Former Oyo State Commissioner for Environment and Water
Resources and member of the Teslim Folarin Mobilization team, Alhaji Majekodunmi
Aborode has revealed that his former boss, Otunba Alao-Akala did not reward his
loyalty to him while they were both in government.
He made the revelation while answering questions on a
programme hosted by Edmund Obilo on Splash FM on Wednesday. When
Aborode, who spoke glowingly about Senator Teslim Folarin, the People’s
Democratic Party’s governorship candidate, was reminded that in the last
election, the All Progressives Congress swept the polls, he agreed as he said
‘I know, they did that. But it is not going to happen now.
I can guarantee you
on Saturday, Teslim Folarin will give Ajimobi a serious baptism of politics and
political circumcision and he will be thrown out of Agodi Government House and
that is why he is scared”.
Alhaji Aborode went on that “he (Ajimobi) is not scared of
Senator Ladoja, he is not scared of Akala because they are birds of the same
feather. Teslim Folarin is the man of the moment and the man of the future”.
On Senator Folarin’s economic blueprint and the fears being
exercised on whether he can execute some of the projects, the former
Commissioner opined that “Teslim Folarin is tested, don’t forget that he has
spent eight years in the Senate and experience is the best teacher”. He also
said “the exposure is there. The Teslim Folarin I know visualizes ideas, he
generates ideas for effective utilization and the betterment of our society.”
And when he was asked if Teslim Folarin would be different
from other PDP Governors if elected, Aborode said “I can tell you what he is
capable of doing. One, if he is elected as the Governor of Oyo State, insha
Allah, the area of priority of his government would be in the area of
agricultural development because in Oyo State because the current
administration in Oyo State and indeed other administrations before it, since
the inception of democratic rule in 1999 have paid lip service to it. Teslim
Folarin believes that to diversify our economy in the state, agricultural
development must be given top priority”.
The former commissioner also pointed out that “the problem
of Oyo State in that area of concern is that the workforce is available and our
people in Oyo State are not known to be very lazy, most of them engage in old
methods of subsistence farming and what is lacking presently is the political
will, support and robust engagement of the sector by successive governments in
the state”.
When the host of the programme put it to him that PDP
Governors have been known for “all talk and no action”, he responded that “Teslim
Folarin is a different person. We have had Governors who have served in the
past, what have they achieved since that time? What impact have they made on
the people of Oyo State? We are talking of Oyo State yesterday, today and
tomorrow, and we now looked at the whole state and said the only way we can
bring our people out of the political quagmire of yesteryears is to bring a new,
vibrant person like Teslim Folarin”.
And defend his claim that Senator Folarin is still young, Aborode
said ‘you cannot compare Senator Folarin’s age with Senator Ladoja who is over
70, or Alao-Akala who is dangerously approaching 70 or Ajimobi who is also
dangerously approaching 70’. And when the host quoted Governor Ajimobi that
“the older, the better”, the former Commissioner simply said “people that are
used to 19th century typewriters, is it possible to approach the
same set of people to come and resolve computer related issues in the 21st
century? It doesn’t add up at all. That is why I said if we don’t deserve the
sympathy of all these leaders who are supposed to have taken political back
seat, I think the younger ones like Folarin, like us should be allowed to work
out our destiny that is more appropriate on leans and circumstances for the benefit
of our people and the unborn generation in Oyo State”
Then came s direct question, “was that why you dumped Akala?”
His response was “I didn’t dump Akala, I served under Akala whole heartedly and
I deployed my arsenal, my skill, my talent and I used the paraphernalia of the
Ministry of Environment to promote the image of his government. That was what
led to the coinage of Environmental
Akalism which is still a theory, a culture and philosophy for any
government that comes after us. So, the issue of dumping Akala should not come
up now because I was criminally loyal to Akala. If you slashed my body then,
you would see that the blood that would be gushing out from my skin would have
Akala boldly written on it.”
Apparently not satisfied, the host fired again, “so why are
you not supporting him now?” To this, he replied “I can’t support him because I
never had an agreement with Akala to remain with Akala perpetually till Jesus
comes. And don’t forget, if there are no rewards in loyalty, there shouldn’t be
disappointment in disloyalty”. Probing further, the host asked ‘you were not
rewarded?”. His response was short and simple, ‘I think I have said it all”.
Reeling out some of the programmes Senator Folarin has in
mind, the former Commissioner for Environment said “we have approached people
and we know their feelings and that is why I said the way forward in this state
is to first of all know the commercial base of the state which was almost
completely dismantled by this move of the government led by Ajimobi for failure
to provide enabling environment for small businesses to thrive. In Oyo State,
people were thrown into deeper poverty by the acts of Ajimobi’s administration
at the time the state would have invested into the sector to improve and expand
the economy. Folarin’s government will assist petty traders with funds to
expand their businesses because that will jumpstart economic activities in Oyo
State. Presently, the level of poverty in Oyo State is appalling. The people
are not happy with the present move of the government in Oyo State. People are
hungry, people are not happy, people are bleeding internally and the government
has forgotten that there is a day after tomorrow and a better house after the
White House.”
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