Ekiti: Some Overlooked Points Dr. Kayode Fayemi will not be sworn in as the next Governor of Ekiti State, but he remains a leader who tried to break new grounds. To that extent, and given his natural endowments and his antecedents in the fight for a return to democratic rule, he must retreat and prepare for leadership responsibilities at the national level. He should simply learn the intended lessons of his last outing and, in future, pay greater attention to the company he keeps and the paradigms he defends. It was partly his good intentions and unintended missteps that led to the last election outcomes in Ekiti. I am persuaded that his last tour of duty should be taken as a preparation for something more serious, more lasting and more profound. Many theses have been propounded for Fayemi’s defeat, the most popular of which include: (1) Fayemi ‘spoke too much grammar and was not in touch with the people’; (2) Fayemi was betrayed because he trusted the wrong people and did not dismantle the political machinery he met on the ground; and (3) Fayemi created a team of rootless aids and co-workers, whose lack of political value on the ground became obvious during the last elections. There may be some measure of truth, or half-truths, in all of the foregoing. But over and above these truths is the fact that Fayemi was one of those surprised by the election results; which means that he expected to win. I, for one, would have really been surprised if he won the election; and I say this as his friend. But, going to the substantive issues surrounding that election, nothing has been said about those who are ‘not’ surprised by the elections. Those who undermined Fayemi and his Ekiti brothers and sisters who failed, or refused, to warn him were certainly not surprised. Those who complained about his ‘imperial’ disposition behind him, and who therefore did not do their best to ensure that he was re-elected, were not surprised by the results. So far only Governor Fashola of Lagos State has made the most elaborate public entry on the nuances of that election. But he stopped short of making any clear statements about where the APC and Fayemi’s people got things wrong. Worse still, he was mauled online by an angry reading public, as over 90% of the written reactions to his article were against him. This online mauling of Fashola holds lessons for him and explains, in part, what actually happened in Ekiti. The one or two miserable attempts to defend Fashola in a sea of hostile reactions only raises the following questions: Why did the APC media people stand aside and watch Fashola clobbered by those who did not like his submissions? How come the defence of their perspective(s) on Ekiti politics and Nigeria was left undefended after it was thrust into the public domain by Fashola? How is it possible that an opposition party that should have rallied to ensure at least five counter entries for every attack on Fashola’s article was asleep and snoring while the man was taken to the online media abattoir by a palpably angry reading public? But enough of that! Many people who knew and liked Fayemi were actually very worried about his reflexes as his days in office progressed. Whereas no real reason could be given in concrete terms, a dulling of enthusiasm and bland acceptance of the fact that he is ‘our own’ was evident. This vague general impression became a reality for me when I went for an event in the state, not quite two years ago. Before then I had made two unsolicited entries in this column on his behalf, picking on some leadership virtues he shared with then Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State and the then Chief of Air Staff. I subsequently took time to ascertain the ‘core values’ by means of which he was trying to transform Ekiti State and then also wrote about this without consulting with him. He is probably the only one who knows that those interventions were not ‘sponsored’, as readers easily assumed. But I became very worried when I went to Ekiti State, at my own expense, for a programme organized under The Future Project. I had hoped to see the interface or platform for creating a ‘replacement generation’ for the fragile child my friend was birthing in the market on a busy market day. The unpopular good work Fayemi was doing needed support and I was determined to continue to give it. The other special guests at the event were Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and Pat Utomi, among others. But let’s have an aside on The Future Project. At the risk of being unfair to what may well be a serious, forward looking organisation that means well for this country and its future, I must say I was mildly confounded by what I saw in the name of The Future Project. Most of the members had won all manner of awards for various accomplishments, especially in leadership and what-not. Meanwhile I could not imagine the type of future these people could offer if Nigeria was handed over to them. But they insisted that they were all young custodians of our future. Meanwhile, a vast majority of them were mostly people who should realise that the future they were talking about did not belong to people like them. How can people who mistake speech making and a ‘lamentational’ analysis of Nigeria’s problems build a future for us all? Can we have a new Nigeria simply because some slightly-elderly-young people are hosted by one Governor after another, given some money for their troubles, etc? I think not. But, without prejudice to the lofty objectives of the founders of the initiative, what I saw in Ekiti State got me very worried about The Future Project and about Fayemi. Thus, I left that event a very worried friend of the Governor. More so because here is a governor who is also working on some kind of youth and leadership programme and who has seen through the charade clowning that goes own everywhere in the name of youth mentoring, etc. The host governor’s arrival in T-shirt and a pair of jeans showed that he was a man of the people. So was his leaving the high table and joining the general buffet. His speech and his general ambience was my worry. It was not too long but it was unconsciously self-adulatory, with a slightly sonorous air to the delivery that was totally unnecessary. He dwelt largely on his achievements in office and on how Ekiti was being transformed under his watch. All of that can pass. But there was a subtle imperial air and a hint of self-satisfaction in his body language. Urbane and realistic as he is, Fayemi looked a little like one on a lone trajectory with himself holding the steering. Yet this man and his wife needed to be understood in Ekiti of the 21st century. Try as I did for a long time thereafter, it was not possible to help him. Governor Amaechi spoke afterwards. His opening statement to The Future Project people was: “You know I don’t like you people and you know why; even though my state has hosted you. Like I told you on that occasion, none of you here is in touch with the real Nigerian people. You don’t go home and you don’t know what your mates are going through all over the country. You are just…..” and Amaechi went on and on. This was fresh air. The Rivers State Governor had no airs, spoke frankly, effortlessly and honestly. But let us leave all that and come back to the elections. It has sometimes been said that Fayemi’s problems is the fact that he is ‘a media man’ who used the media to his advantage while in office and during the elections. I disagree. He failed to use the media, his goodwill and the respect he had garnered over the years because of his true devotion to the Nigerian people. He denied himself the necessary media groundswell for his election because he adopted a big man’s approach to phone calls and text messages throughout the period of the elections. Did you get the impression that the Nigerian media was out to project, market and showcase its own? Fayemi must ask himself why; and also take inventory of many things he should have done differently. Finally, let it be said, for the record, that a decent man like Kayode Fayemi should know that there is nothing to choose between the APC and PDP. Both parties lack internal party democracy, electoral transparency, etc. The colonization of Lagos State markets, electoral positions and state contracts by political forces is a fact of APC leadership. But, like I said at the very beginning, Providence has rescued Kayode Fayemi for Nigeria, because he has a lot to offer this country in future.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 05:11:49 +0000
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