.. I AKANDE AN OYINLOLA: BETWEEN INTEGRITY AND VENDETTA Compiled By Adelani Baderinwa © Baderinwa Adelani 0. 2007. All rights reserved. No part of this compilation may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publishers. ISBN 978 - 076 - 326 - 0 CONTENTS Preface ......................................................................... iv Foreword ….............................................................v Chronicle ....................................................................... 1 Searching for Faults .................................................... 18 Planted Story ........................................................... 26 In Defence of Integrity ................................................. 30 Warrant of Arrest ......................................................... 39 Public Court ................................................................ 53 Politicking ................................................................ 64 Oyinlola's curses .......................................................... 77 Between Truth and Falsehood ...................................... 82 Courage of Conviction ................................................. 93 Facing the Press ....................................................... 100 Vengeance ......................................................... 143 Public Opinion ......................................................... 156 Rational Questions ..................................................... 173 Charge Sheet ......................................................·... 222 Proofs of Evidence .................................................... 227 The Last Word ......................................................... 257 Epilogue ............................................................... 267 Why Comparing Oyinlola with Akande in Osun State? ..271 iii Preface AWOISM: Chief ObafemiAwolowo was acclaimed the greatest Yoruba man next to Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba race. He lived, worked and passed on in Yorubaland, Nigeria as a savant, sage and avatar during the twentieth century A.D. He left behind a biological family and some ideological politi• cal associates. Chief Bisi Akande, who also ruled in Osun State (one of the political divisions of Yorubaland) between 1999 and 2003, is one of his immediate disciples and politi- cal associates. , · During his tenure of office, Chief Bisi Akande was acclaimed to have demonstrated the traits of Chief Awolowo's political sagacity, financial prudence, tenacity to principles, moral integrity and incorruptibility by performing most excellently in governance in the history of Osun State. We have no evidence to suggest that he is in any way relating with or close to Awolowo's biological family. Brig. Olagunsoye Oyinlola (Rtd.) succeeded Chief Bisi Akande in office in Osun State since 2003. Apart from trying to compare and contrast his governorship of Osun State with that of Chief Akande, he has also been trying to romance with Awolowo's biological family. In this book, he was categorically reported to have derisively doubted if Chief Akande was a true 'Awoist'. In reaction, Chief Akande was reported iv to have tried to define Awoism* - the ideological beliefs of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. During the momentous process of these disputations, the Press Media was prominent at work. In this book, the Nigerian media has endeavoured to put into perspective a lot about the theory of transparency and accountability in governance with regards to the Bola Ige House b u i l t by Chief Bisi Akande at Osogbo just immediately before Brig. Olagunsoye Oyinlola (Rtd.) took over office as Governor of Osun State. Appreciation My thanks to many people who assisted in assembling the materials for this book, most especially my colleagues in the media. Also Odia Ofeimu Esq, a foremost poet, writer and public affairs commentator, for writing the Foreward, and Uncles Niyi Osundina, Femi Osunro, Peter Ajayi and Biyi Adedotun for their contributions. Adelani Baderinwa, [Personal Assistant to Chief 'BisiAkande. * See pages 84,203 v Foreword This book brings together newspaper reports, features and editorials which cover the heated brickbats- the accusations and counter-accusations- that raged between the former Governor of Osun State Chief Bisi Akande of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and his successor, Colonel Olagunsoye Oyinlola, of the Peoples Democratic Party in the second four-year term of Nigeria's 4th Republic. The core issues centre on the wild, truly spurious, and unwarranted allega• tions of corruption and abuse of office which Oyinlola levied against his predecessor on the pages of the newspapers af• ter he was sworn in as Governor in Year 2003. Although some of the reports and features are tendentious and bi• ased, their combined impact serves the purpose of exposing the issues at stake with relative objectivity. Bringing them together, from several newspapers, helps to be1lance facts against opinions and to ensure that none gets lost in the work-a-day ephemerality of media controversies. Thus, from first salvo to the concluding features across several newspa• pers, it is easy to see that Governor Oyinlola could not only sustain his allegations over the three years in which he hag• gled them, he also could not have brought charges to court in any legally meaningful sense. Ultimately, his media thrusts and counter-thrusts reveal a shallowness of intent: proof enough that he was merely currying media visibility at the expense of a man who deserved to be given a prize for the vi good job he had done in the governance of Osun State. Evidently, the PDP Governor, in his pursuit of Akande, was following an old tradition common among soldiers who have just carried out a coup. As a means of legitimising immorally acquired power, they attempt a rubbishing of the image of their predecessors in office. True to the antics of all minori• ties who have hijacked the power of the majority, their alle• gations are usually peddled to cover-up heinous act of their own. In most cases, the allegations are deployed to divert public attention from claimant issues of the moment in order to give the holier- than- thou impression that they are world• changers sweeping with some efficient brooms. As it hap• pens, their investments in the exposure of even the non• existent corruption and malfeasance of their perceived op• ponent, end up showing how they themselves are the gory children of the very Slough of Despond into which they wish to submerge others. No special briefing on this is needed by anyone who has seen how soldiers and their civilian clones in power wallow in the very corruption they claim to be fight• ing. As this book demonstrates so well all it takes to tame the demon of untruth, is time and patience and of course vigi• lance to unmask the over-weaning fabrications of those who traduce the public sphere. The point is that the truth, even when confronted by the most gory fabrications, will triumph over spite and calumny. Specific to the case of Osun State, the circumstance must be viewed in the light of the virtual seizure of power that took place in the guise of the 2003 General Election- which was vii promptly dubbed an earthquake by the media. Whether an earthquake or hurricane, it saw the displacement of five out of the six governors of the Alliance for Democracy, the politi• cal party that had dominated the six Yoruba speaking States of the Southwest of Nigeria in the first post military elections of 1999. The affected Governors were Segun Osoba of Ogun State, Lam Adesina of Oyo State, Adebayo Adefarati of Ondo State, Niyi Adebayo of Ekiti State and of course Bisi Akande of Osun State. Their displacement from office was like wiping the slate clean against the pro-democracy fighters and defenders of true federalism who claimed inspiration from Obafemi Awolowo, the celebrated avatar of progressive politics in Nigeria's history. Indeed, after the election, it was as if the great tradition of Awolowo was virtually on the carpet, in jeopardy. Fortunately, from the standpoint of morale, followers of Obafemi Awolowo have always been able to muster great resolve and resilience in moments of crisis. In such moments, the tall achievements of the past have more often than not been able to make even the most high and mighty opponent appear Lilliputian. Even the worst opponents have had to accept Awolowo's performance as the standard for efficient management of the economy. In the face of distracting unitarism and privatisation, his notion of True Federalism and his welfare politics- covering free education and free health services- have since become a staple of the Nigerian Constitution. Indeed, not knowing how to counter such grand achieve• viii ments, opponents have zigzagged in their bid to damn lor deny them. In the end, they find that they can only be politically correct by adopting rather than putting them down. Even then, the tack has always been for such opponents, while denying adherence to Awolowo's platform, to seek to steal the clothes off his more strategic outings in order to have the ground to stand upon. The zigzag pattern can be seen in the political practice of Governor Oyinlola of the ruling People's Democratic Party in Osun State. It is not an isolated practice. This is obvious from the pressures being mounted at national and state levels by the ruling People's Democratic