First was the inner struggle on whether or not to undertake this intervention. How to do this as honestly as possible without being seen as making a case for the current “owner of Nigeria” was a concern – a huge one – given one’s long-standing ideology and principles. But then, what has to be done has to be done.
Immediately, the struggle was defeated with clear conviction and purpose, based on the Omoluabi ideology that is being confused for “cultural treason” in the current struggle for power, two related Yoruba proverbs came to mind. They are very suiting.
The first, “O ye enigbogbo ko yo owo alagbafo, ko ye atoole.” What this means is that, while “it’s okay for anyone to haggle with the washerman and negotiate a good price, certainly not the bedwetter”, whose situation is sure to subject the washerman to more work.
Following this is that which says, “Ti oju akata ba l’ewo, se enu ediye lo ye k’a ti gbo?” The translation to this is that, “If the fox’s eyes are bulging, it does not lie in the mouth of the chicken to say.”
These two proverbs speak to a former governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, one time closest ally and confidant of now President Bola Tinubu, who wielded so much power and influence by virtue of the trust Tinubu reposed in him, that he almost developed a god complex.
Unfortunately, today, he has marked the same Tinubu his number one enemy. But the real question is, who is Aregbesola without Tinubu? Can Argbesola actually write his biography and the roles as well as the place of Tinubu in his life would not take up to half of the book?
Aregbesola’s new political movement is named Omoluabi Progressives, curiously. So, how is Aregbesola an Omoluabi? A complete nobody – clothed, positioned, empowered, and brought to prominence – now thinks he’s arrived and could burn the sole bridge that led him to his current destination?
A former governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, once said, albeit in a private conversation, that no one born of a woman can pay back a good deed if interest was charged on it. The least any decent person can do, he added, is to not pay back a good deed with evil. That’s the barest minimum that can be filled in your record as seeming reciprocation.
The difference here is what the Yoruba further call “Bibiire”, and that summarily is noble upbringing. The icing on this is when an individual recreates himself by further upping the noble upbringing by his or her parents. This critical part is also missing.
With the benefits of hindsight, Tinubu gave too much to Aregbesola – a man he never knew from Adam – than he deserved or could personally manage. Even when he started to manifest excessive abuse of power after it got into his head, Tinubu still didn’t see it. He loved him.
Aregbesola made more enemies for Tinubu than Tinubu made for himself. He was at a time in charge of both Lagos and Osun States politics and openly boasted about it. He was the powerhouse courtesy Tinubu, and he addressed himself as such.
Make the mistake of your life by reporting Aregbesola to Tinubu, and you’d become an instant persona non grata in his Darwinian political family. He was that powerful. Even when other mentees of Tinubu brought this open biases to his attention, he shut them up. Moot any idea, and his reply would be: “Has Rauf seen it?” What more could anyone have asked for?
Or, better still, what could Tinubu have done to make Aregbesola not only turn against him but once openly disparaged him and now frolicking with his enemies, shamelessly? Aregbesola is inherently a terrible human being – one without the fear of God but who uses faith to mask his evil nature and definitely one who, if in Tinubu’s position, would be an untamable monster.
How he has promoted the ideals of Omoluabi unchecked over the years is shocking. There are no traces of Omoluabi in him. Indeed, Aregbesola is not more than eniyan-keniyan – an awful fellow. Clearly, he has learned nothing from Islam, and life has refused to guide him appropriately even though he is 68 years old.
Truth is that if anyone will plot any evil against Tinubu and succeed, it is definitely not Aregbesola. He’ll keep failing from now till eternity and might spend the rest of his days brooding in bitterness. For starters, what will his adabi (the grounds for this treachery) be in this case?
On the flip side, if you take a critical look at the situation, Tinubu appears to be a very bad judge of character. Two, he does not even know those who genuinely like him or are constantly looking out for him. He has, sadly, taken the same poor judgment to Abuja.
Look at Aregbesola and take another look at his most popular and lousy minister – the one who has been decimating his party for him gradually – you will understand the point here. That fellow respects no one and has fought practically everyone who has helped him at one time or the other, just like Aregbesola.
That’s the man in whom Tinubu is pleased. The truth is that whether now or later, it would be his turn to tell Tinubu’s story, and the world will be very entertained by this restless jester. Characters like that don’t change and are highly predictable.
Again, look at the recent political development in Lagos State and how Tinubu almost destroyed a democratic institution just to save an individual, who would move on if and when life gives him a better option. Can you now understand why this argument is relevant?
The president’s obvious predilection for characters who can discharge sordid political assignments explains the basis for his poor judgment of character. But when their loyalty is truly and really tested, that is when you see their duplicity in full display.
For some strange reasons, Tinubu has handled the Aregbesola challenge very well. He has everything in his whims to put Aregbesola in his place, especially since he could actually dissect his strengths and weaknesses even from the Villa. But choosing to ignore him signifies extreme maturity and understanding of the issues, especially if he’s had to factor their beautiful and enviable past into account.
The lesson in the Aregbesola debacle is that everyone must learn to avoid people who exhibit unrestrained loyalty at all times in public. It’s always a façade. They’re the deceitful type – always in it for the gains.
What Aregbesola has done and is doing to Tinubu is betrayal of the highest order. It is not forgivable, especially in politics. This battle for which he has enlisted against his foremost benefactor isn’t his call, and whether or not he likes, it is dead on arrival.