed the past and the present, “The Mirror” now appeals to those still in war mood to ‘kulu temper”. The survival of our union is paramount over and above other interests. Now that it is confirmed that the FMG intends to introduce fees next session, it will only be in the best interest of the enemies of Nigerian students to meet our house in disorder and disunity. In the words of Balarabe Musa ‘we are living in times of great changes, the old order is fast crumbling, giving way to new opportunities, it is our responsibilities to understand these new opportunities and utilise them for human progress”. Let’s bury the hatchet and move forward was the final admonition of the editorial which you signed as the editor-in-chief. I rest my case.