Oyo East Local Government Chairman on my mind – By Adejare Ibrahim
Those who know me would have realised that I don’t like writing about Oyo town politics on social media. I try as much as possible to avoid it, especially the controversial and dark side of our politics.
The reason is that, in Oyo town, we believe that Oyo is like a room (iyara kan ni Oyo). We are all the same. Unless you’re not from Oyo, everyone knows someone in everyone’s family.
However, I wish to briefly write on the trending video about our brother, the Chairman of Oyo East LG, and its contiguous backlashes from the public and the Oyo State House of Assembly.
The challenge of our brother is that he is yet to have a full grasp and comprehension of the position he occupies. His exposure to the rudiments of governance and administration is still crude and seemingly low.
The Chairman is oblivious of the fact that there is a wide gap between being an ordinary individual and a public office holder – a local government chairman for that matter.
He has forgotten that his public conducts have to be in conformity with the position he holds. He is a leader of a whole local government. Moreover, Oyo East Local Government, which is one of most sophisticated local governments in Oyo State.
I doubt if the Chairman knows the epithetic name of Oyo East Local Government. It was not deliberately named MOTHER OF THEM ALL for no reason. It was named because of the calibre of people who had headed it in the past.
Our brother needs to be aware that he is stepping in the shoes of past chairmen like Alhaji Adekunle Haruna Elewi, Alhaji Alade Kanga, Alhaji Kamoru Shittu, Alhaji Delak and a host other prominent indigenes. He needs to read about the exploits of these individuals.
Furthermore, the Chairman is starkly ignorant of one of the critical aspects of the 48 Laws of Power, which is the Number 4 – ALWAYS SAY LESS THAN NECESSARY. DON’T ALWAYS SAY IT ALL.
Say little and be ambiguous, leaving the meaning to others to interpret. The less you say, the more intimidating and powerful you are. That is the summary of the 4th law.
Our brother was saying it all. More unfortunately, he was directing his excessive praises to another subject (Iya Aduke) of the Grand Master (GSM). It does not work that way.
I am 100% sure that Iya Aduke would have rushed, in panic, to the Grand Master to totally dissociate herself from the expletives and gibberish our ignorant brother was drooling on the internet.
Iya Aduke, that I know, is smart, and she aptly understands the Game of Thrones. She knows how it is played. She will never allow any uncanny mind to set her on a collision course with the Grandmaster.
Our dear brother doesn’t understand how it is played. He failed to realise that all his praises, no matter the realities on ground, should be directed towards the Grandmaster, not to one of the subjects of the Grandmaster.
It is a fact that he is being punished for his uncanny dispositions of praise misappropriation. Oooohhh! I don’t know if people really understand what I am saying here. Chai!
Let me tell you: if the Chairman had directed all his praises to the Grandmaster, one thousand members of the house of assembly dare not suspend him. They dare not.
Let me tell you this: the suspension is not really about morality or his utterances or going halfway naked on social media. It is about praising the “wrong person”. If he had said “were wo ni o mọ GSM”; “lẹyìn Ọlọhun, GSM l’o kan”, nothing would have happened to him. Do you get my points?
His suspension is not really about him. It is another tactical way to cut the wings and ego of Iya Aduke by her rivals and detractors in the corridors of power. Do you know what? The suspension might even be an order from the Grandmaster himself.
Oh my! Our brother doesn’t understand the game. He is being punished for his ignorance. I wish I had a one-on-one session with him and take him through some lessons.
May God smoothen his ways.
