The people of Ondo State are compelled to see, continually, heart-corroding histrionics, enacted in a most irresponsible manner, by certain mediocre, wicked and morally bankrupt elements, who seek to draw mileage from the absence of the Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, CON, in the State. It is no news that these funny, greedy simpletons, whose sole understanding of governance is prebendalism, impelled by kleptocratic tendencies, will stop at nothing to stoke the ember of contrived acrimony to take maximum advantage of the current situation.
While the people of the State, from diverse socio-political backgrounds, pray, fervently, for the Governor to come back and resume, in order to continue to discharge his service to the people of the State, these meddlesome hustlers are bent on causing confusion for their benefits. These rootless politicians, ostensible representatives of the people without followers, believe that the best way to portray the current health challenge of the Governor is to spread falsehood against those perceived as impediments to their prebendal predilections.
They are setting members of the Executive Council against one another, dropping dangerous but mendacious hints against their fellow appointees. They praise some as “honest”, “brilliant” and “diligent” while condemning others, perceived to being in the “opposing camp”, as “corrupt” and “inordinately ambitious”. They hold constant meetings, speculating on the state of health of the Governor. These elements attract negative sentiments to an Administration which had enjoyed relative peace and overwhelming goodwill from the people, based on impactful achievements.
Uncultured, vacuous, sycophantic and greedy, these shameless beings lack the basic decency to respect the man who brought them to reckoning from relative obscurity and rescuing them from varying degrees of mendicancy. For these elements to have unfettered access to the State’s Treasury, they have sustained the onslaught of negative publications against the Governor, some members of his immediate family and their fellow appointees, whose schedules of responsibilities have made visible. As they are bereft of the capacity for altruistic service and competence, their understanding of governance is all about sharing money and compounding the people’s misery. The people of the State recognise these personalities as greedy, unscrupulous, dishonest, wicked and bereft of any shred as evidence of moral rectitude in them, judging by their notorious records of self-service. Some of them, challenged by the Governor for acts of brazen corruption, seem to be up in arms against known gatekeepers with a view to forcing them to succumb to cheap blackmail. We will not only resist them, with all vehemence, the people of the State will be invited to see the atrocities committed against their interests by these hustlers. I owe the good people of Ondo State this sacred duty.
A particular sycophant, marooned before happenstance rescue, is suspected to be the shameless diabolical element masquerading as “Concerned Citizen”, “Bimbo Oloruntuyi”, among other pseudonyms used to confuse the unwary and gullible. This felon had embarked on an itinerary of audacious mendacity, sponsoring hagiographers and semi-literate clowns to spread lies against the person of the Governor and his family. This character and his cohorts have continued to peddle lies in their bid to capture the treasury.
Some functionaries of the Government, who have refused to join in the delusional but clearly treacherous permutations to supplant their benefactor, have come under ceaseless but baseless attacks, accusing them of committing acts of monumental corruption. We enjoin these officials to remain courageous and resist any attempts by any person(s) to compel them to betray the trust reposed in them by the people in the absence of the Governor.
I challenge any of these hustlers to an open debate on any radio or television of their choice, to present their records of stewardship to the people, and see if they will not be stoned. Let them not fail also to mention specific acts of malfeasance allegedly committed by the appointees of the Governor maligned, routinely, by them. All the good people of various religious persuasions are praying for the speedy recovery of the Governor, a dependable servant. Pretenders to the heuristic philosophy of service plot to neutralize him by any vile means.
The people of Ondo State will surely respond, appropriately. They know how to defend their interests.
I will encourage them as and when the time comes.
DR DOYIN ODEBOWALE,
SSA, SPECIAL DUTIES AND STRATEGY,
TO THE GOVERNOR OF ONDO STATE
