Fani-Kayode argued his action was disrespectful and that it was a spat on the faces of the Yoruba race
By Kehinde Okeowo
All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain and former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has chastised former President, Olusegun Obasanjo for embarrassing some Oyo State monarchs.
TheNiche had earlier reported an incident in a now viral video, where Obasanjo was seen berating some traditional rulers for not acknowledging his presence by standing up for him at a public event in Oyo State, on Friday.
His comment came during the commissioning of the Iseyin campus of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Ogbomoso.
The former president while speaking also noted that the he and traditional leaders had a cordial relationships while he was in the saddle.
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After the clip made the rounds on social media, it triggered mixed reactions from Yoruba stakeholders, with some describing Obasanjo’s action as disrespect to the traditional rulers.
Reacting to the development, Fani-Kayode in a statement issued on his official X handle (formerly Twitter), said he was “deeply saddened and utterly mortified”, by Obasanjo’s action.
The former minister went on to say the former president’s action was beyond jokes, stressing that Obasanjo has spat on the faces of the Yoruba race.
Fani Kayode said: “I am deeply saddened and utterly mortified by the way in which former President Olusegun Obasanjo lambasted our revered traditional rulers in Oyo state and ‘ordered’ them to ‘stand up’ and ‘sit down’ as if they were children.
“This is the same OBJ that, once upon a time, displayed his respect, humility and I daresay greatness by bowing, kneeling and prostrating before our monarchs, even when he was President, yet today he talks to them as if they are his garbage collectors and orders them to jump up and down like a molue driver talking to his beleaguered passengers and a motor park tout talking to a bunch of jobless and worthless underlings.
“Many think that the whole thing is some kind of joke but I do not. We must not take it lightly and the truth is that by doing what he did he has spat on all our faces.”