Gov. Ajimobi’s new cabinet – Let him who thinks he stands beware lest he falls! by Bayo Adeyinka On Tuesday February 19, 2013, one of the new generation record labels in town, Euphoric Heritage Records, presented one of the artistes under the record label, aptly named Tillaman with a C230 Mercedes Benz. The CEO of Euphoric Records is Umar Faruk Alao, one of the recently appointed Commissioners in Oyo State and – wait for this – Tillaman is one of the sons of the Alaafin of Oyo whose sister is also part of the new cabinet. Apart from the fact that he is the son of the Chief Mercenary of Ibadan Politics, Arisekola Alao, he has nothing against his name – save for being the CEO of a pedestrian record label. He is not a Don Jazzy neither is he a Cobhams Asuquo, two reputable music producers who can hold their own even in the business community. I am not sure any of his artistes have produced any album of significance worthy of airplay. Faruk will now sit in the hallowed Executive Council Chambers of Oyo State. This is the same place where Chief Obafemi Awolowo presided over the Western Region as the Premier and had such quality minds like Chief FRA Williams, Oduola Oshuntokun, SO Awokoya, EA Babalola, Simeon Adebo among others as part of his cabinet. Now, there is a reversal of fortune and an infantile ‘auto-tunes’ music producer with no pedigree apart from being born with a silver spoon will sit where these legends once sat. Other appointments include the daughter of Alaafin of Oyo, Adetutu Adeyemi; the son of the Olubadan, Prince Gbade Lana; the daughter of the Soun of Ogbomoso, Princess Olufunke Oworu and the son of a former Governor of Oyo State, Dapo Lam-Adesina. Apart from Olufunke Oworu who used to be the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce and a former Special Assistant to the Governor, not much is known of the others. For Dapo Lam-Adesina, his first coming as the Commissioner for Youth and Sports sign-posted the relegation of the Ibadan darling team, 3SC Football Club to the Second Division. 3SC finished rock bottom of the Glo Premier League with a paltry 46 points. The coaches were immediately fired but the Supervising Commissioner was returned to the cabinet. In other climes, the Commissioner would have beensacked for poor performance. But not here! For those who can’t stand criticism and will easily jump in the service of their ‘stomach infrastructure’ (apologies to Opeyemi Bamidele), I wish to quote from the late Sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He said, “The Yorubas are a fastidious, critical and discerning people. They will not do anything in politics merely to oblige fellow Yoruba. If the Yoruba man is satisfied that your policy is good and will serve his self-interest, he will support you no matter from which ethnic group you hail”. It is important for me to come from this angle because I have praised Governor Abiola Ajimobi in my previous articles for the infrastructural development in Oyo State. He has done well in this regard and you can’t take this from him. If votes were cast today, I will still vote for him. However, these recent appointments are puerile, sub-standard and an absolute insult to the highly educated and politically versatile populace of Oyo State. Chief Obafemi Awolowo had this to say about his team in 1960: “My team of ministers was unexcelled. It was a team of which any head of government in the world will be proud. It was a well-knit, highly disciplined and fanatically loyal team. Each of them knew his subject well. Apart from administrative impediments, we realised that there were also financial hurdles of mountainous heights to be overcome. But we were determined to blast our ways through them and compel the force of any adverse circumstance to serve our will.We had evolved elaborate plans which, with such modification inside knowledge of governmental facts and figures might dictate were ready to be launched at a moment notice; and what is more, we had an abiding flaming faith in the soundness and practiceableness of our plan. We regard ourselves as crusaders in a new cause and as eminently qualified for the pioneering role which we had imposed upon ourselves”. Can Ajimobi say the same with all sincerity? How will an Executive Council Meeting look like? Will there be very robust debates on executive plans or this will just be a ‘follow-follow’ EXCO? Will Ajimobi be able to call any of these ‘Special Ones’ to order in case of any infraction or will he turn the blind eye because of political expediency? But are the appointees eminently qualified to be appointed as commissioners like some will argue? Of course, yes. They are all qualified, including Faruk Alao. But what is required for high office is not just mere qualification. I am sure more than 2 million residents of the State are also qualified. Do they have the mental capacity to hold such a high office? Maybe. Though I reckon that mental capacity is beyond one’s intelligent quotient. For someone to excel, he must also demonstrate an above average emotional quotient. Are they competent? Well, until most of them are tried but Oyo State does not deserve mediocrity under any guise. Is it morally expedient for them to be so appointed? This is where the big issue is, in my opinion. The appointments smirk of mere political patronage and panders to sentiments based on survivalists tendencies. It is all about getting a second term in office. It