Much
has been said about him over the last few years and encomiums have been
deservedly showered on him from all quarters for his birthday. I will
only add this: ever since I have known Mimiko when he was a senior
colleague in President Obasanjo's cabinet he has been kind, forthright,
courageous, honest, consistent, clear-thinking, hard-working and
God-fearing.
His
tenure as Minister of Housing under Obasanjo was successful and he went
on, against all odds, to be elected governor of Ondo state where his
work and legacy, particularly in the health sector, is simply
outstanding.
Anyone
that doubts that should simply pay a visit to Ondo state and see for
themselves. What he has done in the last 8 years is simply unprecedented
and I am very proud of him.
He
has proved to be a loyal friend through thick and thin and he possesses
an uncanny foresight into matters that only the Holy Spirit can give.
A
devout and committed evangelical Christian, who like many of us, is not
ashamed of proclaiming his faith and carrying it into all that he does,
Mimiko undoubtedly still has a major role to play in the affairs of our
nation.
I
am proud to be not just one of his political associates and friends but
also his brother and I stand shoulder to shoulder with him in whatever
his ambitions or aspirations may be for the future.
The
other significant event is the rapproachement and blooming friendship
that exists between two sons of the Yoruba both of whom I have immense
respect and affection for. Like Mimiko I have a special place in my
heart for them both and this has been so for many years.
The
first is my brother Ayo Fayose whose courage is second to none and the
second is Rauf Aregbesola who is a yoruba nationalist to the core and
who is, in my view, the brightest and the best within the ranks of the
APC.
I
got to know Fayose well when he was Governor of Ekiti in his first
coming and only a fool will not acknowledge the fact that his return to
power a number of years later after suffering the most terrible and
wicked form of persecution from his enemies was clearly prophetic.
Fayose
was accused of corruption and prosecuted by the EFCC. He was also
accused of murder and so many other things by those who wanted him dead
and destroyed.
Yet
in spite of it all he defeated his traducers and adversaries in court,
he rose again and he has not only become one of the most potent voices
and forces in our politics today but he has also metamorphosised into
something of a whirlwind and destructive hurricane against the Buhari
administration.
He
is a man that is destined for greatness despite his humble beginnings
and he has broken all the norms and crossed all the red lines and
boundries of Yoruba politics by proudly and openly defying the powers
that be in the west, capturing the imagination of the people and
bulldozing his way to the top by popular will. That takes guts and it
could only have been done by the finger of God.
Then
comes Rauf Aregbesola who I got to know well in 2013. What I found the
most attractive and most extraordinary about him was his loyalty to any
cause that he commits himself to coupled with his total and complete
faithfullness and fidelity to his political associates and friends and
particularly to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu under whom he served as
Commisioner for Works.
Apart
from that few know that he is an expert and authority on Yoruba ancient
history and this informs and feeds his very rare and distinct sense of
Yoruba nationalism.
I
have written about him on several occasions over the years and despite
the fact that I disagree fundamentally with him on a number of issues
and we do not belong to the same party my admiration and respect for him
remains intact and unshakeable.
We
may all have our differences in terms of political party affiliation
but one thing is clear: as he rightly told Fayose during thier recent
meeting in Ado Ekiti a few days ago, there will be a realignment of
political forces both in and outside of the south west very soon. There
is no question about the fact that he is right about that.
And
when that time comes we all need to wise up, smell the coffee and
accept the fact that we must stand together as one in order to defend
the interest of our people.
When
the lion and the tiger stand shoulder to shoulder in defence of the
castle it makes it very difficult for the jackals and the bandits to
mount the walls and take the gates.
For
those that are still asleep and that refuse to recognise the fact that
there is a problem in this country kindly consider the following.
30 per cent of the oil reserves and 40 per cent of the gas reserves in our country are in Bayelsa state.
Nigeria has become relatively rich as a consequence of this and up until one year four months ago our economy was booming.
The
oil of the people of the Niger Delta appears to be good enough for
Nigeria yet the people of the Niger Delta do not appear to be worthy of
anything as far as Nigeria is concerned.
After
railroading the only Niger Deltan President in our history out of power
in a rigged election after just one term and then coming after his
family, friends and political associates with everything that they have
got, the new powers that be refused to stop there.
They
went further by doing their best to rig the governorship election in
his state but they failed as a consequence of the sheer doggedness and
fortitude of Seriake Dickson, the Governor of the state and the defiant
and gallant fighting spirit of the people.
Yet
in an attempt to pay them back for their stubborn streak the President
decided to prove to the whole world that Bayelsa, the state that lays
the golden egg for the whole nation, was not worthy of even one member
of the Board of Directors of NNPC or even one out of the 44 Ambassadors
that were recently appointed by him. On all counts Bayelsa was left
out.
