By Doyin Odebowale
The campaign rally of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, held at Osogbo in the State of
Osun on Saturday, 2nd August, 2014, should compel deep introspection.
It may, perhaps, be used as a veritable template to measure the nadir of infamy
to which the south west has fallen. Speaker after speaker entertained the
audience at the event with embarrassing shallowness which left an unmistakable
impression of pervasive vacuity.
The central message was that power
must change hands; the people of the region must embrace “mainstream” politics
to arrive at the Eldorado of opportunities which they have been missing since
they decided to try another group of politicians. The cast for this tragic histrionics
included several personalities whose sordid deeds have brought us, as a people,
to this sorry pass.
There was indeed an impressive array
of run-away fugitives, ex-convicts, characters currently undergoing criminal
trials ,but who eagerly anticipate the munificence of “plea bargaining” for
crossing over to the ruling party, plain hustlers, governors, ex-governors, the
rambunctious Ekiti “people’s governor-elect”, Ayo Fayose, former and serving
legislators including the former speaker of the House of Representatives,
Dimeji Bankole, a recent beneficiary of the shoddy preferment of charges by
EFCC, Alao Akala, a former nemesis of Oyo State waiting to “reclaim” his
birthright, Buruji Kashamu, the PDP south west “enforcer”, beatified ex-con
Bode George, among others. Yoruba people, widely reputed for sophistication and
sagacity, could not have felt more humbled by the show of shame.
There was absolutely nothing promised,
specifically, other than omnibus and hypocritical references to a “better
performance” than those “who have carried your money to Lagos”. Programmes
concerning the welfare of the masses are not considered as important. No
mention was made of the roads they constructed which Aregbesola destroyed. Very ominous promise! The word “progressive”
has also finally crept into the lexicon of the very people whose omissions
and/or commissions are responsible for much of the despair in the land.
It matters little to these funny
elements that the whole country is at war and their ineptitude is at the root
of the lingering crises. The fact that Nigerians are killed on a daily basis
and the so called security agencies are unable to respond positively means
nothing to them. This same party has been at the helm of affairs at the centre
for fifteen years, during which time there has been progressive degeneration in
virtually all sectors of the polity. There have been stories of missing funds
in billions of dollars in NNPC. That is not serious enough. Major functionaries
have been accused of profligacy and outright stealing. Dr. Jonathan says
corruption is not stealing. This government wants to obtain a loan of $1billion
to combat Boko Haram. No explanation is regarded as useful.
Musiliu Obanikoro, Minister of State
for Defence, justified this unpardonable profligate tendency with the claim
that the military had not purchased new weapons in the last twenty five years.
PDP has been in power at the centre for fifteen years out of this period.
Defence has always had a humongous chunk of the whole budget throughout the
time in focus. Our people are not considered important enough to warrant an
answer before seeking their mandate for another round of affliction.
I had listened attentively in
anticipation of the manifesto of the “most educated politician in Nigeria”,
Iyiola Omisore, PhD. Nothing, other than vacuous effusions from characters, who
should, at best, be in jail in Europe and America or should have been forgotten
as having existed in the world were they to be in China.
There was a boast that they would
repeat what they did in Ekiti. The security agents had arrested notable members
of the opposition party, APC some days before that charade. Two serving
governors were prevented from entering Ekiti state. Amaechi was turned back at
the border. Adams Oshiomole was unlucky.
He was prevented from boarding his
flight. Many of the party agents were arrested and detained. They were only
released after the so called election. This threat, as this is what it amounts
to, was not predicated on any index of sterling performance, both in the past
or at present. They even invited “God” and “Allah” to come and assist them in
their mission to pillage the land.
The quality of the crowd in attendance
confirmed the hypocrisy of the elements in government. I was at Dada Estate in
Osogbo during the rally. I watched it life on Channels Television. Many of
these characters were invaders brought in buses and countless SUVs. The hotel I
stayed was fully booked by thugs and security agents who cohabited in a curious
symbiotic interaction which presages danger for the peace of that state. I
watched a gregarious exchange of pleasantries, cigarette and the tough stuff,
puffed generously to scorn the on-lookers. I believe that these goons are
brought in not for the rally but for the election proper.
The other place where you would find
miscreants struggling for money, “rices”, apologies to Iyiola Omisore, PhD, and
campaign souvenirs was at the PDP candidate’s” war office” on the road that
leads to Oke-Fia. The people of the state watched the invaders, some of whom
“wore” the T-Shirts which bore the inscription “Bode George Boys”, with utter
contempt. Perhaps the government recruits had sensed that the mood of the
people was not favourable to any further display of idiocy after the riotous
display of the so called security agents who covered their faces in hoods. The
PDP chieftains fear that there will be a backlash if they intensify the siege.
No soldiers came this time around but security operatives and thugs stood in
for them.
The programme opened with the
invocation of the power of the “holy ghost” in a gathering of vultures. It was
evident that the organizers of the rally are mediocre in perception and execution.
It is not surprising that they have run the country aground if that was their
mega rally. Ambassador, “Dr” and “Pastor” Yemi Farounbi was invited to pray in
the Christian tradition.
He invited Jesus to come and assist
them to take over power from Aregbesola. He also asked him to develop the
state. Some of those standing by did not seem to believe in his prayer and they
were going to grab the microphone from the hypocrite. Were they not there for
Omisore? Why on earth should anyone bring in Jesus Christ even if some people
regard him as God? He was first rendered inaudible before being asked to get
off the stage for more enterprising entertainers.
