I pointed out in this column on July 20, 2014 the dangers of the All Progressives Congress (APC) going to court over the victory of Governor Ayodele Fayose after the then Governor Kayode Fayemi had conceded defeat and congratulated him for winning the ballot on June 21 same year.
Going to court would simply mean giving jobs to lawyers in an attempt to massage the ego of politicians who are not used to conceding defeat until Fayemi showed how political games ought to be played.
Earlier on June 29, 2014 in a piece titled Return of Fayose, the Rejected Stone, I applauded Ekiti people for their commitment to deepening the ethos of democracy by peacefully electing the man of their choice.
What looked like a mission impossible in Nigeria, given the desperation with which politicians seek electoral power, had been demystified by Fayemi when he congratulated Fayose almost immediately the result of the poll was announced.
Against all warnings, and not withstanding that Fayemi had earlier set the tone that stoked the hope of how things ought to be done politically, the APC in Ekiti brainwashed him and headed for the courts.
On April 14, 2015 the Supreme Court threw out the case against Fayose and affirmed his election. The court also dismissed the suit challenging his eligibility to contest.
Fayose addressed Ekiti people after the Supreme Court’s verdict and pleaded for forgiveness if he had offended anyone.
He said: “To my opponents, I plead with you to sheathe your swords and join me in the development of Ekiti State. If truly our struggle is about service to our dear state, it is time to come together and channel all our resources towards the development of the state.
“I am irrevocably committed to the protection of all, including the opposition in the state.
“Nobody is infallible, and I am not a perfect being. The only one that is perfect is God, but He, in His infinite mercies has made me the governor of Ekiti State today.
“I have a term and tenure, there will be another opportunity for Ekiti people to decide who governs them. Rather than trouble the peace of the state, our friends in the opposition parties should accept the will of God concerning our dear state and wait till 2018. I thank all stakeholders and I am assuring them that I will leave Ekiti State better than I met it.”
Unfortunately, going by reactions from the APC and its supporters, it appears some people are determined to leave Ekiti in tatters and not in peace.
State APC Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, said: “There are moral issues arising from the judgment.”
He added: “As at the time, Fayose filled his form at the INEC and lied that he had never been indicted by any panel, no judgment had been delivered to reverse his impeachment until the Supreme Court verdict of today (Tuesday).
“This implies that it is profitable to lie and cheat as the end will always justify the means. We had expected that the judgment will serve as a deterrent to the likes of Fayose who believe in impunity and extrajudicial method of doing things…
“We accept the judgment of the Supreme Court as a law abiding party even though the moral questions it raised have refused to go.”
Apart from Olatunbosun, other supporters of Fayemi are spoiling for a fresh war against Fayose.
One of them who is not even from Ekiti wrote on his facebook wall on April 14: “If Fayose and his supporters think that the battle is over, then they need to be reminded of the chicken and rope aphorism.
“As the Americans would say, it ain’t over yet. The erratic governor should prepare for the next stage of the battle.”
Curiously, most of those shouting more than the bereaved over Ekiti are not from the state. Their reactions are based on a personal relationship with Fayemi and the APC; relationships rooted in selfish ambition.
The best way to describe such persons spoiling for war again against Fayose after the Supreme Court verdict is that they are enemies of Ekiti and its people.
And as American psychologist, Abraham Maslow, would say, “If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”
To them, Fayose is the only problem Ekiti has and the roughest of war armada should be deployed to do away with him, nay drive the hammer into his head. If only his traducers know their approach is creating more problem than they perceive Fayose is.
Something tells me Fayose means well for his poor Ekiti people and does not know how to pretend about it. He is simply living himself, and in line with one of Adolf Hitler’s sayings, “don’t compare yourself with others….because if you do so you are insulting yourself.”
In less than two months, Fayose would have spent one year in office out of the four years he has to govern and improve the lot of the people. If, therefore, those who lost the election are bent on frustrating him, do they not think they are the ones frustrating development in Ekiti and would be the ones to pay the price?
I like one of the popular expressions of the first President of the United States, George Washington. “Make sure you are doing what God wants you to do – then do it with all your strength.”
Let the pessimists in Ekiti and their friends and haters of Fayose in other parts of the country ask themselves if he is acting alone or doing what is inevitably spiritual? Is it not possible that Fayose’s “irregular” behaviour is divine?
And as Adolf Hitler also said: “The only preventive measure one can take is to live irregularly.” If Fayose’s irregular demeanour comes from God what can anybody do about it more so when his lifestyle remains the same?
Former U.S. President, Bill Clinton, once said: “If you live long enough, you’ll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you’ll be a better person. It’s how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit.”
Fayose has called for forgiveness from his people even in his behavioural consistency. I wish they will forgive and join hands with him to develop the state. As he said, he is human like all mortals and should not be singled out and treated like one coming from a different planet not inhabited by normal human beings.
It is high time his potentials were put to the test after which he should be judged. All that would be determined in about three years’ time.
Fayose knows who he is. He knows what he is. He is not pretending about who and what he is. Let Ekiti people take him the way he is and help him to make the best of who and what he is.
By so doing, they will help Fayose recreate himself; his image and who knows, change his awareness of himself in line with Maslow’s saying: “What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself.”