Strange Bedfellows
Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose’s recent visit to his Osun State counter part, Rauf Aregbesola remains curious, as it was a meeting of strange bedfellows, Yinka Kolawole writes
This is my first official visit to any APC state in Nigeria. I am not in Osogbo to ask Aregbesola to help me beg as being speculated in some quarters. We are all Yoruba. Politics is like water, it can flow anywhere. I believe in the Yoruba race, the race comes first before the office of the governor. The race is eternal while that of governor is momentary. We must watch today to be guided by tomorrow. I am here for the unity of Yoruba as it affects the Oodua, the progenitor
Drama took its place recently, when Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State made a surprising visit to his Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola in Osogbo the state capital. Fayose, in his epoch unity visit to Aregbesola called for the unity of Yoruba nation for meaningful development and maintained that efforts of past Yoruba leaders must not be in vain.
According to him, the visit of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi to the Alaafin of Oyo more than a week ago sends a strong signal on
the need for unity and cooperation. He remarked that governors should also look beyond political parties and politics for proper development of the region.
Fayose therefore implored governors to tap from available opportunities like Agriculture to reduce economic problems in their respective states. On either Fayose would quit PDP, he said: “I won’t quit but time will tell if PDP is dead or not.” But Aregbesola advised Fayose to face the reality of the death of PDP as a party. He also identified the need for governors to collectively address the nation’s dwindling economy.
Aregbesola said while he was not asking the governor to abandon the opposition PDP against his wish, he would only advise him to join hands with a political party that would help give hope to the people of Nigeria.
He charged him to direct his energy towards bringing human and physical development to the western region and Nigeria as a whole. Aregbesola described the visit of Fayose to Osun as a demonstration of maturity, because it takes a matured human being to know that
at the end of every public office, he would be left with humanity.
He said, “Osoko has said that he is not going to leave his party, but the reality today is that PDP has served its term in Nigeria. When a horse is dead, it is either you abandon it or you bury it.
“I want my good friend and brother to know that PDP has exhausted its stay in Nigeria, it can no longer be revived. Let us look at a political party that will give hope to our people. Opposition must be for a purpose, I stand by you on the unity of Yoruba land and that our leaders are not pulled down in the country. “The war is over. We are in a season of mobilising our people to agriculture and produce such that we will economically have the
strength to give leadership to the nation and Africa. Our energy must be directed at bringing human and physical development. We have enough in this region to give leadership”, Aregbesola stressed.
He assured Fayose that he would stand by him in his effort to galvanise the people of South-west for accelerated development and stressed the need to create economic bond that would rescue people from poverty and live a modern life.
He noted that since oil had lost its position as the biggest source of revenue generation for the country, there is the need to shift attention to Agriculture. He added that Governors in the Southwestern part of Nigeria had concluded plans to reposition Oodua Investment Company Limited conglomerate as the engine room of Yoruba economy.
The Governor, who lamented the present economic situation of the country, noted that there is an invasion on the economy of Nigeria to the extent that the country is losing 75 per cent of her income due to oil glut.
“The country is facing a very serious crisis with the rate at which the crude oil price is falling. There is an invasion on the economy to the level that we are losing 75 per cent of our income which is not good.
“At this point, wise people must have an alternative to oil which part of it is your visit. We must use our culture and affinity to form a bond that can make our people live a normal life. It is a duty that we owe our people, states and Nigeria as a whole”.
Fayose however reiterated that against all speculations that he was coming to Osogbo to ask Aregbesola help him beg President Muhammadu Buhari, he was in Osun for the unity of Yoruba race.
He added that the Yoruba race is greater than any political office hence his belief in the development of the race.
The governor averred that the visit of the Ooni of Ife to the 45th coronation of the Alaafin of Oyo is instructive hence the need for every Yoruba sons and daughters to see to the unity and progress of the race.
“This is my first official visit to any APC state in Nigeria. I am not in Osogbo to ask Aregbesola to help me beg as being speculated in some quarters. We are all Yoruba. Politics is like water, it can flow anywhere. I believe in the Yoruba race, the race comes first before the office of the governor.
The race is eternal while that of governor is momentary. We must watch today to be guided by tomorrow. I am here for the unity of Yoruba as it affects the Oodua, the progenitor,” Fayose emphasised.