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It is not a surprise that the former Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Raufu Aregbesola, retuned to his home state of Osun after serving as a Minister amidst pomp and paeagentry. He has always been hail- fellow -well-met politician. Unlike the former Vice -president Professor Yemi Osibajo who returned home quietly last week, drums beat for the gregarious politician. As Aregbesola returned home noisely, it should certainly be to the chagrin of Professor Olusola Adeyeye who had praised Professor Osibajo to high heaven for not returning home loudly and in grandstyle. Indeed, Professor Adeyeye not knowing that his ally, Aregbesola, would return in that manner, had earlier barracked such lousy style of home return.
No doubt, that style of return would be gratifying to Aregbesola,.But that he did not ride on a horse upon entering Osun State is not dignifying enough. His receiption was further eroded or robbed of dignity when he reportedly attributed all that happened between him, the former governor,Gboyega Oyetola and the progressive family in Osun State, to the Devil, the invisible angel. I think Aregbesola should reflect again on the crisis and schism in the Osun APC and candidly come to terms with the fact that he acted his Free Will and was never influenced by Devil. In that Free Will lied his ambition to be a political godfather in the state and at the same time clinch to his ministerial magistracy (greed?); his alleged determination and ploy to retire some political elders he met in the state and perhaps also, his rumoured presidential ambition.
It wouldn’t have been Devil at work when Aregbesola not only castigated Chief Bisi Akande, a man who had sought to make him his Deputy Governor when Iyiola Omisore was impeached, and who also reportedly influenced his appointment as a Minister, but also publicly revealed that, he and his cohorts were praying to God to bring Tinubu down,a man he had earlier described as second to God in his entire life. It is also interesting to hear Aregbesola saying that,he offended no one and no one offended him. If this is the case, the questions then are these: did Chief Bisi Akande not convene peace meetings between him and Oyetola several times when the crisis loomed? Was the duo not irreconcilable? What led to the emergence of TOP? Did TOP not work against Oyetola? To deny that there was/ is no offence on either side amounts to burying the truth and not the hatchet. True it is that, there are no permanent friends and enemies in politics. But the reality is that, Aregbesola has failed the test of loyalty to his political mentor and his political party.As Yoruba would say, ” obe ge ni lowo a ju nun, obe o ti se oun to fe se? (a knife cut one ‘s hand and it’s thrown away, has it not done what it wanted to do?) . Ogbeni has in that political saga, exercised his free will. Esu(devil) doesn’t fuel crisis if he is not courted. As Aregbesola returns home, methinks he should go back to the class of politics to retool and reschool himself in lessons of political loyalty, verbal restraint, moderation and gratitude. Perhaps he can still return to political recokning.
Dr . Ademola Adebisi teaches Politics and International relations at Elizade University, Ilara -Mokin Ondo State