Enter the cast; the dramatis personae on stage will compete
favourably with our Nollywood actors and actresses. Femi Fani-Kayode was
overjoyed for returning to his “family”. He must have been acting under some
extra-ordinary influence that he could not realise that his invitation to
renounce APC publicly amounted to public humiliation. He recanted like a common
slave. The same PDP which he deprecated with vitriolic venom has become the
only party through which Nigerians can be saved.
The most hilarious aspect of his
comedy was the reason he advanced for the volte face. APC is a Boko Haram party
and PDP is not. Bola Tinubu abused traditional rulers, especially the Ooni of
Ife, and he would not remain in the same party with a person who does not
respect that institution. As for Aregbesola, this “born-again” Christian would
have him bundled out of office because he introduced “foreign” idols to the State
of Osun! Can there be any further evidence of insanity than this exhibition of
ignorance?
I know that the word paganus in Latin refers to a worshipper of
foreign gods and goddesses. It is from this term that the English connotation
of paganism is derived. How can a sane person regard Africans as idol
worshippers in their land when Christians and Muslims are indeed the pagans? He
must have been referring to the introduction of the study of Ifa in Osun public
schools and the official recognition accorded traditional worshippers.
He left APC for PDP because of Boko
Haram, among other asinine reasons. Aregbesola, however, is an “idol worshipper”
who has taken Osun back to “Egypt”. He could not have been talking about Osun,
the source of the Yoruba in Nigeria. Somebody
actually needs a shrink urgently! The charge of fraud preferred against him by
EFCC is no longer of any moment. The president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan,
liberally described, in pejorative terms, is now fit to lead the country of a
deeply divided people. Sycophancy is mild a word for such a confused character.
Ayo Fayose, the in-coming imperial
governor of Ekiti state, pronounced Omisore as the next governor “by the power
conferred” on him. He said PDP was now ready with senior lawyers who would
defend him at the tribunal. The former Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, and the
governor of Akwa Ibom state, Godswill Akpabio, want the people of Osun to join
“mainstream” politics. Mr. Sambo, the Vice President of Nigeria, eulogized
Omisore as one of the best Engineers in the country and a good “strategist”.
If his description of the character
regarded as felon-in-chief by most decent people of the south west region is
correct, then I admit that we have all failed to recognize a genius at close
quarters. I shall be the first person to acknowledge this “erudite scholar”, a
holder of a PhD degree in Engineering, as the best thing to happen to us after
Ayodele Awojobi. I only have to be convinced that he did not participate in the
gruesome murder of Chief Bola Ige, SAN. Like Lagbaja, the musician who refused
to be corralled into the wicked attempt to rubbish Ige’s memory, I believe that
he is culpable.
The president added nothing special to
add to the inanities of the earlier comedy than to call on the people of the
south west to vote for Omisore. He had apologized for keeping the people
waiting. He went to pay homage to traditional rulers in contradistinction to
Bola Tinubu who abused them, according to Fani Kayode. He would want us to join
the transformation train like Ekiti. He had no words on the state of insecurity
in the polity. Save from empty reassurance always given to Nigerians whenever
lives and property are destroyed by mindless extremists, there was no word on
the kidnapped Chibok girls, three months after the tragic incident.
The revelry came to an end as it
started. The people of Osun took nothing away from this disgraceful outing. There
was no promise on education in specific terms. Aregbesola met dilapidated
schools and PTA employed teachers. A teacher was an expert of miscellany when
he assumed the mantle of leadership. One teacher taught as many as five
subjects in all areas. One of the sins committed by this man was the massive
employment of qualified teachers. The fact that he has been feeding school
pupils is also unpardonable. Local farmers empowered economically can now send
their children to school.
The quality improvement on infrastructure is
there for all to see. The PDP supporters who came from all over the country in
solidarity with their candidate had a smooth ride in Osun. Not even Bayelsa state,
the home of the president can boast of the quality of works in the state.
President Jonathan could not have failed to see new school buildings in Ife
when he went to visit the Ooni. The fact that most of the people living in the
state shunned them became established after they ended their jamboree. A day
after the invasion, there is no visible sign of their rancorous presence in
Osogbo. I witnessed it.
The Opon Imo, the tablet of knowledge,
an uncommon innovation by this government, remains unparalleled in the history
of this country. I had expected a statement from the PhD holder because I had
gone through a copy and found his earlier comment that the project was a scam
as untrue and mischievous. I waited to hear that the farmers and graduates
encouraged to practise agriculture on a large scale are from Lagos. I was
disappointed when Omisore failed to mention the fact that the roads in all the
nooks and crannies of the state being constructed are going to be used by
“Lagos people”.
Above all, the unprecedented peace
enjoyed by all and sundry in the last four years could not have escaped the
memory of those who fondly described Omisore as a “strategist”. There was no
violence in the land until he commenced his campaign. There have been
explosions and deaths. A school building under construction collapsed, the very
first of its kind. This incredible coincidence occurred at a time when the
government was being praised for the quality jobs undertaken everywhere.
It is tragic, to assert the least,
that the ruling party, which is responsible for the ruinous rule in the
country, thinks that the people of the south west, who rejected all it
represented a while ago, will now embrace it because of the parochial
expediency of being at the centre. The region has been serially raped in the
past. General Obasanjo deceived some into believing that joining other nation
wreckers would be of direct benefit to the region. The country is being bled to
death. The characters who paraded themselves, shamelessly, on that political
stage cannot point at one positive thing they have brought to the people. All
of them are united in one respect, namely, despoliation of our commonwealth.
It is our bounden duty to reject them
in totality. The alternative is to watch our region slip into anarchy and
under-development.
No comments:
Post a Comment