It seems comedy goes with politics in Nigeria or how else can one explain
\nthe comical utterances credited to Chief John Odigie Oyegun, embattled
\nnational Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, (APC), whose desperation
\nto retain his seat has pushed him into a frantic over-drive. During his
\nrecent visit not too long ago to Ekiti, where amongst other things, he
\npromised to deliver the state into the change mantra. Nothing confirms his
\nlack of depth and understanding of the political dynamic in the state like
\nsuch reckless statements, perhaps made to appease and soothing frayed
\nnerves in his badly polarised and fractionalized party.<\/p>\n
Only recently, he was awarded with an extension of tenure of office and
\nfollowing the uproar and accusations and counter-accusations, he in a bid
\nto deflect the weight of growing dissention in the South-West flank of the
\nparty, is ready to do even the unthinkable to win the sympathy and
\nunderstanding of the aggrieved members. The expectation to divert attention
\nfrom such illegality ought not to have made him make wild claims,
\nespecially as regards Ekiti. The weight of his utterances when juxtaposed
\nwith facts falls flat in the face of reality checks.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Chief Oyegun has forgotten so soon or he is been clever by half of
\nthe fate that befell his party in 2014, where their candidate was roundly
\ndefeated across the entire local government areas. So shocked at that
\nparticular point in time that the then governor, John Kayode Fayemi
\ndeclared, \u201cIf it is the will of the people, so be it\u201d. Oyegun should do
\nhimself all the good in the world by understanding that in Ekiti the
\nsupremacy of the people and particularly of their attachment to the Peoples
\nDemocratic Party, (PDP), is evident for all to see. Having been thrashed by
\nthe people, the APC have suddenly woken from their deep slumber following
\ntheir unprecedented defeat to what they are good at-propagating lies and
\ntales of the absurdities which can do them no good.<\/p>\n
Since their defeat in 2014, they have remained aloof, making assumption
\ntheir tradition and now in the build-up to the July 2018 elections, they
\nhave taken to the social media to make outlandish claims. This false sense
\nof pride is their undoing and I cannot wait till July to laugh them to
\nscorn. A party that is paper weight and full of members pursuing different
\nagenda in their wildest imagination think that they pose a serious
\nchallenge makes me laugh at them.\u00a0 Chief Oyegun and his band of followers
\nshould be prepared for the final tsunami that would bury them in shame,
\nwhen the people of Ekiti elect their preferred candidate, Professor Olusola
\nEleka come July 2018.<\/p>\n
It might interest Chief Oyegun to know why the PDP remains the preferred
\npolitical party in Ekiti since 1999, when the state produced the lone
\nSenator in the entire south west when the defunct Alliance for Democracy
\nwas the dominant party in the region. There is a saying that what you do
\nnot know is greater than you. How true. The APC bereft of simple logical
\nappraisal of why the PDP and especially governor Fayose continue enjoy the
\nfondness and admiration of the people since 2003. When lacking in all of
\nthese and not wanting to accept reality, they wallow in delusion. The APC
\nremains in the dark, groping about as to why they are not the preferred
\nparty of choice in Ekiti.<\/p>\n
It is increasingly worrisome that a party as fractionalized and threatening
\nto collapse because of vaulting ambition of strange bedfellows mostly of
\ninconsequential weight would remain driven by assumptions.\u00a0 Well, it is
\ntheir stock in trade to live in denial until it is too late. It keeps
\nhappening since 2003, and yet this time around it would spell the end as
\nthey shall fade into absolute oblivion. I have ceased bordering myself
\nabout this tribe of people whose only hope is for a rigged process. They
\nAPC members keep mouthing their readiness to use federal might to upturn
\nthe scale of balance in their favour. How shallow can these people be?<\/p>\n
Chief Oyegun caught the picture of a drowning man during his visit. His
\nvisit was so inconsequential that bickering within the party was evident.
