By Babajide Onipede
It is no longer news that almost every sector of Ekiti State has either been hoodwinked or sponsored to endorse the incumbent Governor for a second term, even when there is no justification for it. From selected political leaders, drivers’ union, market women, farmers, civil servants, religious leaders, women in politics, to association of concubines and girlfriends, it has been the same rhetoric: “The Governor deserves a second term because he has been able to unite all leaders across party lines. Ekiti state is now peaceful.” They celebrate these sycophantic refrains as if Ekiti State was a war zone before the advent of Governor Biodun Oyebanji.
Unfortunately, none of the so called endorsers deems it fit to market or promote the Governor based on feasible and tangible developmental strides vis-à-vis the enormous resources at his disposal in the last two years. The only selling point is that Governor Oyebanji has been patronizing and massaging the egos of a handful leaders for which no one should contest against him. Mr Governor has been visiting and prostrating up and down for some leaders while neglecting the needs of the common people. We are now back to the era of “this road belongs to the Federal government” in Ekiti State. That was the slogan of the Fayose’s era when he refused to fix federal roads in Ekiti State between 2014 and 2018.
Governance has been reduced to jokes in Ekiti State so much that payment of salaries or a handshake with ministers by Governor Oyebanji is celebrated by his e-rats as breaking news. For a Governor that is desperately scheming to be the sole candidate of not only his political party, but for also the entire Ekiti State, one would expect him to focus more on developmental projects that will make him indispensable. He is more concerned about politics than performance.
Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) of Lagos State earned and enjoyed a second term against all odds not because he sponsored any Kangaroo endorsement but because he transformed governance in Lagos and made himself indispensable to the power-that-be. Olusegun Mimiko broke the second term jinx in Ondo State not because he visited any leader 28 times in 2 years, but because he touched the lives of the downtrodden with his populist agenda that brought about “Mother and child hospitals”, “Mega schools”, “Free transportation for school children” amongst others.
The Oyebanji’s administration has received federal allocation and Internally Generated Revenue of over 300 billions in the last two years. In addition to the huge revenue, a bond of 39 billion naira was secretly arranged and taken through the bank of one of Oyebanji’s godfathers at the detriment of Ekiti people. He has received what none of his predecessors ever received and as such should be outperforming all of them put together. Unfortunately, there is nothing to show for this huge revenue acruable to Ekiti State. Governor Oyebanji is cunningly using his romance with the past leaders as a smokescreen to divert attention from his docile and abysmal performance.
Fayose was reputed for “stomach infrastructure” in addition to the reconstruction of several state roads across all local government areas of Ekiti state! Similarly, Fayemi came up with “Owo-Arugbo” in addition to roads construction and several developmental innovations and masterpiece edifices. What is Oyebanji doing with Ekiti State’s billions? What is the signature landmark of the Oyebanji’s administration since the inception of his administration apart from payment of salary, fixing of potholes in Ado-Ekiti and sharing of money to romance past leaders? What, therefore, is the basis for the endorsement?
Governor Oyebanji and his handlers are taking Ekiti people for granted! They have now moved from endorsement to campaign of consensus. The game is gradually getting clearer. The Governor and his handlers want a repeat of the same easy ride he enjoyed in 2022. Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji is the first Governor to be enthroned in Ekiti State without going through the rigour of electioneering fatigue. The ticket of the APC was handed over to him on a platter of gold and the main election was won for him by forces without his personal contribution. He was sponsored 100% with the state’s resources. He is the first Governor to be sworn-in without visiting 30% of the entire wards in Ekiti State all through the electioneering campaigns.
In Yoruba parlance, it is said that you really don’t value what you don’t labour for! The Governor does not value the ticket in his hand because he didn’t actually work for it. That is one of the reasons he kickstarted his reign with maradonic political tactics. He started by claiming that he wanted to return the party to the real owners, insinuating that those at the helm of affairs back then, were impostors. Sadly, he ended up dividing the party the more! The fear of the likelihood of the implosion of the Ekiti State APC due to his self-inflicted quagmire made him extend hands of fellowship to the leadership of the PDP through Governor Fayose. He has appointed more than 100 allies of Fayose, who are active and card carrying members of the PDP, in the last 2 years while the core APC members that toiled and laboured for the party got nothing or peanuts. All of these are meant to ensure that there is no intra or inter party opposition for his second term ambition. His handlers are now promoting him not only as the consensus candidate of the APC but that of the entire Ekiti-kete.
They are desperately scheming to turn Ekiti State to a one party state through unrealistic and self-serving consensus. Everybody, including those that enthroned him, is now on his watchlist. The only way to escape insults and attacks from the Governor’s e-rats is for you to join the bandwagon of sponsored endorsers. Even those who are genuinely and silently watching as things unfold in the best interest of Ekiti-kete are considered enemies of his inordinate second term ambition.
You can only fool some of the people some of the times; you cannot fool all the people all the times. Oyebanji must wake up to the unfortunate reality that those against him within and outside the APC are more than his handful of sycophantic praise singers. None of the leaders that have endorsed Oyebanji for a second term did so because of any significant stride other than the fact that he has been hero-worshipping them in sharp contrast to previous Governors that focused on doing their best for the generality of Ekiti people. Their endorsement therefore has nothing to do with the welfare or wellbeing of Ekiti people but for self-aggrandizement.
In the interest of Ekiti-kete, the Governor needs to do more to justify the billions of naira coming to Ekiti every month. If he hasn’t, he should quickly come up with signature project(s) that can make him indispensable. The bridge to nowhere that he is building in Ado Ekiti is a misplaced priority and a conduit for embezzlement. He has wasted the first half of his tenure on parochial politics. Ekiti people are desperately seeking for an alternative to him because he has failed in all the rating parameters. The antics of his handlers to gag all opposing views and blackmail other aspirants within and outside the APC is becoming counterproductive. Your performance will market you if you do well. You are only breeding e-rats as attack dogs because your tenure lacks substance.
A word is enough for the wise!
