As APC Jingle Chastises ‘Proud’ Ajimobi, Can Ibadan People Really Forgive His Arrogance?
The Oasis Reporters
March 6, 2018
With just a few days to the gubernatorial election in Oyo state, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC has realized that their main albatross is the haughty pride said to be in Governor Isiaka Ajimobi.
The governor is the very first politician to win a gubernatorial election for two consecutive terms. With an 8 year mandate in the kitty, some say that he forgot to be humble, seeing himself as a highly favored one who can do whatever he wants and get away with, including spending above means, not developing the state economy and planning to sell off schools, which he is said to have described as joint partnership.
Therefore when Governor Ajimobi who had won two terms as governor, then lost a subsequent smaller Senatorial election in his home base, his party knew that he was essentially the problem, more so as he is being directly linked with being godfather to Bayo Adelabu, the APC gubernatorial candidate in an election coming up on Saturday, March 9, 2019.
Gauging the anger in the people, Ajimobi has been seen to have tactically abstained from appearing at Adelabu’s campaigns.
Furthermore, in a bid to distance the governor as a person and the Party that produced him, the All Progressives Congress, APC has released an audio jingle criticising Abiola Ajimobi while listing his alleged sins and begging for forgiveness from Ibadan and Oyo state people in a last-ditch effort to win Saturday’s governorship election.
The APC as a party has been jittery, fearing that its governorship candidate Bayo Adelabu could crumble at the polls to Seyi Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) if the people are not placated before Saturday.
In an earlier interview at Fresh FM Studios, he made Yinka Ayefele break into laughter.
PrimusXpression News says that In parts of the APC jingle, Yoruba poet Ologundudu can be heard begging Oyo State people and criticising Ajimobi in caustic Yoruba, loosely translated as: “I know the people of Oyo State are angry with Ajimobi. The heartrending developments that happened during Ajimobi’s tenure are the reason you’re angry: To be dismissive of other people, to say a King amounts to nothing, to be so arrogant to the point of smashing one’s head against a tree. Acts of rudeness and the nasty things Abiola said to you still anger you.
“Please, all the people of Oyo State, I want you to accept that Ajimobi is the one who wronged you — not APC — but all of us have accepted that we will come back home to beg you. The party knows you love me, that is why they sent me to beg you. People of Oyo, please, Buhari-Osinbajo sent me to come and beg.
“I warned repeatedly back then when Ajimobi was rude to Olubadan, giving the crown to people who weren’t fit to wear it. We warned Ajimobi to go beg Olubadan for his mistake, but pride goes before a fall and a dog that will get lost won’t hear the whistle.
“Sorry, Ajimobi; can you now see that the rain can drench you not once but twice? You who won the governorship can now not win a senatorial election? Now, you’ve been put to shame.”
Among the many tipping points of Ajimobi with the people of the state, he clashed with Oba Saliu Adetunji, the Olubadan of Ibadanland, after reviewing the Ibadan Chieftaincy Law, consequently elevating some high chiefs to kingship status.
This infuriated the Olubadan, who thought the move was a plan to whittle down his authority. It was also widely believed that the Governor took the step for the political reason of using the new kings to his advantage rather than having to rely on just the Olubadan.
However, the Governor’s explanation is that other crown-wearing chiefs act superior to their Ibadan counterparts simply because they’re high chiefs.
Believing that Bola Tinubu, National leader of the APC, is now personally overseeing the Oyo governorship campaign in a desperate bid to prevent a potential surrendering of the governorship to the PDP, Seyi Makinde, the PDP candidate who is largely favoured to win the Saturday poll in a free and fair poll, recently mocked the APC that if they like, “let them provide a camp bed for their Lagos leader in Ibadan, Oyo people would banish them all” from the state.
Adebayo Adelabu is coming to the gubernatorial election with a a legacy name, his grandfather, Adegoke Adelabu, alias Penkelemesi (peculiar mess) who was a politician over 60 years ago and a work résumé that spans from Price Waterhouse, before going to First Bank PLC where he rose to become executive director. He then got appointed a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN from the commercial bank. Just like his godfather, Abiola Ajimobi who was in Oil marketing, but atop a state governance, he proved what many described as Ineptitude, especially as he could not pay workers salaries nor build infrastructure like his counterparts in Kano and Anambra states.
Bayo Adelabu stands in sharp contrast to Engr. Seyi Makinde who attended a public school, Bishop Phillips Academy on Iwo Road, did very well at the University of Lagos and after his national service, started an engineering firm from scratch, now an organization spread across four continents.
Makinde came back to revamp his Alma mater, making Bishop Phillips Academy an enviable college, infrastructurally. He has spent millions of naira, annually, awarding Bursaries to Oyo state students and even to children from other states that approach his Endowment for financial assistance in their academic endeavours.
Much of Oyo state is thrilled by his ability to build successful enterprises and believe that he can run the Oyo state economy, like Peter Obi who left a surplus of 75 billion Naira for his successor administration and many other investments that has made Anambra state financially buoyant. Ajimobi will be leaving huge debts for Oyo state to pay.