Is
that fair? Is it justice? Is it equity? I must acknowledge the fact
that I was furnished with these interesting facts by the Secretary to
the Bayelsa State Government, His Royal Highness Barrister David
Serena-Dokubo Spiff, and having cross-checked them they have proved to
be accurate and true.
This
sort of treatment that has been meted to Bayelsa state goes across the
board in all the states of both the south-south and the south-eastern
zones of our country.
The
story is the same in both regions: it is one of marginalisation and
humiliation. And for some of my Yoruba kinsmen to believe that it will
not eventually be applied to them too is the height of naivety.
With the attempted demystification of Tinubu the process has already started and we better sit up and learn fast.
When
your neighbours house is being set on fire by the marauding barbarians
and invaders do not gloat because it is only a matter of time before
they set their sights on yours as well.
Yet
let me be clear. I do not talk about a realignment of forces with
cowards and quislings and neither am I proposing joining forces or
closing ranks with those who have sold their souls to the devil, who
have traded their heritage for a mess of pottage and who have decided to
be perpetual slaves to the ultra-conservative feudalist hegemonist
forces of the core north.
I
do not refer to those who have decided to sell their erstwhile mentors,
elders, betters and political leaders in the south-west down the river
in return for being made a "super-Minister".
I
do not refer to those that have consistently rejected the idea of
restructuring our country or redefining the composition and nature of
our union and who believe that all is well with the structure of our
so-called federation.
I
do not refer to those who believe that the entire south is simply a
conquered territory or an enclave and appendage of the north.
I
do not refer to those who have consistently rejected the concept of a
handshake across the River Niger from the west with our Igbo and Niger
Deltan brothers.
I
do not refer to those that have consistently derided the idea of
southern unity even if we may have had our differences in the past.
I
do not refer to those who would rather go and pay homage to the powers
that be in the core north than pay their respects to their southern
brothers and sisters.
I
do not refer to those who see nothing wrong with the activities of the
Fulani herdsmen, who express joy whenever IPOB members are killed, who
take pleasure in the military occupation of the Niger Delta and who
refuse to acknowledge the challenges and horrific plight that the people
of the Middle Belt and the northern minorities are facing.
I
do not refer to those who align and identify with the Muslim north
purely for religious and political reasons forgetting that Islam came to
the south west through the Turkish traders 200 years before the 1804
jihad of Usman Dan Fodio and well before the establishment of the Fulani
Caliphate.
I
do not refer to those who are comfortable with the fact that they are
looked down upon as Yoruba Muslims by their northern counterparts and
who are pleased with the fact that they are not allowed to lead any
northern Muslim in prayer in the mosques.
I
do not refer to those who are posessed by the spirit of Absalom, who
have decided to kill their fathers, who are committed to betraying the
south west and who have offered themselves out as the "new alternative"
of yoruba leaders that will become ever-ready puppets of an all-powerful
core north. I need mention no names but they know who they are.
They
include those that enjoy to watch and hear about the shaming, suffering
and humiliation of their own southern kinsmen and brothers.
They
include the unconscionable bastards, the house-niggers, the Uncle Toms,
the lowest of the low and the scum of the earth. Men that have no
dignity and no self-respect. Men that have no knowledge of history and
that have lost their self-esteem. Men that are suffering from an acute
sense of self-hatred and that wish they had not been born into their
families or tribes.
Men
that have lost their souls and that have submitted themselves and
future generations of their families to perpetual servitude and
slavery.
Quislings
that are ready to trade in their daughters and wives for political
favours and consideration from their new-found ethnic masters.
Animals
that are ready to destroy the future of their own children and turn
them into serfs and second-class citizens in return for a few crumbs
from the masters table.
Such
creatures are not welcome to the table of rapprochement or
reconciliation. There can be no realignment with such beasts because
there is no fellowship between light and darkness.
Such
a table is reserved only for the omuoluabi's of the west. The
civilised, the well-educated, the humble, the enlightened, the contrite
and the well-to-do.
The
earlier that men like Rauf Aregebesola, Ayo Fayose, Olusegun Mimiko and
a number of others put their differences aside and join forces to
protect and further the interests of the Yoruba people in a wider
Nigeria the better.
Given what is slowly unfolding in our respective political parties and our country it is obvious that we have little choice.
Whether
you are in the PDP or the APC the paramount interest must be how to
further the Yoruba interest, how to restore the dignity of our people
and how to ensure that our country is redefined or restructured before
it is too late. Anything less than that will lead to our collective
doom.
Whether
they like it or not those that betrayed our cause and that stuck the
dagger into our hearts will pay a heavy price. A political re-alignment
is coming in the south west. At every crirical point in our history the
north has always realigned in order to protect or further their
interests.
As
a matter of fact that is the secret of their success. It is about time
that we in the south west in particular and in the south generally did
the same. May God grant us the fortitude and the wisdom to do so.
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