Articles and OpinionHighlight

The ominous “bloodshed” in Ekiti

264

 

By Sufuyan Ojeifo

 

It was the inimitable pioneer Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch magazine, the late Dele Giwa, who once wrote that one life taken in cold blood is as gruesome as many taken in a pogrom. His intervention, possibly in the context of some murder, is as significant now as it was when he made it. It underscored, and it still does, the sanctity of human life.

 

A Jacobean metaphysical poet, John Donne’s “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee” resonates eternally and captures the essence of fatal predestination.  No man should terminate the life of another whether by accident or by some premeditation.

 

That almost happened in Ado-Ekiti on Friday (June 1, 2018) at the State Secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC). It was the scheduled flag-off of the campaign of Dr. Kayode Fayemi for the forthcoming July 14 governorship election. Bullets that were accidentally discharged from the rifle of a policeman on illegal duty in Ekiti hit some persons, including Honourable Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (MOB).

 

They consequently lost much blood. But for God, MOB could have died. Two bullets were reportedly extracted from his arm and stomach. That incident was quite portentous. Coming on the heels of the first governorship primary of the party which was violently stalled, there are genuine fears about the possibility of violence characterising electioneering for the July 14 governorship election.

 

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state has justifiably latched on the two back-to-back incidents to upbraid the APC and slam it for importing violence into Ekiti.  The fear is, if within the APC, members could violently challenge and disrupt a simple process of choosing a standard bearer among themselves, would they not act much more violently against the ruling party in the quest for the ultimate governorship position?

 

It is instructive that the APC has faltered twice.  Although the second incident has been attributed to the silliness of a policeman who was attached to a bank in Lagos but escorted a politician to Ekiti on illegal duty; that the near fatal act happened on a day that the APC was to flag off its governorship campaign bode evil. Are all of these saying something about the fate of the APC and its candidate in the governorship election?

 

Whether or not the APC believes it, both incidents are monumental public perception disasters for it. Nigerians, within and outside Ekiti, now see the APC and its candidate, Fayemi, as violent and obviously desperate to win the July 14 governorship election. This is nevertheless arguable. But one thing is certain: the electioneering will be fast-paced and momentous.  Both the PDP and the APC will deploy wits and grits to clinch the prize.

 

Unfortunately for the APC and Fayemi, Fayose, the incumbent governor that superintends the PDP machinery in the state, is not a gentleman in the battle for political supremacy and survival. Fayose is the last man standing for the opposition PDP in the southwest geo-political enclave. He is the rearguard, trenchantly lampooning the orchestrated plot by the APC to foist a questionable change regime on the people.

 

There is no doubt that Fayose is ready for battle. He has learnt a great deal of lessons from the Ondo experience. He saw how Governor Olusegun Mimiko, the acclaimed Iroko of the state politics, was dislodged through the deployment of federal might. Buffeted from within the PDP in the state that was fractiously divided and challenged by the awesome Abuja forces, Mimiko was made to fight the greatest battle of his life. 

 

Mimiko was stretched to his elastic limits in terms of funding the entire court processes that confirmed his anointed man, Eyitayo Jegede, as the authentic candidate of the PDP.  The Supreme Court resolved the matter in his favour a few days to the election.  That made it impossible for Mimiko to drive a robust statewide campaign for Jegede’s election.  The powers-that-be used elements within the PDP to divide it in order to truncate Mimiko’s political plan to install his successor.

 

Luckily for Fayose, the political condition in Ekiti is not the same as the one that prevailed in Ondo during the 2016 governorship election. Perhaps, luckily for Fayose, the opposition APC in Ekiti has a great deal of tension of mutual distrust to deal with internally such that its single-mindedness is compromised ab-initio in the prosecution of a burgeoning contestation for electoral supremacy.

 

Besides, Fayose’s invincibility in the history of governorship elections during which he had contested twice and had, on both occasions, unseated incumbents presents Fayemi’s APC with a veritable bugaboo. The streetwise political irritator from Afao Township knows the political terrain of Ekiti very well like he knows the back of his hand.  He also understands the dynamics that underpin socio-cultural and political interactions in the state.