\nIt is yet to dawn on him that no matter what is done by the APC in Ekiti,
\nit will become an exercise in futility. Here is a party full of
\ncontradictions and squabbles thinking they pose a threat to the PDP. The
\nparty is stroked in Ekiti, yet they deceive themselves by resorting to
\nmaking wild claims and making noise-as though that is what will bring them
\nto power. Contending interests and candidates without electoral value whom
\npopulate their ranks makes them think important. They assumes that Ekiti
\nwill be \u201cgrabbed\u201d-let them wait and see.<\/p>\n
It is the nature of the APC to throw tantrums, bandy lies and wild claims
\nto appear important. Most recently, all of their candidates are falling
\nover each other to put down the people\u2019s governor-Ayode Fayose, whose
\nsterling leadership of both the state and the PDP remains a nightmare to
\nthem in the APC. It is in their nature, a nature that has keeps dragging
\nthem to the nadir of the political rung in the state to live in denial. I
\npity Chief Oyegun who evidently has been misinformed but he can educate
\nhimself about the political dynamic in Ekiti. Talk is cheap and anybody can
\nwail forever but the people\u2019s choice will prevail. That is the beauty of
\ndemocracy. Their pain at seeing Fayose as governor is giving them insomnia
\neven as he is on the verge of leaving office.<\/p>\n
They are fixated on him to their detriment. They have not told the people
\nwhat they want to do if even by accident get power. Their battle cry is
\nFayose this, Fayose that-nothing else. No agenda, no programme to even
\nsustain the transformation on ground. Well, their waterloo is around the
\ncorner. These obnoxious charlatans would be retried permanently for the
\ndevelopment which Fayose has fostered to continue. Contrary to their
\npropaganda on social media platforms, they are so inconsequential in the
\neyes of the electorates that they do not attract even a filial of
\nattention. Their doom looms and rather embark on massive campaigns, their
\nmultiplicity of candidates are enamoured with running down Fayose whose
\nstock is high with the people of the state.<\/p>\n
Fayose has articulated the reason(s) for continuity. The choice of
\nProfessor Olusola Eleka tallies with the aspiration of the greater majority
\nof the people of the state. It is to sustain the massive transformation
\nundertaken by the PDP led administration in the state. Eleka is urbane,
\nhumble and visionary to sustain the tempo. He has made some promises. Why
\nthe opposition remains frightened, he has continued to meet with diverse
\ngroups with his agenda. He has promised a compact but highly professional
\ngovernment based on present economic realities. He equally gave his word
\nfor enhanced packages for workers as well as reforming the state civil
\nservice by exposing the workers to the diverse trainings that would enhance
\ntheir productivity.<\/p>\n
More importantly, Elelka, has promised welfarist programmes like the doyen
\nof Nigerian politics Awolowo did during his stint in the defunct Western
\nregion. As a scholar, he has conducted due diligence and research on the
\nimmediate and future needs of the state and is ready to tackle those
\nchallenges head-on. He has demonstrated capacity in the recent past as
\ndeputy governor. Still roaring with ideas, it is only fair to support him
\nin his quest to take Ekiti to the next level. This is why Chief Oyegun and
\nhis cohorts should know that the good people of Ekiti have pitched their
\ntents with the amiable and effective deputy governor.<\/p>\n
The APC members, especially its leadership are drunk to stupor on
\nfallacies. One of which is that they are on ground in Ekiti. What a pity.
\nTheir unthinking cadre have since bought into this lie. Hooked and having
\nswallowed hook, line and sinker the notion that they would snatch the state
\nfrom the PDP through a rigged process, they simply boast of the D-day with
\nrelish. Their enthusiasm is hanged on false hope that President Muhammadu
\nBuhari would deploy security forces to manipulate the process to their
\nfavour. Why they remain poor students of history is unpardonable. I can
\npardon Oyegun for having no regard for facts, or how else did he arrive at
\nthe jaundiced view that a paper weight party such as the APC would win in
\nEkiti.<\/p>\n
Finally, Chief Oyegun should quickly commence a reality check and not rely
\non the distortions and outright lies which he was served either before or
\nduring his recent visit to Ekiti. In Ekiti, we have elected to stand by
\nEleka. He is our preferred candidate and to him shall we entrust the task
\nof leading us into the promise land. He is a committed development oriented
\nscholar.<\/p>\n
Olajide Taylor<\/p>\n
(Ado-Ekiti).<\/p>\n
It seems comedy goes with politics in Nigeria or how else can one explain the comical utterances credited to Chief John Odigie Oyegun, embattled national Chairman of the All Progressive…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n