Four days after a judge was harassed in the course of performing
his lawful duties, another justice of the High Court in Ekiti State was almost
manhandled but for the timely intervention of the Commissioner of Police, Taiwo
Lakanu and his men. The venue of the absurd drama was right in the premises of
the High Court in Ado Ekiti. Date was Thursday, September 25, 2014.
Judges and lawyers had to be escorted out of the state
capital by armed policemen.
The attraction to the court at that time was the
Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal as well as the suit challenging the
eligibility of the Governor-elect, Mr. Peter Ayo Fayose to contest in the last
governorship election. It may therefore not be wrong to say the dramatis
personae, apart from Fayose include the E-11 Group, which filed the eligibility
suit as well as Governor Kayode Fayemi who was floored at the polls. Following
the tense atmosphere, the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Daramola has
ordered that courts be shut till further notice.
Sadly too, Omolafe Adewoye, a former Chairman of the
National Union of Road Transport Workers who was one of the men that
accompanied Fayose to court on Thursday morning was felled by assassin’s
bullets around Ijigbo around 8 pm the same day.
”But how did Ekiti get to this point? Where did we miss it?”
These seem to be the most frequently asked by indigenes across the state.
Though the characteristics that best describe Ekiti people
include being knowledgeable, academically sound and headstrong, the real Ekiti
man is one that will not compromise his integrity and will fight for his right
in any way possible. This has been interpreted as stubbornness in some
quarters.
The stubbornness has however not been without some gains in
the past. It was with it that Ekitis threw off the Ibadan yoke in the
16-year-long Ekiitiparapo war in the 19th century. Even when the
British mediated and put an end to the conflict, Ekitis had what they wanted;
their freedom.
Though other states might have caught up with Ekiti in the
area of academic excellence, the “Ekiti fighting spirit” remains unmatched.
Known to be a politically conscious set of people, Ekiti
boasts of the likes of Professor Sam Aluko, Chiefs Ayo Fasanmi, Joel Babatola
and Ade Akilaya. Akin Omoboriowo, Agunbiade Bamise and Chief Falodun are all men
who have contributed their quotas decades ago. The list has continued to grow,
especially after Ekiti became a state in the 1990s.
Meanwhile, the creation of Ekiti State from the Old Ondo
State notwithstanding, some are still living with the trauma of the
Omoboriowo-Ajasin saga of 1983. And today, 33 years after, Ekiti seems to be
tilting towards anarchy again. No thanks to the change in orientation. One of
the legal luminaries who fought for the creation of Ekiti State was once quoted
as saying “this is definitely not the Ekiti we fought for its creation. Values
are being eroded daily. Ekiti had at least two professors on each street but
what do we have now? An Ekiti man will dress well and leave his house early in
the morning and when you ask him where he is going, he will tell you he is
going for a political meeting.”
Since politics has become the most lucrative profession in
Nigeria, the promise of political empowerment has led to different vices,
betrayals, bickering and murders inclusive. Ekitis have since jettisoned the “Ekitiparapo”
word for cooperation and now, “every man for himself” has become a fad.
The mindset of the average Ekiti indigene seems to have been
tampered with by political leaders. After the impeachment of Governor Ayo
Fayose in October, 2006, political calculations changed in Ekiti State. From
then on, it became obvious to politicians that “anything could happen”. The
House of Assembly he had so much control over was induced to impeach him.
Ripples were caused at the next election as Engr. Segun Oni who came third in
the PDP’s shadow election was anointed as the candidate for the 2007 polls.
Oni won eventually but his victory was challenged and by the
time a re-run was ordered in some places, Fayose who had been tagged an outcast
suddenly became the beautiful bride being courted by both the PDP and the
Action Congress. He eventually pitched his tent against the PDP apparently as a
payback for the way he was treated by the party. After A legal tussle, Fayemi
became the Governor and it was only a matter of time before the political romance
between Fayose and the Action Congress turned sour. The ACN fielded a candidate
against him in the senatorial election as opposed to an unwritten agreement
they had. For Fayose, it was a lesson learnt the hard way.
Of course, lessons are still being learnt and only recently,
Ekitis shocked the whole world when rice, both cooked and raw became an issue
in the politics of the state. As events continue to unfold, people are fast
concluding that the drama is just about to begin and since it has started on a
bloody note, Omolafe Adewoye may not be the only one that will go down as there
might be reprisals.
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