Society Gists

By Kayode Adeoye

A few days before the governorship election in Ogun state, Governor Abiodun, in his recently adored eccentric nature, thundered to the array of his supporters that should he win the election overwhelming, he would open the bar and allow Hennessy, Brandy, Whiskey flow.

It’s been three weeks since that promise and the inglorious declaration of Dapo Abiodun as governor-elect for a second term, albeit massively rigged with an avalanche of violence and maiming, the much-promised open bar remains dry while fear and uncertainty envelop the circle of the Oke Mosan seat of power.

The reason is not farfetched. Stealing the King’s drum has never been a problem for a good thief. The problem is where to beat it.

What the governor thought would have been a walkover for his team ended up being an overwhelming defeat. His scorecard, which the people of Ogun state presented to him, shows the utter rejection of his style of governance and his person. It was simply the biblical story of how King Zedekiah of Judah was humiliated after losing the battle to keep Judah.

The people of Ogun state showed they are the most sophisticated voters in Nigeria. They are not swerved by partisanship but by personality and the omoluabi principle. That they voted overwhelmingly for APC in the presidential and national assembly elections was purely based on the characters of the candidates. When it was the turn of the ill-performing governor, they brought out their four-by-four to chase him out of office.

Not only did Dapo Abiodun lose his ward, but he also lost Ikenne local government, which hosts the Agrocargo airport – a project, albeit not his initiative, he has pushed forward as the star of his administration. He lost Remo federal constituency and got rejected by the entire Ogun East senatorial district.

If there were any shame left of King ‘Zedekiah’ Abiodun, one would have expected him to take the honourable path of Japanese Harakiri and save us all from the daily wailing like a malevolent spirit of Egbere.

Instead, Governor Abiodun has chosen another route to save face. He is blaming others for his defeat at the poll. Every day, he and his hirelings wake up looking for who to guilt trip.

It is ridiculous that the governor and his jobbers have so belittled the people of Ogun state as people whose decisions are easily swerved by some political leaders.

Was it the leaders who told him to siphon the monthly contributions of civil servants or delay their salaries and bonuses? Was it the leaders that made him neglect all the community roads across the state? Was it the leaders that made him convert all the state-owned lands around the airport to his SSG’s companies? Was it the leaders that made him one of the most uncouth and inaccessible governors in the history of the state?

Dapo Abiodun is seated on a governorship seat with half buttocks. He wakes up every morning with nightmares of him losing the seat and being in handcuffs for all the monumental stealing and embezzlement under his command.

He wallows in fear of retribution for the hell he unleashed on the people of Ogun state during the election. He wakes up in the middle of the night with sweat all over, weeping as his conscience fights his body.

His dream of becoming the Jagaban of Ogun state has been rendered obsolete, he marvels at how quickly his political career came to an end.

Dapo Abiodun is no stranger to defeat, it has become part and parcel of his brand for 20 years, but this one will remains the most teachable moment for his likes. Never take the voters for granted.

Kayode Adeoye writes from Iperu