Ilesa, State of Osun came alive last Friday, when the homecoming of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Nigeria’s Minister of Interior to participate in the ongoing nationwide registration/revalidation exercise of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) cascaded into a carnival. ISMAEEL UTHMAN gives graphic details of the event.
JOLLY-GOOD-FELLOW and Fair-Weather friends are not strange in phraseology. While the former, a song, is always used in congratulating a person (a steady good relationship) on significant events, the latter refers to a person whose friendship cannot be relied upon in times of difficulty.
Nigerian politicians, except for a few who are ideologically grounded with self discipline, are much of fair-weather friends, than jolly-good-fellow. While there was distinctive difference between progressive and conservative politicians before the Fourth Republic; politicians of the new millennium have notably massacred their various parties’ ideologies, on the altar of continuous stay in power. Their participation in politics is not ideologically defined; rather, it is based on survival theory. That is why cross-carpeting is easy for them.
Criticisms have always trailed the inconsistency of Nigerian politicians, who either lay claim to being a democrat or republican in followership of the American politics, but refused to imbibe the admirable discipline of members of the party. In Nigeria, a sitting governor who enjoyed the votes of the electorate under the aegis of the All Progressives Congress left the party for the Peoples Democratic Party. Also, another governor who was voted in on the platform of the PDP defected to the APC. This is the peak of crisscross in Nigerian politics, so far.
In recent times, some of the South-West politicians, are dangerously playing the Machiavellian game of ‘stooping in order to conquer’, against the principles of Chief Obafemi Awolowo who would say ‘death is preferable to prostrating before your tormentor’.
Realising the facts above, the Minister of Interior of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has warned the APC members against the Fair-Weather friends who are currently trooping into the party with the ongoing membership registration and revalidation.
Aregbesola, who spoke during his membership revalidation at Unit 1, Ifofin Ward 8, Ilesa East Local Government Area of the State of Osun, last Friday, said with the exercise, APC members now have a say in whoever becomes the flagbearer either at the party level or for government elective positions.
However, the former governor of the state stirred the hornets’ nest by stating that the party had admitted people of questionable characters, advising that those who constitute majority of the APC membership must represent the core values of the party. He noted however that the members have a moral duty to ensure that such elements with bad records do not occupy leadership positions and use it to subvert and derail the party, just as he reminded them of the imperatives of internal democracy in the party.
Aregbesola reminded the people that Chief Bola Ige was their leader and stood all his life for a compassionate government, commitment to the good of the majority and ideas that would bring good life, happiness, progress and security to the people. He urged them to be conscious of those who continue to dance on Ige’s grave and avoid anything that would dishonour the late statesman’s memory. He went further to declare that anybody that wants to rise on Ige’s tomb shall not rise.
Aregbesola’s submission swiftly attracted reactions from within and outside the APC. Political analysts were quick to draw inferences from his statements to mean that he was referring to the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2018 gubernatorial elections, Senator Iyiola Omisore, who defected to the APC last week. Governor Adegboyega Oyetola said the APC had caught a ‘big fish’ with Omisore joining the party. There were insinuations that Oyetola is warmer to Omisore than Aregbesola.
Omisore was part of the founding members of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). He was a deputy to former governor Bisi Akande. He was impeached as deputy governor for allegedly plotting Akande’s removal and that led to crises in the AD. The senator left for PDP, under which he became a senator in 2003 and 2007. He contested and lost to Senator Babajide Omoworare of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in 2011. Omisore left the PDP for SDP in 2018, later to form coalition with the APC in the build-up to the governorship election rerun of that year before he eventually joined the APC last week.
But Bola Ige’s death has remained an albatross on Omisore, even after being acquitted of his alleged involvement in the murder of the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, by a court of law. Many would have thought that joining the progressives would have put an end to the question of who killed Bola Ige, because they were and are still the people making accusations on the Cicero of Esa-Oke’s death.
At the event, Aregbesola assured the people of working towards greater success of the party and of his commitment to progressive ideals. He reminded them that he made a debut in Osun on the Oranmiyan platform 17 years ago, and with others fought the agents of darkness and regression and firmly consolidated the party in the state. This effort has produced two successive progressive administrations in the state and also won presidential and national legislative elections thrice since then, noting that it would be difficult for those who lack such pedigree to displace him in the party in the state.
In closing, he delivered the message of President Muhammadu Buhari on his resolve to tackle the problems the nation is facing, especially on security. He assured them that President Buhari and the Federal Executive Council are working hard to make these challenges a thing of the past.
The minister, as usual pulled cheerful crowd at the event. Members of the APC, Aregbesola’s supporters and admirers trooped out in their thousands to welcome their beloved, Aregbesola. The excited crowd had been waiting as early as 8am and waited till around 5pm for his arrival.
Aregbesola had left for the Lagos airport at 7am to catch a flight to Ibadan, from where he hoped to continue the journey to Ilesa by road. The flight was however delayed due to bad weather at the Ibadan end. He waited till noon when the airline regretfully announced the cancellation of the awaited flight. He returned to his house and made the journey to Ilesa by road, which lasted for four hours.
Though, he had planned it to be a private affair, he was received at Ibodi by an enthusiastic crowd of supporters, well-wishers and party members. Aregbesola had earlier been joyfully welcomed into the state by hawkers at Ikire, who upon sighting him in his car ran after him and started shouting his name.
On getting to Ilesa, Aregbesola went straight to the venue of the exercise at his Ward 8 in Ifofin, in Ilesa East Local Government, where to his even greater surprise, a larger crowd had been waiting for him.
On sighting him, the crowd, which included drummers and residents of neighbourhoods on streets along the route he passed through, especially Ifofin, welcomed him with jubilation and fanfare. His coming home became a carnival, to his great delight. The mammoth crowd was chorusing ‘Aregbe ti wole, Aregbe ti wole… menaing: ‘Aregbesola has come, Aregbesola has come’.
He was officially received by party leaders, government officials (past and present) and his former aides.
Leading them was Pa Kunle Odeyemi, the leader of the APC in Ijesaland; Elder Lowo Adebiyi, who was State Chairman of the party; the Speaker of the State of Osun House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Timothy Owoeye and his wife; and Hon Idowu Korede, his Commissioner for Environment when he was governor in the state.
Other party leaders and dignitaries present were chiefly cabinet commissioners, advisers and assistants during his time as helmsman of the state, comprising: Barrister Kolapo Alimi (Commissioner for Local Government), Hon. Biyi Odunlade (Commissioner for Sports and Special Needs), Hon. Kunle Ige (Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security), Engr. Kazeem Salami (Commissioner for Works and Transport), Barrister Gbenga Akano (Special Adviser on Tax Matters), Hon. Muyideen Olateju (Special Adviser on Science and Innovation), Hon. Tunde Ajilore (Special Adviser on Natural and Mineral Resources), Hon. Ademola Adeyinka (Special Adviser on Public Production and Efficiency), Hon. Wale Alabi (Senior Special Assistant on Regional Integration) and several others.
After completing the revalidation exercise, he displayed his slip to the enthusiastic roar of the crowd present.
