It’s common in Africa that after the death of important personalities, people who were close to those Late individuals, try to give them a pious afterlife image. Late Senator Abiola Ajimobi did many good as governor of Oyo state, without a doubt. For one, he transformed the state’s image from that of thuggery and hooliganism to a rather peaceful image. But his passing should not make us lose certain perspectives about him.
A recent report by one of his former aides, Bolaji Tunji (media), to the effect that the Late former Governor wanted to retire peacefully into private life after his two terms as Governor could never have been farther from the truth. Let me quote Bolaji Tunji, as reported by an online newspaper:
“He never wanted anything else after the general elections. He only wanted to take a long, due rest after serving for 8 long years without a break. But another position was thrust on him. He never solicited for us and he didn’t want (to). But they convinced him to accept… ‘I have done my bit. There is nothing I set out to achieve that I did not, I cannot be governor again, but I cannot leave you people…’ he would say.”
Just to set the records straight, it’s well known that the former governor was largely blamed for APC’s loss of the 2019 Oyo state gubernatorial election. This is due to perceptions that he should not have contested the Oyo South senatorial election.
Many stalwarts of the party were all over traditional media within the state, and they lamented why Ajimobi who was first in the history of the state to serve two terms as governor, was still interested in going to the Senate despite having previously served as senator.
To buttress the accusation, his critics said he should have allowed one of his protégés to run for Oyo South Senatorial district, for the purpose of building them for future leadership roles. Olasunkanmi Tegbe, many believed should have been compensated with the Oyo South APC senatorial ticket. Reason being that Tegbe was apparently sidelined after he had toiled and sponsored the Oyo chapter of the party for several years, only to be sidelined in favor of Bayo Adelabu, who wasn’t a well known APC party man.
Another point which shows Bolaji Tunji‘s statement to be factually incorrect is the well known fact that even after Abiola Ajimobi lost his senatorial election to Senator Kola Balogun of the PDP, it was widely reported that he lobbied vigorously to be made a federal minister by President Buhari.
Despite vociferous objections by party stalwarts, Ajimobi never denied reports that he lobbied to become a minister. That particular open secret led to more divisions within the Oyo state APC. In fact, the Late former governor was called diverse unprintable names on several radio and TV interviews by many of his former political associates.
Some of those accusers expressed profound displeasure. They expected that Ajimobi would have supported one of either Olasunkanmi Tegbe or Bayo Adelabu to become a federal government minister. There are rumors that Ajimobi‘s insistence on being given that slot eventually created a crisis which led to the ‘core Oyo state APC caucus’ losing out to Sunday Dare, current Minister For Youth and Sports. It was reasoned that one of these men would possibly compete against current governor, Seyi Makinde, in 2023.
Many were of the opinion that a good showing as a federal government minister by either men, would place them in good position to challenge the ruling PDP in 2023. It’s apparent that past experiences seem to support this line of thought. Rabiu Musa Kwankwanso, Late Olusegun Agagu, etc were made Federal government ministers before eventually contesting and winning elections that made them governors of Kano and Ondo state, respectively .
Many Oyo state residents may remember Ajimobi’s response when questions were put to him about why he still wasn’t ready to leave political leadership. Let me paraphrase his response: “I can never retire from serving the good people of Oyo state. Serving the people makes me feel alive and, I will always look for an opportunity to serve. I can assure you that even when I am 90 years old, I would still continue to serve. The day I stop serving is the day I die.”.
In the light of these, for Bolaji Tunji to now claim that the same man (now Late) ‘never wanted another political leadership position, after the general elections’, is at least, being economical with the truth. That may be what the Late former governor constantly told his aides; they may have believed him. However, to those of us who observed Late Ajimobi’s body language, intrigues and conduct, from a dispassionate perspective, there is no truth in that part of the statement released by Bolaji Tunji.
Source: Opera.com
