By Segun Famesa
The Leopard, as the saying goes, does not change it’s spots.
The above aptly describes Allen Sowore’s ridiculous attempt, to change the narrative of today’s political reality in Ondo state, especially, as it affects the build up to the November 16, gubernatorial election. Deliberate change of narrative is though, characteristic of his party, the All Peoples Congress.
It is very obvious, that the writer is apparently ignorant of the fact that people have over time discovered the APC which he represents, survives only on lies and unfortunately for him he went to town to dish out yet another toxic portion of lies which I believed the reasonable people of Ondo State have refused to consume.
It is the height of falsehood and outright disrespect for the highly intelligent people of the state, for Sowore, to unabashedly opined that the Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kennedy Peretei, made “a concerted effort to twist and downplay the significant losses PDP has been experiencing due to the ongoing exodus of its members”
How more comical, could Sowore be or was he trying to hide the reality that the people are burning their brooms on daily basis in Ondo state?
No doubt, the APC and it’s operators thrive on lies, but must Sowore tell a blatant lie as the one above, before he could be seen earning his pay by his employers or
must he justify his pay by calling white , black?
As if that was not enough, Sowore, apparently oblivious of the fact that we are no longer in the stone age, when information crawls and could easily be distorted, he was not shy enough , to report that “If democracy is truly about the people, if charity indeed begins at home, and if the people’s votes genuinely count, then the PDP may not win any local government in the upcoming election. This is the true side of the story not the distorted version ”
The question to ask is, who is actually distorting stories here?
Though laughable, the above submission by Sowore should not be waved off, taking into consideration, the antecedent of the APC as far as election malpractice is concerned,more so, if how his principal “won” his party’s ticket to contest the approaching election, is anything to go by.
The controversial outcome of the primary election and the regime of hunger institutionalized by the APC in the state has greatly depopulated it across the state. What is more interesting about this, is that the numerous disgruntled decampees are not hiding their intentions and feelings.
Only on Sunday did the elder brother to the Chairman of the APC in Owo declared for the PDP, even as the campaign Director of Olusola Oke in Ondo Central called it quits with the APC to join the PDP in Ondo town.
On the same Sunday,over 500 members of the APC and the Labour party in Owo, Ondo and Ipele areas joined the PDP.
The defections from the APC have become a routine sort of, it is also common knowledge that, because of the effect of the exit rate of members to the PDP from the APC, Sowore’s principal has become an emergency mid-year father Christmas, who has been dolling out dollars and Naira to buy broke and outdated politicians for a false hope, going into the election proper.
It is for this panicky reason, that Sowore’s principal has been servicing the former governor of the state, Olusegun Mimiko in order to lure him to the APC officially, even though he has been working for him behind the scene without a tangible result. But the reluctance of Mimiko to go all out for the APC candidate however, has made nonsense of their November election permutations.
As things stand, Gov Aiyedatiwa may have been shortchanged because, for as long as President Tinubu remains the leader of the APC, Mimiko will be useless as an APC member, the two share a cat and mouse relationship and every sincere onlooker would know what that means to the issue on ground.
Beyond that, of what advantage is even a Mimiko membership of the APC, to Aiyedatiwa gubernatorial ambition?
To put it leniently, Mimiko has become a troopless General , who did not only fail to secure his seat for his party after eight years in office, but also failed to win a Senatorial seat for himself.
It is baffling however, to hear Sowore say he “will refrain from commenting on Peretei’s attempt to diminish Dr. Olusegun Mimiko’s political stature, given that Peretei himself rose to prominence as the Chairman of Ese-Odo LGA under Mimiko’s leadership”
The issue here however, is not about Peretei diminishing Mimiko’s political stature rather, it is that,true and true, Mimiko has since lost his political relevance, as far as Ondo state politics is concerned and this is only natural, after almost 30 years of dominating the scene. Nobody would crucify Mimiko for his current irrelevant political stature because the law of nature must come into play, whatever goes up must come down.
The Iroko in Mimiko, had since given way to a plywood.
That Mimiko is the most successful politician in the state does not make him a Lord in today’s political scene, Mike Tyson was a World Champion but that would not make any serious promoter put his money on him, over Anthony Joshua, even if it’s a novelty game.
As things stand in our dear state today, even the most uninformed would predict that Gov Ayiedatiwa does not command the followership that can retain him as the governor of Ondo state.
It is not out of place for incurable optimists to pontificate otherwise, but let Sowore and his co- travelers in the delusional journey note that, the era of ‘edibo e sebe’ Is gone for good in Ondo state.
Like Sowore himself did mentioned, that it’s the Peoples vote that will count at the end of the day, let it be known to him therefore, that any attempt to repeat the APC primary abracadabra on November 16 will not only amount to provoking the people to unleash their anger over thier current suffering, the outcome of that will also definitely be worse than that of 1983, those who have ears should let the message sink now.
