By Akintunde Bello Sheriff (ABS)
Though the Senator is believed to be widely acclaimed cerebral, there is also the umistaking universal consensus that Egbon Basiru Ajibola is full of arrogance and pride. His story of from grass to grace has been greatly threatened. His first debut was to be a Commissioner in the cabinet of Rauf Aregbesola.
The Governor of the time had to establish a new ministry of regional integration which was not a priority just to find a vacancy for his supposed godson who will later ditch his Principal. He reappointed him during the second term as an Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.
Ajibola Basiru was instrumental to the legal frameworks involving the financial pact on the abandoned Ido Osun proposed airport where billions have been sunk without any meaningful success. He dealt in the putting up of some of the so called self adjudged international markets that later did not meet up with even regional standard.
These two projects namely the airport and the markets are part of where the financial toiling of Osun State began. So whenever the history of how Osun got to the level we are was being told, though many people were not often remembering the name of Basiru Ajibola, the Senator can not rightly exonerate himself on morality ground. He was the ears of Aregbesola throughout the governorship years of the Ilesha born Radial.
It was therefore a surprise seeing that Ajibola Basiru divorced his benefactor and did not spare him in the politics of decimation after pitching his tent with Governor Oyetola.
I have an accurate account that on the day Basiru Ajibola went to meet Rauf Aregbesola to file for divorce, the Minister of Interior was traumatized. He held his legs and said Basiru you can not leave me. Everyone else can go but we must both help it that you should stay. But this godson did not look his erstwhile Boss with any pity. He was ready to end Rauf Aregbesola and he left the living room.
Upon arrival in Osun, he was a guest of Oyetola and the fraternity was cordial to the level that the Governor naively made him a DG of a campaign, what a tactical blunder. You made a senator who is seeking reelection a DG? What about the interest of those he will have offended, those who worked for his first term but not treated well and who will have asses to grind? What about his own responsibilities as a sitting Senator that could cause diversion of attention? And ultimately his own parochial will to favour his personal ambition at the detriment of anything else?
Aregbesola enjoyed the support of his estranged Deputy Governor of 8 years Otunba Mrs-Otunba Titilayo Laoye Tomori until the very second immediately they relinquished power. Aregbesola’s crime was that the non too politically deep former Deputy Governor was denied to go to the Senate because Rauf Aregbesola wanted to please Basiru Ajibola.
In fact Aregbesola prevented the then sitting Senator who is old enough to father Senator Basiru Ajibola from going for another term to the senate despite that he is more educated than Basiru Ajibola as a Professor and far entrenched politically than him having served in the Awolowo and Bola Ige school of thoughts.
Recall that Professor Olusola Adeyeye was at the time a principal officer on the floor of the senate. That was such the rarely huge grace that Basiru Ajibola enjoyed courtesy of Rauf Aregbesola. In the end, he betrayed his Boss.
I have said personally before the July 16th election that Oyetola was going to lose and that he must hold Basiru Ajibola responsible substantially for his loss.
This has now happened. Basiru Ajibola did not spare dirtiness in the prosecution of his politics during the buildup to the governorship election which has been won by His Excellency, Senator Ademola Adeleke, Osun State Governor Elect. Adeleke by his antecedent as a senior colleague to Basiru Ajibola having served in the senate before him deserves good respect and courtesy.
However Senator Basiru Ajibola threw caution to the winds when he went on radio to call Adeleke a kindergarten and spoon-fed adult amongst other insults unbefitting of his status as a spokesman of the Senate. Here was a senator who was nearly lynched by End SARS protesters because of his caustic tongue when he attempted to represent the Senate President Ahmed Lawan to address the mob of protesters.
A Senator ought to be distinguished, honourable, fine, and gentle in conduct but these are very high demands to make of the current Senator representing Osun Central District. He assaulted his predecessor in office too when he engaged in an unhealthy brawl with Senator Olusola Adeyeye over psycophant tussle to appear as a good loyalist for Asiwaju Tinubu during the buildup to their party’s presidential primaries. It was a media roforofo fight between the Duo and one will wonder why always Basiru Ajibola?
Now that all chips are down, Oyetola have the worst outing in Basiru Ajibola’s district and constituency. The talkative Senator who is the DG of Oyetola’s campaign not only lost his unit and ward to the PDP, he lost his native local government and neighboring local government of Osogbo and Olorunda to Senator Ademola Adeleke for the first time in many years.
What befell the APC under Basiru Ajibola’s nostrils is more than a casualty. He lost most of the local governments constituting his scope of representation in the Osun Central District too. So this is a scar for him and a monumental setback at that.
In fact his second term election is under heavy threat care not taken apart from the fact that he will suffer bandwagon effect negatively, the TOP factional group within the APC loyal to the Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola will still wait for him. He had repeatedly dismissed them as inconsequential and called them rumbles of bean cake.
Conclusively, Ajibola Basiru PhD has a reason to fidget and be afraid. In February when his election will hold, there will be a new Governor in the saddle who he have been hostile to. His APC members who are with Oyetola are now cursing and deriding him that he is the architect of their party’s failure in Osun State and so they might be repulsive to risk anything for him during the election.
Of course the majority APC members loyal to Rauf Aregbesola will take their pound of flesh against him directly when the time comes by fighting his disloyalty against their benefactor. And indeed, he will be facing though a relatively unknown politician who is the PDP Candidate for Osun Central District, however Ajagunla Olubiyi Fadeyi have a deep pocket that can match Basiru Ajibola currency to currency.
The gentleman showed this through his great support to the successful taking over of Osun Central during the decided July 16th election in favour of Senator Ademola Adeleke. If he did that for his Leader Adeleke, he will do more for himself. And of course the tsunami of APC loss of the grip on Government House will drastically affect this Senator.
Will Senator Basiru Ajibola fall or “lule” or will he be able to weather the storm by summournting the insurmountable? Time will definitely tell? I learnt he Basiru Ajibola have been removing Oyetola’s insignias from some of his campaign awareness at his offices which hitherto bore the their joint photos. Such is life!! What he did to Rauf Aregbesola might be underway for outgoing Governor Oyetola too. Eniyan Won, Eniyan sooro!!!
Akintunde Bello Sheriff (ABS) is an Essayist And Public Cum Social Commentator.
