‘Akeredolu cannot be pulled down’

Prof. Olu Aboluwoye, Chairman, Sunshine Integrity Group (SIG), is a supporter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State. In this interview with DAMISI OJO, the university don says the detractors of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) cannot stop his second term ambition.

 

The recent interview granted by the former deputy governor of Ondo State, Alhaji Ali Olanusi against Governor Akeredolu and his administration has been generating reactions in the state.What is your reaction to the development?

Frankly speaking, political activities of former deputy governor, Alhaji Ali Olanusi in the last  20 years in Ondo State have become a major piece of materials for researchers. Not a few observers of political events in the Sunshine State have been wondering why the former deputy governor is always interested in pulling down democratic government legally put in place by majority of voters in the state.

At a time political observers expect the self-styled leader of Akokoland to be grooming young men and women for purposeful leadership positions with the sole aim of contributing to the development of their fatherland,  Alhaji Ali Olanusi has found pleasure in dissipating energy to mislead, misinform,  brainwash and instigate peaceful members of the public against the democratically elected government.

How do you mean?

The people of Ondo State are yet to forget how Alhaji Ali Olanusi betrayed former Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Agagu. It was a common knowledge to discerning minds that Alhaji Olanusi surreptitiously gave a spurious pledge to support the administration of the late Dr. Agagu to bring the dividends of good governance to the door steps of the people of the state. But surprisingly, it was not long after the Agagu government kicked off that supporters and admirers of the administration of the late governor realised that Alhaji Olanusi was never  to be taken seriously.

Alhaji Ali Olanusi, without any iota of provocation, chose to be totally blind to Agagu’s transformational agenda and began to recruit people to plan the downfall of Agagu’s government. The former deputy governor, found an ally in Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, who was then a minister under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to rubbish, malign and eventually bring down Agagu’s government.

The conspiracy between Alhaji Ali Olanusi and Mimiko soon landed them at the Alagbaka Government House as deputy governor and governor respectfully, following their perceived manipulation of the judiciary that culminated in the sacking of Agagu’s government by the Court of Appeal sitting in Benin, the Edo State capital.

Like a structure erected on a false foundation, the pseudo relationship between Mimiko and Alhaji Ali Olanusi soon became suspect. Mimiko forgot to appreciate the sense in elders’ wise saying that “no matter how long a log stays in water, it cannot become a crocodile.’ Mimiko forgot to realise that attempts to bend a dry fish would always be an exercise in futility. He failed to realise that one could only dine and wine with  Alhaji Ali Olanusi with a long spoon, as the pseudo relationship between them became completely battered and ruined.

Unlike the late Dr. Agagu who treated Alhaji Ali Olanusi with kid gloves, Dr. Mimiko could not, under any guise, find any reason why he should overlook him.

What step did ex-Governor Mimiko took against Olanusi then?

He quickly initiated moves to humiliate Olanusi.Within a few days, Mimiko showed Alhaji Ali Olanusi the way out to his Akokoland home through an impeachment process described as unlawful by the competent court of law.

But, the humiliating impeachment did  not go down well with the current Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who supported all the moves to vacate it. Like an helper-angel sent to the former deputy governor whom Akeredolu often respectfully refers to as Pa Ali Olanusi, Akeredolu rehabilitated him and paid about N140,000,000 Mimiko owed him. Akeredolu also ensured that Pa Ali Olanusi was given a membership of the Board of Trustee of the All Progressives Congress in Abuja just to take away the garment of humiliations put on the former deputy governor by Mimiko.It should be noted that Akeredolu rehabilitated and dressed Pa Ali Olanusi in a garment of honour.

But, thereafter?

No serious minded fellow was surprised recently when Olanusi went out to throw mud at Governor Akeredolu who political observers have  described as the former deputy governor’s political messiah.

What is the your advice to the people?

On behalf of the good development-desiring people of Ondo State, Sunshine Integrity Group, and lovers of progressive politics and progress across the country and beyond, Akeredolu should be undeterred in his manifest and demonstrative commitment to develop the land and people of Ondo State. As we build more capacity, network and collaboration across all the major constructively reliable divides, we call on the dear people of the State to be wary of all self-serving and seeking individuals who would want to mislead them at all costs.

Like the saying goes, the future offers more great possibilities in the agenda of building a new virile all-inclusive Ondo State.