One of the leading headlines of Saturday Vanguard Newspaper, July 22, 2017 is Aregbesola has damaged Tinubu badly credited to Afenifere scribe, Hon Oladipo Olaitan. The interview is a calculated attempt to blackmail Governor Rauf Aregbesola and create problem between Aregbesola and his political leader, Asiwaju Tinubu. The interview showed that Hon Olaitan is jealous of Aregbesola’s achievements in Osun state and his closeness to Tinubu. Hon Olaitan is aware of past and present developments in Osun state. He has deliberately resorted to cheap propaganda, mischief and blackmail to cause division between Asiwaju Tinubu and Aregbesola. The fact is that Hon Olaitan has lost relevance in Nigeria politics because he is purblind to the realities in Osun state (please visit www.osunsukukprojects.com)
Hon Olaitan’s interview was an attempt to blackmail Governor Aregbesola. Any dutiful and objective appraisal of the issues arising from the interview would agree with me that Hon Olaitan was really out to denigrate Aregbesola for intentions that had nothing to do with the public interests of Osun state and Nigerians. I am appalled by the deliberate attempt by Hon Olaitan to cause division between Asiwaju Tinubu and Aregbesola. I find it ridiculously baseless and mischievous the ranting of once upon a time leader. This can only be part of the unrelenting campaign of calumny and the ceaseless peddling of pernicious propaganda against Governor Aregbesola.
Aregbesola’s preoccupation has been and continues to be how to deliver on his promised rescue Agenda to the good people of Osun since he came to office. And he has received applause and commendations from far and near for being so focused and unrelenting in the pursuit of his vision for the state.
Aregbesola will not be distracted by any form of organised and orchestrated blackmail from any quarters, God willing; he will continue to deliver on his promises.
Hon Olaitan has made calculated statements to undermine and distort present developments in Osun state. He is peddling inaccuracies, misleading and calculated mischief about Osun state in an attempt to blackmail Governor Aregbesola and set him on a collision course with the people and Asiwaju Tinubu. Olaitan was fixated on matters of power, rather than issues that will benefit the Osun people. There is an obvious attempt to blackmail Aregbesola, paint him as an irresponsible leader, one not concerned with the welfare of the people, and set the Governor against Asiwaju on matters of power rather than issues that benefit the Osun people. This is clearly a bitterness syndrome being display by a spent politician whose belief in political expediency is based only on self-gain and not the people. How on earth a supposed elder statesman would refute developmental strides being experience in Osun?
Hon Olaitan’s interview is misinforming the people by claiming that Aregbesola has damaged Tinubu badly. This statement credited to Hon Olaitan, clearly showed that he is uninformed and a mischief maker. I understand Olaitan’s grievances that ‘’Afenifere was the rallying point for all of us, but no sooner than we all won the election, everybody started to have peculiar interests.Idiosyncrasies of each person started to play out, and then some people were either with Tinubu or with Afenifere. I stayed with Afenifere and will never bite the finger that fed me. I have nothing against Tinubu, absolutely nothing, but I just could not…it was difficult for me to understand that I would abandon my old ship and join another person. That was how the little difference emerged, and we were carrying on and carrying on, but in the party we knew ourselves. You were either for Tinubu or main Afenifere, and I was known to be main Afenifere. Of course, he who pays the piper dictates the tune. Tinubu being the governor, he would say he is the leader of the party and had the presence of those he says believed in him and by his own calculation, I could not have believed in him if I would still stay in Afenifere. Naturally, when people were to be returned, I was not returned because I did not belong. And up till today, I thank God that I am the National Financial Secretary of Afenifere and if my race gives me a particular position to hold for them, I will believe that I am holding it in trust for them. Like when I was in the National Assembly I saw myself as leading the Yoruba Race in the National Assembly.’’
My question now is how can Aregbesola badly damage Tinubu? In what sense? I want to advise Hon Olaitan to go for psychological test because his interview was not coherent and it lacks basic facts about Aregbesola. If there is anything that Hon Olaitan wants from Tinubu, he should go straight to him instead of smearing the name of Aregbesola to gain cheap popularity. In his interview Hon Olaitan admitted that he is not popular that he relied on Afenifere to win election in 1999 and it is obvious he cannot distinguish between the past and present developments in Osun State. Hon Olaitan is ignorant of recent negative developments in the Nigerian economy which continues to face serious macroeconomic challenges and is in a recession for the first time in decades. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2016 was estimated at -1.5%, with a moderate recovery expected in 2017. This is attributed to a series of shocks, including the continued decline in oil prices, foreign exchange shortages, disruptions in fuel supply and sharp reduction in oil production, power shortages, and insecurity in some parts of the country, as well as low capital budget execution rate (51%).
Inwalomhe Donald, writes from Benin City
