How Ife people disgraced Governor Oyetola
A mega rally put up to flag-off the campaign of Governor Gboyega Oyetola turn out a mess as the people of Ile-Ife, the cradle of Yoruba race, stayed away from the political event on Thursday.
Governor Oyetola is seeking re-election into office on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and choose Ile-Ife to kick-off his campaign in what was calculated will reenact the wave of Oyetola’s predecessor, Rauf Aregbesola, during his re-election bid in 2014.
It was gathered that the event was scheduled to begin at 10:00am but could not go on as organisers have a serious trouble convincing people on why they should attend. One of the organisers who confided into this reporter, noted that the task of bringing people to the rally ground was the hardest political activity he has ever been engaged in his life.
“When we were planning the rally, we know it will not be easy to get people to attend but never did we thought Ife people will be this defiant,” the visible exhausted organiser noted, adding that “As we approached people to join the rally for Governor (Oyetola) re-election, the question we keep getting is, what has he done to deserve that. We tried to explain that the Governor (Oyetola) pay salary and would have done well with physical infrastructure but for paucity of fund, our people were not persuaded by the excuses we throw up as they asked us how Makinde was doing well.”
It was the cold attitude from Ife people to the rally that made Iyiola Omisore, the National Secretary of the APC, to delay the arrival of Governor Oyetola at least twice, another insider source revealed.
Omisore did not expect the response the rally for the re-election of Governor Oyetola elicited, and flew excuses to delay the governor’s arrival to the ancient town, in an effort to prop up attendance so as to create an impression.
“I believe yesterday rally will qualify as one of the most embarrassing moment for Oga (Omisore’s) political experience as the flop was just unbelievable,” she relayed anonymously. “In fact, we are still trying to understand what happened because Ife people have always show Oga (Omisore) support and I think there is serious need to review the message their snub passed to us,” she stressed.
When Governor Oyetola made way into Ife at few minutes to 4pm, the cold reception was even louder as the ecstasy that is usually associated with the appearance of a governor was absent, Funmilayo, a resident in the ancient town told this reporter.
She added that upon sensing the mood of Ife people to the presence of Governor Oyetola, the convoy choose to move around the town in the thought that it could generate sensation but it failed to impress the people as they totally ignored the procession.
“With what I saw yesterday, it is clear enough that Ife people do not buy the re-election bid of Oyetola,” Funmilayo noted, adding that “Apart from the non-performance of Oyetola, it is safe to conclude from their moods that they will prefer Deputy Governor coming to the town than nothing which the APC arrangement promised.”
When reminded that the APC already made an Ife indigene the National Secretary, she quipped on the larger impact of such position to the town compared to a Deputy Governor “because this is not the first time that Ife will produce National Secretary of a ruling party and I don’t see why we will sacrifice a Deputy Governor seat for a party position.”