 

It is in the context of the atmospherics and the nuances of the political condition explicated supra that Fayose and Fayemi would be expected to outmaneuver each other.  Fayose has the grace to connect with the people via the facility of local intellect forcefully delivered through the medium of Ekiti local dialect.  If he chooses to convey his message in English, that will not be too different from his Ekiti dialect because of inflexion and intonation. 

 

I hope Fayemi, a cosmopolitan Englishist will not repeat the same mistake he made in 2014 when he approached his campaign with a large dose of elitism. He should drop his phonetics in his bedroom and speak in the language that Ekiti people understand.  Fayemi should advisedly dismount from his elitist high horse and embrace populism as his new offering in the post-Fayose era. 

 

But the opportunity that the electioneering should have provided for him to engage the people and drive the narrative of his “I can do things differently” would appear to have been lost to the incident of violent politicking as happened at the APC governorship primary and the accidental discharge that resulted in an ill-omened bloodshed at the flag-off of his governorship campaign in Ado Ekiti.

 

The attention of participants in and watchers of the political process in Ekiti has been adverted to these dimensions. The pressure is now on Fayemi and the APC to change the public perception that they have imported violence into Ekiti and violated the pristine enclave that has not witnessed any political violence since 2014. The narrative that his governorship enterprise might have been stained with blood and therefore jinxed must be approached with a different strategy to change the perception. This is not a tea party. The onus is on Fayemi and the APC to rewrite the narrative.

 

 

Leave a comment

Related Articles

Driver nabbed for slaughtering 80-year-old boss, wife in their Abuja apartment

Pa Adebola Ezekiel, an 80-year-old man, and his wife, Abiodun Ezekiel, have...

NNPC Ltd., First E&P, achieve 20,000 bpd production at OML 85

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and its joint venture...

Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority invests $500m in infrastructure

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) says it has invested over $500...

Breaking: N300m laundering charge: FCT High Court discharges, acquits ex-AGF Adoke

After a seven-year trial, Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court...

Latest on Yahaya Bello: Police I-G Egbetokun withdraws policemen attached to ex-governor

Following former Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello’s refusal to surrender to security agencies...

NNPC Ltd., partners donate 2,300-seat ultra-modern library to Niger Delta University

In its bid to create a conducive learning environment and create access...

Sports Minister affirms Nigeria’s readiness for Paris 2024 Olympics

The Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh, has restated the ministry’s...

Kidnapping, terrorism: Ogun Gov. Abiodun donates drones, 25 patrol vehicles to police, other security agencies

Police I-G, Egbetokun, in Abeokuta to receive them, says Ogun remains the...

Tinubu wittingly picked Northerners to occupy significant positions in his govt – Ribadu

The National Security Adviser, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, has said that President Bola...

Alleged N80bln fraud: EFCC declares ex-Kogi Gov. Yahaya Bello wanted

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared former Kogi Gov....

NPA secures $700m facility from Citibank for Apapa, Tin-Can Ports rehabilitation – MD

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has negotiated a loan of $700million from...

Arrest parents found near UTME CBT centres during UTME – JAMB

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has directed all Computer-Based Test...

Yahaya Bello: AGF faults Gov. Ododo for obstructing EFCC

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr....

Yahaya Bello absent in court as EFCC considers military option to smoke him out

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecutor, Mr. Kemi Pinheiro, said...

PDP Chair Umar Damagum survives sack plot

Amb. Umar Damagum, the Acting National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party...

We are committed to revamping economy, boosting Nigerians’ purchasing power – Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu says his administration remains undeterred in its pursuit of...

IBB makes a strong case for ECOMOG journalists

by Paul Ejime NIGERIA’s former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, who was...

IPC urges DSS DG to intervene, halt incessant harassment of its Executive Director, Lanre Arogundade, at Lagos Airport

The International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos, has called on the Director-General of...

Alleged N80bln money laundering: EFCC arraigns ex-Kogi Gov. Yahaya Bello April 18

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is set to arraign the...

19th NOGIG Games: Over 1,500 participants are expected to feature in 13 events

More than 1,500 participants will take part in the 19th edition of...