“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
—Mahatma Gandhi
By Cosmas Omegoh
Last week Tuesday, recuperating Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), turned media attention to his state. Akeredolu, who just returned from a prolonged medical vacation overseas sacked all the media aides he seconded to the office of his deputy, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Richard Olatunde, Akeredolu roared: “All media aides appointed by the Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, and seconded to the office of the deputy governor, have been relieved of their appointments with immediate effect.
“They are to submit all government property in their possession to the acting Permanent Secretary, Office of the Deputy Governor.
“Similarly, the press crew attached to the office of the deputy governor has been disbanded. Consequently, all members of the press crew are to report back to their various ministries and stations.
“Equally, the Ministry of Information and Orientation is directed to provide adequate coverage for the activities of the deputy governor’s office henceforth.”
Governor Akeredolu did not say why he did what he did. So far, he has remained silent over the matter.
But those who know have a fair idea of what went awry. They will tell you that Governor Akeredolu’s silence was a clear ominous sign that he and his deputy are locked up in a dog fight.
In neigbouring Edo State, a similar spectacle played out some days ago. Until then, not many knew that Governor Godwin Obaseki and his deputy, Mr Philip Shuaibu, were at daggersdrawn until things came out in the open. It was only then that it became clearer that the former allies had fallen apart from the inside and the outside and no longer working in sync.
For the Ondo henchmen, the biggest sign of their fight so far is the same withdrawal of the deputy governor’s media aides. Could the Ondo debacle be the same gusty ill wind trading on its northern course which is now sweeping through Ondo State?
But wait a minute. Why would mere withdrawal of a deputy governor’s media crew bother Nigerians who are now facing existential threat on all sides? At a time many are by far bothered about food, why would anyone care a hoot about a deputy governor being stripped of his media aides?
Now, here is part of the reasons Akeredolu and his man might be fighting. In Nigeria, it is often said that politics is a game. Perhaps, one would agree to that to some extent, but not without some worry.
Every game everyone knows about has its own rules. Football, for instance, is governed by rules, the same for Ruby, Tennis and others. But not many will admit that politics in Nigerian is governed by rules. Politics in Nigeria is equally bereft of morals, and of dignity. One would dare say the real order that determines and dominates the Nigerian political space is the order of the jungle which is characterised by the absurd and often the obscene.
Indeed, there is so much about the Ondo drama many have not been told about. Some who attempt to tell it all might probably be scratching at it on the surface.
Now, recall that before Governor Akeredolu left for overseas, there was some mild rancour before he finally reached out to the State Assembly, signifying his intention to transmit power to his deputy. In Nigeria where the allure of power is sweeter than nectar, only the divine find that gut and the grace to do what Akeredolu did.
However, the rumour mill had it that all that Akeredolu did was seemingly paper work. Allegation made the rounds that while Aiyedatiwa held the short end of the stick as acting governor, Akeredolu’s wife, Betty, ran the state for her ailing husband.
Some people reasoned that while Aiyedatiwa savoured the aroma of power, some of his aides seemingly got absorbed in the illusion that their principal had reached the Eldorado, with them too landing there with him. How wrong they were!
Aiyedatiwa and his crew perhaps forgot that their traducers were lurking in the lurch, and so were later accused of overreaching themselves. Their traducers allegedly latched on the trade that Aiyedatiwa was basking in the sun, and rejoicing that he was already ordained to serve out Akeredolu’s tenure as governor. Then the narrative gained a life of its own and interpreted that Aiyedatiwa was wishing his principal ill luck.
Aiyedatiwa’s press crew on its apart, was accused of causing disaffection in government, insubordination and engagement in acts adjudged to be disrespectful to Governor Akeredolu.
Not stopping there, some other persons who seemingly did not like the colour of what they were seeing also weighed in on the matter. They seemingly escalated the issues in a manner that put pressure on returnee Akeredolu still recuperating in his home in Ibadan to act.
When, therefore, Aiyedatiwa saw the groundswell of accusation against him, he made a volt face by declaring his unalloyed loyalty to Akeredolu. He did so in a statement issued by his media aide, Mr Kenneth Odusola-Stevenson, entitled: “The fabricated lies against the deputy governor of Ondo State: the blackmailers are at it again.” The effort was a push back, and a fight for his political life and relevance. But it came late.
Recall that some days ago in Edo State, Shuiabu did the same thing. But that did not stop Governor Obaseki from bringing down the sledgehammer on him.
Now, the Edo formula did not work any magic for Aiyedatiwa who employed it to save himself. Sadly, while he was doing that, the governor right in his sitting room in Ibadan, was acting differently. Everything happened so fast, so simultaneously last Tuesday.
An analyst said that what Akeredolu did was to rob it in that “a deputy governor is a spare tyre in the vehicle of government.” He added that Akeredolu might have aimed at Aiyedatiwa to trigger tension and trepidation in his camp and cause whatever pace his growing ambition to succeed him had gathered in his absence to lose traction.
But a lot of people see the Akeredolu-Aiyedatiwa tango as needless. They hold that as the governor’s health ails and ebbs, he now needs the solid support of his deputy to collectively see through their mandate, even when there is nothing weird about a deputy aspiring to succeed his principal where there is the right understanding.
But pray, how many Ondo indigenes and residents stand to benefit from the Akeredolu-Aiyedatiwa face off if it festers? This question invites both parties to a deep reflection.
If indeed a poll is conducted today on the matter, what people in Ondo will say they want from the duo are good governance and firm assurances of the dividends of democracy. Left to the people, anything other than the two is a distraction – or to say the least, self serving!