Kolapo Olusola: Humility of a loyal professor – Alonge Olufemi Alonso
The Oasis Reporters
December 28, 2017
Let him take over from me’.
“Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real” – Thomas Merton.
While pondering on the reasons my town, Ilogbo-Ekiti, was sidelined again in the present political permutations in our local government, I was imbued with a lot of ideas on the humility and loyalty of Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Professor Kolapo Olusola.
Just like Mignon McLaughlin said; “The proud man can learn from humility, but he will be proud of it”.
Thus, I am presenting this piece as my Christmas gift to our young people around and to those who are fond of boasting about their material and educational feats to learn from the gentility of a professor who is 100% loyal to his boss.
No doubt, Ekiti values education but if formal education alone is the yardstick to measure who should be in power, Ekiti State would have been governed by at least two or three professors since the state was carved out of Ondo State in 1996.
Let me say that if the master of success in the game of politics were to be all about educational qualifications, Prof. Kolapo Olusola would not be in the position he occupies today.
Many people will not like to serve under a man with less educational background. And if Fayose’s deputy had toed the path of those noisemaking elite class in Ekiti State, he wouldn’t have left academics and agreed to serve under a man with a Higher National Diploma (HND).
He became the Deputy Governor of Ekiti State as an Associate Professor but he is now one of the professors that the state is proud of.
Fayose was quoted immediately after the swearing-in on 16th October, 2014 that he would leave office in 2018 together with his deputy.
Then, the Deputy Governor was still a new person to his boss. I was not told but I knew the thought behind the statement of Mr. Governor was that his deputy would definitely rock the boat with him, same way Surveyor ‘Biodun Aluko did during his first tenure and no political leader would like to vouch for a follower who is not loyal to him.
But after being together in office for the first year of their tenure, the governor could no longer keep secret what attributes he had observed from his deputy as he began to heap special praises on him in public.
I was baffled the first time I saw Gov. Fayose thanking his deputy at a function. I began to wonder what could have been the rationale behind the special appreciation of Mr. Governor to his deputy
I got to know the real reason behind that during the foundation laying ceremony of the fly-over bridge.
At the foundation laying ceremony of the legacy project, the governor began his speech by saluting God who gave him a deputy whose loyalty and humility is equal to none. As the governor was talking, the humble deputy stood up until the governor told him to have his seat. I have witnessed this on many occasions.
To know more about the humility of our dear Deputy Governor, those who were in Abuja during the last People’s Democratic Party (PDP) National Convention briefed me on the action of Senator ‘Biodun Olujimi against Prof. Olusola. I learnt Sen. Olujimi who was once a deputy governor of Ekiti State had an expected brush with the number 2 citizen of her state and he got pushed when it was the turn of Ekiti delegates to cast their votes for their candidates. Rather than react to the discourtesy, the humble man asked his security aides to ignore the untoward attitude of the Senator.
I was in the entourage of the deputy governor to most towns in Ekiti State during the distribution of Christmas gifts to children in the state and I was lucky to listen to the comments of the people about the Ikere-Ekiti born number two citizen and all they were saying was about the young professor and his legendary humility.
As a christian, I will agree that it has been destined that Prof. Olusola would work under Fayose but let me state it clearly that the duo would not have had mutual understanding had it been Eleka is the type that sees life the way some elite in Ekiti State see it.
The point is that Eleka convinced his boss with his humility and loyalty; and no politician will have a man like Eleka as deputy and go elsewhere to look for who will succeed him.
Apart from the messages which Chief Ayodele Fayose continually say he receives from God, loyalty and humility of his deputy are part of the reasons the governor makes himself the number 1 supporter of his deputy as he has commenced rallying support for him ahead of the 2018 election in the state.
The Holy Bible as I know it says whosever wants to be great must humble himself or herself in the sight of the Lord. I think our youth who have started using the same cup of pride of the Ekiti elite to drink should read James 4:10 and learn from Prof. Kolapo Olusola.
Written by Alonge Olufemi Alonso
