Author: Sodiq Lawal Chocomilo
If the happy and dancing governor of Osun, Senator Ademola Adeleke, had not been present, many residents of the “state of the nobles” would not have known that a passport office had been opened in Ilesa, the hometown of the former governor. A brief clip of the pair (Aregbesola and Adeleke) dancing to the minister’s praise singers’ beautiful renditions of Yoruba songs went viral in Osun, breaking the internet. I’m a member of a few WhatsApp groups with a high concentration of people from Osun, and in those groups, the video wasn’t just shared; it was also the main topic of conversation.
Both the governor and the interior minister demonstrated their dancing prowess in front of happy and delighted audiences. When I viewed the video, I noticed that it closely resembled the dance that former governors Oyetola and Oyinlola performed to commemorate the 30th year of Osun’s existence. Oyetola and Oyinlola also demonstrated their dance prowess throughout the event.
Osun is a joyful, amusing, and happy place. Leaders of the state should not be crucified or punished if they choose to amuse their supporters and fans. Yet, the Aregbesola/Adeleke dance in this piece piques my curiosity more.
I got a flashback to earlier occasions that impacted the state’s political history while I watched the video. Aregbesola last engaged in such a public dance with a prominent state party leader from the opposition in 2014. Aregbesola as a politician has good fortune. He always has a shoulder to lean on in times of need, worry, or grief. He relied on the shoulders of former governors, Olagunsoye Oyinlola and the late Isiaka Adeleke, in 2014 when he was running for reelection and faced off against Iyiola Omisore. Both helped him win easily and gave him the confidence he needed to take on the illustrious son of the Ife kingdom.
You are correct if you claim that Aregbesola has a history of teaming up with former adversaries to battle current adversaries. He is a wise politician who places a high importance on longevity and relevance. A buddy once remarked that the interior minister wouldn’t mind sharing a seat with a rabid lion if he knew the zoo’s alpha male could only harm or bite his foes. In politics, survival and relevance are important. In Nigerian politics, all that really matters is to survive; how you survive to become more relevant is irrelevant.
Aregbesola is prepared to play the game recklessly because he understands the rules. I should remain relevant and not become too cut off from Osun State if I am unable to exert control over it. There is no justice in blood and war. Aregbesola is a politician, and he hasn’t broken any rules of logic, the law, or political ethics.
Aregbesola asked Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, his political nemesis and fiercest rival, for assistance in 2014. He put a stop to the eight-year conflict that had been marked by bloodshed, deaths, and the destruction of both private and public property. Aregbesola relocated from Lagos to Osun in 2006 while serving as a commissioner for work in order to run for governor there on the Action Congress ticket. He invaded Ilesa, his hometown, and Osogbo like a hurricane. It was a fierce struggle for existence, significance, and influence.
The tremendous schism between the two led to the loss of many lives (9f followers) and the destruction of numerous homes. I experienced total and utter horror. It was a display of mixed emotions as Aregbesola and Oyinlola hugged in front of the public while the latter urged people to vote for the former. a sense of closure and regret.
I had no idea how the families affected by their rift must have felt, but I was aware of how Mr. Tajudeen, the father of one of my friends, Rasak, must have felt. At the ward level, he served as the Action Congress’s (AC’s) chieftain. During eight years of Aregbesola’s administration, he has not yet recovered after losing his home and car in the rift. The tale of Mr. Tajudeen is comparable to those of all the Action Congress members who have experienced harassment, intimidation, and physical violence. It also resembles stories of those who lost loved ones and possessions due to the rift.
It was a tragic moment for the state when Aregbesola and Oyinlola reconciled their differences in public, and it ought to serve as a sobering lesson to anyone who kills or causes trouble over a dispute between two politicians. The main victims of political battles are young people. This young population has to be saved from intellectual extinction.
Another video appeared on social media 9 years after Oyinlola and Aregbesola reconciled. Both Rauf Aregbesola, the current interior minister, and Senator Ademola Adeleke, the current governor of Osun State, were spotted dancing merrily.
After viewing the little film, I immediately went to Google and typed “Isiaka Adeleke, Aregbesola” into the search bar. The first news article linked to concerned Adeleke’s family accusing Aregbesola of covering up Isiaka Adeleke’s tragic passing. The third news item described how Aregbesola, then a governor, had allegedly attacked the late Isiaka Adeleke brothers and family.
In the rerun senatorial election, Aregbesola chose Hussein over the deceased brother Ademola, according to the fourth news site. In the fourth news link, Aregbesola detailed how he obtained the senatorial ticket from Mudasir Hussein and handed it to the late Isiaka Adeleke to spare him from embarrassment.
In 2017, it was a really terrible scenario. Some people asserted that the late Isiaka Adeleke was murdered because he expressed interest in running for governor of Osun in 2018, while others blamed the late Isiaka Adeleke’s death on the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former governor Aregbesola.
It was a horrible struggle between Aregbesola and members of the Adeleke dynasty, spanning the coroner’s investigation into Isiaka’s death, Ademola’s ambition to succeed his brother in the senate, and the tax scandal at Adeleke University. When Senator Ademola Adeleke entered the race for governor in 2018, the rift widened and led to direct criticism of the senator’s personality and character from the administration of then-Gov. Aregbesola.
The opposition circulated a video of Aregbesola belittling Senator Adeleke and those who were equating the two. Aregbesola stated that it is an insult and a shame to all that he has accomplished over the years to compare him to a rally entertainer.
The individual Aregbesola alluded to as the rally performer is currently the governor of Osun State five years later. Aregbesola and Adeleke danced together and cracked jokes at the opening of the Ilesa passport office. Along with paying tribute to the outgoing governor, Adeleke issued an executive order mandating Aregbesola’s protection whenever he visits Osun. A former governor is currently under the protection and security of a former rally performer. That is how fate operates, and that is how it is.
After the dance, a number of disputes have been brought up. Due to their engaging personalities at occasions, some people claimed that the dance was performed to insult the state’s former governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, while others insisted that it was a harmless dance between the two. Whatever the case, the dance had a political message that was transmitted and is thought to have been received.
Interest is a crucial factor in politics. Politicians are not morally upright people. They are just concerned about power, survival, and importance. Only those who chose to become victims of a political split have my sympathies. Major victims of Aregbesola and Oyinlola’s rift were nowhere to be seen when they hugged in public. The events that shaped 2017 in the state were probably forgotten by Senator Ademola Adeleke, his family, and Aregbesola by the time they moved on.
While the majority of their followers who lost relationships as a result of their disagreement are still trying to work things out, they are now buddies. Every negative word a person has ever made has been eaten.
Why do we fight as if we won’t need each other again when we know we will still need each other? The arguments between Adeleke and Aregbesola have been settled. Hope that you, as a disciple, may still make amends with those you split with over the matter.
Don’t let politics cause you to lose friends and loved ones overall. When politicians argue, try not to let your emotions get the best of you. You will ultimately be the main victim and the one who suffers the most.