By Jimoh Olorede
Dear ex-governor and Minister of Interior, to Osun, you came, you saw and you conquered! The truth is you are not just an Engineer, you're a Comrade, dogged Fighter, democratic Fundamentalist, and even a political Revolutionist.
It's also a truth that from the takeoff of the current fourth republic (1999), you were hardly known in Osun politics; this may not be true of Lagos, especially Alimosho, where your political star was fast heralding with noticeable debut.
But you came to Osun, launched your political tent as an opposition ACN party flag bearer and you were accepted. You saw the political situation of things in Osun, and you conquered by wrestling power from the then governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.
After your eight years as governor, you were considered and appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Osun slot. Sir, you have had it so good!
Sincerely, you have had it so good! And surely, you can have it better and even best, but that's if you take caution and calm down. I like to sincerely advise you sir, to calm down.
You are a leader in Osun APC. This is a fact, and it's incontrovertible. To allay your fears as you apprehensively expressed in the media, nobody can displace you in Osun APC, not even Iyiola Omisore whose recent defection to APC provoked your accusative reactions, or your successor, governor Adegboyega Oyetola, whose 'silence remains golden'. According to a Yoruba adage, if 'Onirese' ceases his aesthetic artistic designs, those he had earlier designed would remain indelible, reminiscent and a historic reference point. The analogy here refers to your remarkable marks in Osun politics as evidenced in your political comradeship, fundamentalism, not necessarily radicalism, and what I refer to as your political and infrastructural revolution.
A leader is unsuccessful, no matter the level of strides recorded, if he fails to have a good successor. In your case, you're successful, not only because of your joyous completion of eight years as governor of Osun, and your infrastructural overhauling of the state, upgrading it from aground and turning it around into a glamorous state of repute, but you're successful also because you have a good successor, the incumbent governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, a man of peace who, as you know, has been seriously and unrelentingly consolidating on your legacies.
However, there's a person who can displace you, not only in Osun, where your leadership is not in contest, but totally in the APC and of course, from the flock of the Progressives. The name of that person is Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola. Sir, I'm sure you know him. Of course, it is yourself who can, and will displace self, like I had earlier advised, if you do not take heed.
As a leader in Osun APC, you have recently been creating dramatic scenes, which some people perceived as projectively reflective of your insincerity, or what they suspected as your conspiratorial agenda whose sinister intents are better known to you. Your vituperative reactions via innuendoes during your APC membership revalidation recently at Ilesha to the defection to your party by Senator Iyiola Omisore with his strong political weights and tentacles have been generating counter reactions. This is simply because people couldn't fathom why you are not happy that your 'party's net caught a big fish' whose addition with his hundreds of thousands of followers would surely weaken the opposition party, widen your own party's coast and scope of influence and strengthen its political stronghold in the state.
Ogbeni, as you like to be addressed, there are no permanent enemies in politics, just as there are no permanent friends as well; what has always remained permanent is politician's interest. So, Omisore, 'your enemy', as shown by your character-assassination attacks, has chosen to be your friend, as shown by his defection to your party. I advise you accept him, as his addition to your fold is a big political plus, and never a minus. If you refuse to accept Omisore, your refusal would not affect him at all; he's already a member of your party!
Omisore has come to the APC with much values. This is a politician who, since 1999, has never lost in his constituency, Ife (with four densely populated local government areas). As a member of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Omisore delivered Ife for AD during the 1999 governorship election. He later joined the People's Democratic Party (PDP), and in 2003, he delivered Ife for the party. Also in 2007 Osun governorship election, Omisore won Ife for the PDP.
Sir, I advise you accord this man respect for the values he has brought to APC, your party. You remember when Omisore contested with you in 2014, he did not only win in Ife, but also polled a whopping figure of Two Hundred and Ninety Two Thousand (292,000) votes across the state against your Three Hundred and Ninety Four Thousand (394,000) votes as a sitting governor contesting for a reelection, with all the paraphernalia of being an Executive incumbent Governor. Even when he contested from prison, he still won in Ife. This attests to his political influence, weights and stake in Osun politics.
Come to think of it, Oyinlola was more of an enemy to you than Omisore. The rift between you and him (Oyinlola) before and around 2007 upward was more of 'cat and rat', with failed attempts to 'injure' (to be mild), if not kill, each other. But you later lobbied, swayed him to your side and welcomed him into APC when you needed his support penultimate your reelection in 2014.
Sir, a discernible mind would attach your fume over Omisore's defection to APC to your personal political interest, and not party interest, or public, nor that of your unsuspecting followers'. You are from the same political zone and constituency with Omisore; this appears to be the main political bone of contention!
Sir, like I said, nobody can displace you in Osun APC, but you can, and will displace yourself, if you continue to listen to your sycophants. Don't be gullible sir, and never attempt to test your popularity by defecting to other party, either new or existing, like Omisore, who has his political fortunes in his palms; even when he left PDP out of annoyance and joined a relatively new and unknown party, Social Democratic Party, SDP, for his 2018 governorship bid in Osun, he was still able to poll One Hundred and Twenty Eight Thousand (128,000) votes.
Dear ex-governor and current Minister of Interior, don't be annoyed sir to the extent of defection from APC. Never should this be part of your suspected conspiratorial agenda. I so advised!
Jimoh Olorede is a Media Writer, Ph.D research Scholar and Lecturer. He can be reached via [email protected].
Why was the minister opposed to Omisore defecting to APC? Was was his annoyance? Osun politics and more especially the senatorial District of ife / ijesha need to resolve lot of issues . Remember that Aregbe was only bitter with senator Omisore because of the unfortunate killing of Bola Ige, due to the rancour existing between the camp of Omisore and the late Ige. Remember the late minister was assaulted in the Ooni Palace publicly in the presence of many notable figures. This happened before the killing by unknown gunmen at Ibadan and subsequently during investigation the senator was being suspected. Now, I wish the writer will seek for a high powered committee of notable yorubas to resolve this matter once for all. Iges killing got so many yorubas and Nigerians angry. However the past should stop hunting us. Let us seek for peaceful resolution. It's not by attacking Aregbe that can solve this problem. What if the late Ige was your biological father? Won't you be more angry? Let call a spade a spade. I'm not a politician and I don't even plan to be one. The yorubas have to come together and move one. The senator Omisore and his camp made a serious blunder by attacking late Ige publicly even in the Ooni Palace. Big mistake!!! This is why lots of well meaning yorubas are still not happy with the senator. He actually won the senatorial election at that time because the public servants were against the policy of Bisi Akande who was trying to reorganise the schools and had started with the private school. He was sacking the teachers and people feared he might extend it to secondary schools . This same or similar policy was done by Aregbe and that is why APC almost lost out and they had to beg Omisore to rescue during the rerun. My main advice is that rather than fanning the ember of disunity and crisis, we should embrace dialogue. Aregbe is still bitter and like wise some other good people in Nigeria that a sitting minister of justice was murdered in cold blood and the killers could not be found. Senator Omisore and his camp became the most suspect because they attacked the man few weeks before his unfortunate murder. Let us find a way around this issues and beg each other. The Ojaja can initiate the reconciliation. OBJ is still alive, Baba Akande, General Akinriande and others can come together and appeal to the political son of Ige in the person of Aregbesola. Thank you.
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