It has become so obvious that the APC in Oyo State wants to ride on the fortune of Bola Ahmed Tinubu to gather votes come 11th of March. To achieve this, they have been engaging in some campaign of calumny and distortion of facts to malign the image of the Governor as regards the role he played in the just-concluded Presidential election to the advantage of their gubernatorial candidate, Sen. Teslim Folarin who is an unsellable product amongst the voting masses.
We all know that Teslim Folarin has a violent disposition to politics which birth his “jaagba” type of politics. He believes in getting power through whatever means available, either hook or crook. This, he boasts off at the slightest opportunity even while onLive radio with Edmund Obilo sometimes ago. It also played out at the APC gubernatorial primaries here in Oyo State, where he emerged as the Party’s flag-bearer.
One could see the members of Oyo APC celebrating the emergence of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the President-elect, which has even prompted them to be celebrating in some parts of the State. To them, they believe they would find a means to perpetuate themselves into power through the backdoor. Unfortunately for them, the electorates will not just vote overwhelmingly for the Governor but also supervise and monitor their votes to ensure it counts.
It is believed that the end of a matter could be adjudged from happenings in the beginning. Governor Seyi Makinde has done excellently well in this first term. He has been tested and has proven to standout by all standards. For 12 solid years, Teslim Folarin on the other end did not initiate or sponsor bills to better the lives of the people of the country. No single meaningful bill could be credited at him. At least, we all saw Sen. Monsurat Sunmonu sponsoring the bill for the “compulsory treatment of gunshot victims” as Senator. So, to trust an element like Teslim Folarin with power would be a herculean task.
Recently, his social media almajiris have been celebrating the hospital allegedly facilitated by him as his constituency project at Iyana Tioya in Ona-Ara Local Government while painting it as a basis for him to be elected as Governor. But, Teslim Folarin in his usual manner has removed the beds and equipments from the 100-bed hospital just yesterday. Indeed, a tiger cannot change its spot, no matter what.
The people of Oyo State must not return the State to the dark ages but give the Governor the chance to consolidate on the giant strides he began this first term for the overall benefit of the people and to also position the State well amongst the comity of States in the country.
Kazeem Olalekan Israel (GANI) writes from Ibadan, Nigeria.
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