is all about 2015. Unfortunately, this is the crux of the matter that those who defend these appointments blindly fail or are unable to see. Is our democracy, nascent (it’s been a long time since I heard that word) or not, about satisfying the interest (the greater good) of the populace or dancing to the whims and caprices of a selected aristocracy? Who actually butters the bread of these politicians- the masses who supposedly have the power to vote or the elite/aristocracy? Does Governor Ajimobi know that Arisekola has only 1 vote and not more? Who is actually the boss- the masses or the aristocracy? If this is not nepotism, then what is it? Our Royal Fathers and Traditional Rulers especially are desecrating their thrones by meddling in partisan politics. This is now becoming the tradition of APC everywhere they are in government. From Osun State where Bisi Akande’s daughter is a Commissioner- to Ekiti State where Bola Tinubu’s son-in-laws a Member of the House of Representatives- to Lagos State where Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s daughter was recently installed as the Iyaloja General of Lagos State and his wife, Oluremi Tinubu is a Senator of the Federal Republic, this cankerworm of nepotism is spreading. A culture of ‘talo fe mu mi’ (who am I accountable to?) is festering. This is not the Omoluabi Concept that we know. This is not the Afenifere Creed. Chief Obafemi Awolowo who these latter-day Awoists claim to be disciples of never appointed his family members or cronies to any position of authority. Awo was very particular about people who hold political offices and it is on record that he warned late Chief Bola Ige when he insisted on appointing Busari Adelakun (Eruobodo) as the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs. Awo considered Adelakun as a thug and one who didn’t have the intellectual capacity for that office. Bola Ige appointed him because he was in charge of the NURTW which was and is still a formidable force in politics in Oyo State. That appointment later turned to be the nemesis of Chief Ige as Adelakun proved to be a better student of power. I am sure that is one of the regrets of the late Cicero of Esa Oke. During the 1983 elections, Chief Obafemi Awolowo was hosted to a town hall interview at Abeokuta and he was asked a question about challenging the will of the masses. His response fully quoted hereunder verbatim is instructive especially to Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his co-travellers: “Syngman Rhee of Southern Korea was a great fellow, some. He led his people to freedom and independence. And they revered him a lot, respected him very much. Then he used to win elections and on this occasion he got it into his head that his son-in-law should be his Vice-president. People said you’re alright by yourself, you’re president, we are returning you unopposed but your son-in-law we don’t want him to be our Vice-president. Here’s this other man in the party who’s going to be our Vice-president. Syngman Rhee objected, so the other man who the masses wanted stood as independent Vice-president, and his son stood on the platform of the party. The election was held, and the people voted solidly for the other man. Then Syngman Rhee saw to it that there was a false announcement. He then announced that his son-in-law had won the election, and the people ask “did you vote for him?” “I didn’t vote for him, I didn’t vote for him” where did he get his votes from? “You know I told this story the first time in 1962 on May 28, at the press conference to warn Balewa and co that they should desist from what they are doing. I told them the story of Syngman Rhee, I told them the story of Menderes of Turkey and one or two other stories and I ended up by saying let those who think they stand beware lest they fall, let those who think they stand beware lest they fall. That was what I said at the time, and of course they used that as evidence against me in the treasonable felony trial, that I wanted them to fall. “Anyway, the people reacted and said your son-in-law hadn’t got a single vote in this country, how could he be Vice-President? So first of all, as ….the women match forward with the children, they said No it can’t happen, so Syngman Rhee then ordered that his police men should disperse them. The police men too did vote at the election and they knew they didn’t vote for his son-in-law so they refused to disperse the crowd. Then he called in the soldiers, the soldiers too voted, and they knew they didn’t vote for his son-in-law, and they refused to disperse the crowd. “So he found himself alone and the people matched on the palace, and he then begged that they leave him alone, they said well we’ll allow you to go out of this country forever. And so he left in a car, boarded a plane and left the country on that day. He died about 4 or 5 years ago in Honolulu, if I remember rightly, at the age of ninety-something. And the son-in-law, in the meantime, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.” I deliberately quoted the late Sage a lot because all of them claim they are his followers. This, however, is my parting shot: APC has no moral right to blame President Jonathan for doing whatever it takes to win 2015 elections. Oyo State APC-led Government is doing the same thing.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 00:33:27 +0000
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