Again, Senator Adeyeye Carpets Ajibola Basiru

A two term Senator from Osun Central, Professor Olusola Adeyeye has carpeted his successor, Ajibola Basiru over political differences.

The former Senator is a staunch supporter of Osinbajo while Basiru is a supporter of Tinubu.

Earlier, Basiru had accused Sen. Adeyeye on inconsistency and dishonesty. Adeyeye, however, put it to him in his rejoinder that thr allegations should be proven.

Here is the full text, “AJIBOLA BASIRU: STILL LOST ON THE WRONG ROAD

As I read through the latest response of Senator Ajibola Basiru to me, I worry about his emotional state. It’s one thing to be in denial of facts that have been publicly presented in response to him and it’s another thing to respond to all that from a near-maniacal egocentric perspective and, in the process, losing all sense of propriety. His sole objective seems to be to insult me, he certainly is not interested in properly focusing on the issues. If we need proof that you can only advance in intelligence according to the limits your ego would permit, Ajibola Basiru is Exhibit 1.

Basiru’s attempt to use Yoruba ethical philosophy as a springboard for his false thesis is immediately exposed as a sham by the fact that he is the one tumbling over at the first hurdle. As we Yoruba would say: ’Bíbí ‘re, kò se f’owó rà.’ Yes, you can’t buy good breeding with money. A well-brought-up Yoruba person will understand respect, even in disagreement. Rather than focus on the issues in our public debate, this man, who I’m old enough to father, says I’m an old man without sense, an old man who suffers from “chronic cerebral malfunction.” Why? Because I do not support Bola Tinubu, his mentor, his hero, his father figure in his quest to be president of Nigeria. And this is someone with children who look up to him, someone who wants to grow old. O ma se O!

Now, trying to make sense of Basiru’s latest thesis is an exercise in futility because it truly is a train wreck. It’s a miserable, pitiable barrel-scraping effort to say some things in supposed response to what I said earlier. From the beginning to end, it’s like a somnambulist’s rant. There is no coherent train of thought or argument, just a screed of anger directed at me with absolutely nothing enlightening to pick on. At a point, he was quoting a non-existent “Chapter 8” in my thesis and from there he ran further into the weeds and never returned. I just wonder how a man of his education, professional standing and stature can reduce himself to a bumbling wreck in public space just because he wants to show he can keep up in an intellectual joust in defence of the indefensible.

Okay, let’s be clear about something: Senator Basiru’s singular assignment after our back and forth up to this point is to simply show proof of my supposed dishonesty. That was the task I gave him in my last response after proving that he called me dishonest without showing proof. I was happy to give him a second chance to bite the cherry. But what has he done? He’s again missed an open goal!

First, he flatters to deceive with a title promising an elephant, but delivering a piddling mouse. His title says “Osinbajo: Senator Sola Adeyeye’s Inconsistency as a sign of dishonesty.” So, that’s it. I am supposedly inconsistent and whoever is inconsistent must be dishonest? Good! Now, where is this inconsistency? Well, nothing. I mean, nothing in his title is reflected in the content of his piece that is supposed to give us the whole lowdown of my inconsistency. In other words, he says inconsistency is the sign of my dishonesty, but then fails to show this inconsistency from me. Not that he did not attempt.

Basiru says just because I had said Tinubu is qualified to contest for the presidency and that he is a “fantastically hardworking human being,” it is dishonest of me to now say the presidency is not for his type. This is his idea of inconsistency and, according to him, this position of mine is based on envy.

Well, here’s the thing: Despite his much touted education, it’s evident Basiru has a problem with inductive and abstract reasoning. That I acknowledge Tinubu’s constitutional right to contest for the presidency does not mean I have no right to support another I see as a better candidate. It also does not mean I think Tinubu is fit to contest. Yes, he can have a right to contest, but he might not be fit to contest. In my honest view, he is an old man who time has caught up with, just like anyone his age. His health struggles are glaring for everyone to see on national television. Only people who love him can tell him it’s time to go take care of his health. The presidency is not for a man with his obvious health challenges. It’s okay for the Basirus of this world to work shamelessly and desperately to snatch as much as they can from Tinubu’s bullion vans, but, at the end of the day, true patriots will stand by the truth of their convictions. I, Olusola Adeyeye, a Nigerian citizen, have no apology for choosing the Vice President over Tinubu.

Basiru, as I said, has nothing to offer, but insults against my person. He says unnamed people would testify to how my relationship with my senatorial district is “strictly parasitical” and that he and some other unnamed persons already knew before I did that I was “not participating in politics to enhance social revitalization, but for self-aggrandizement.” I mean, how do you get your head around the logic of others being aware of something you are accused of doing or others being aware of your motive before you become aware? And who are these unnamed people he vouches would testify to how my relationship with my senatorial district is “strictly parasitical”? Or is this not the same senatorial district I served for eight years creditably with encomiums and notes of gratitude still pouring in today from constituents who believe I served them well? Is it parasitic of me to decide on my own not to seek another reelection in 2019 because I felt my senatorial district brims with enough talent that it would be proper to give another person a chance to serve? Is he, Basiru, not the inheritor of that position now? When everyone was saying he was going to have big shoes to fill, did he feel he was filling the shoes of a parasite?

Senator Basiru says ironically, I cannot ordinarily win my ward, yet the real irony is that the irony is lost on him. In 2003, I was elected the Member representing Boluwaduro/Ifedayo/Ila Federal Constituency at the Federal House of Representatives. In 2011, I was elected as the Senator for Osun Central with almost thrice the vote of my main opponent. In 2015, I was reelected to that position. As explained earlier, I, without prompting from anybody, chose not to seek another reelection in 2019. My decision offered Basiru the opportunity to succeed me in the Red Chamber. Yet, this is the same fellow claiming I cannot win my ward. A man who has only stood for one election in his life is claiming that me that I have stood for and won multiple elections cannot win my ward. The illogicality is befuddling.

Perhaps, what we should be putting on record here is that in less than 2 years in office, Senator Ajibola Basiru made the unwanted history of being the only Osun Senator that his constituents took to task in public space in an open letter boldly declaring that the Senator’s arrogance will be his downfall. I mean, that is testament enough to who did his job while he was there and who is not doing his job while there now. If Basiru wants to test his popularity against mine, I give him the permission to conduct a poll in any ward in Osun Central or in the whole Osun Central itself. Once he has done so, let him be honest enough to publicly share the result.

I really can’t say enough about the waywardness of Basiru’s latest piece. I think at this point, he’s like a dog that is no longer hearing the hunter’s whistle. The red midst has descended over him and he’s just all over the place. But, I have made my point. I’m comfortable moving on from this and leaving the public to judge us on what we have both said publicly so far. I know this is politics and sometimes you’re tempted to go on and on against someone in a public debate just to prove a point, but we also know one does not go after every barking dog, or, as in this case, you don’t have to respond to this barking episode of this mad dog. I have said his original piece that I responded to is a cry for help; so, there’s nothing extraordinary in the fact that he’s still crying. I mean, when you flog a child to chastise him, you can’t possibly stop the same child from wailing loudly. So, let Basiru’s tears flow freely.

It’s obvious that his sole objective with his latest offering is to cast aspersion on my person, but his attempt to impugn my integrity is like a dog trying to chew through top-grade steel. I encourage him to man up, pick his broken teeth from the floor and move on. This is over. I have bigger fish to fry.

Professor Olusola Adeyeye was a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and is a strong supporter of the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.“