Who is against integration agenda in Southwest?

• Gov. Aregbesola

As Southwest governors forge ahead in their integration agenda, there is the fear that a slight political difference among stakeholders in one of the states in the zone portends a transcient drawback, reports Deputy Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU.

The lopsided federal arrangement is a collective threat that should ordinarily unite progressives in the Southwest. Regional integration or collaboration, it is believed, is the first step towards the economic rejuvenation of the far-flung region. However, suspicion in the zone among the leaders played itself out at the presentation of the ‘Development Agenda for Western Nigeria’ (DAWN) by Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) at the City Hall, Onikan, Lagos.

It was reminiscent of the Second Republic experience. Between October and December 1983, there was tension between the three Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) governors; Chief Adekunle Ajasin (Ondo), Alhaji Lateef Jakande (Lagos), Chief Olabisi Onabanjo (Ogun), and the lone National Party of Nigeria (NPN) governor, Dr. Omololu Olunloyo over the management of Oodu conglomerate. The NPN forces wanted the assets to be divided among the states. But UPN governors resisted the option. 

The DAWN presentation was chaired by the banker and politician, Mr. Fola Adeola. At the ceremony were Governors Babatunde Fashola (Lagos State), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) and Rauf Aregbesola (Osun). Ondo State Governor Olufemi Mimiko, who was absent, was represented by his Environment Commissioner, Mr. Sola Ebiseni.

Also at the event were Senators Ayo Fasanmi, Bola Tinubu, Sola Adeyeye, Femi Lanlehin and Babafemi Ojudu; Chief Bisi Akande, Gen. Alani Akinrinade (rtd), former House of Representatives Speaker Dimeji Bankole, and some traditional rulers from the zone.

Five out of six governors in the region belong to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Mimiko belongs to Labour Party (LP). There is no evidence to show that there is a sharp disagreement between the ACN governors and LP governor about the prospects, challenges, merits and constraints of regional integration. However, the political difference is still a set back.

At the summit organised by the Vintage Press Limited at Ibadan, stakeholders pointed out that successful implementation of the agenda may be predicated on political unity. Experts suggested that only progressive governors who share the same platform can effectively engage the challenges in an atmosphere of oneness.

In Lagos, the cracks on the political wall widened. Ebiseni fired the first salvo, when he raised serious objections to some historical misrepresentations in the DAWN blue-print. Many believed that the remarks paled into a book review. The commissioner lauded the ARG’s effort. But he said that the group missed the point when it stated that oil was first discovered in Oloibiri. He said the golden egg was first sighted in Ilaje area of Ondo State by white men who could not commence exploration because of the outbreak of the civil war. In Ebiseni’s view, the state should have been more projected in the compendium. 

Previously, ARG had gone round the region to present the document to the executive and legislative arms. However, sources said that the delegation met a brick wall in Ondo State. Although Governor Mimiko had reiterated support for the initiative, it was difficult for the ARG team to present the blue-print to him and the Speaker of Ondo State House of Assembly, despite the fact that it was relatively easier to brainstorm with their counterparts in other states. Efforts to do so failed in Akure, the state capital.

Ebiseni’s speech trailed those of Governors Ajimobi, Amosun, Fayemi and Fashola. But it preceded Aregbesola’s remarks. The Osun state governor, like other Action Congress(AC) leaders had stood behind Mimiko during the battle for the restoration of his stolen mandate. Naturally, AC leaders expected more political interaction, intimacy and understanding between them and Mimiko.

Aregbesola brought the political gap and differences into the fore in his speech. He evoked passion as he recounted the cost of the restoration battle in the Southwest, especially the fierce fight between ACN and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by gen. Olusegun Obasanjo (rtd). He observed that since reality had dawned on the region that it must take its destiny in its hand, it must forge a bond of unity. Put succinctly, Aregbesola said that Southwest states should come under the same political umbrella to present a common front for development.

In response to Ebiseni’s comment about certain omissions or inaccuracies in the DAWN, the governor observed that, if Mimiko had agreed to team up with them, despite repeated overtures, that would not have occurred. Therefore, in line with the wish of his party, Aregbesola submitted that it would be in the interest of the development agenda that ACN should gain control of Ondo State. 

At that point, Ebiseni interrupted the governor. To statesmen, politicians, government officials and security agents, that amounted to a breach of protocol. But others overlooked it since Ebiseni was representing his governor. First, the commissioner jumped up from his seat on the high table, but he was calmed down by Adeola and other governors who asked Aregbesola to quickly round off his remarks. 

Aregbesola said that he was not done yet. When the chairman urged him to hurry up, he threatened to invoke his executive powers. At the mention of invocation of executive power by the Osun governor, his Lagos counterpart, Fashola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, adjusted himself on his seat.  When the commissioner, who was being pacified by people on the high table, sat again, he kept pointing fingers at Aregbesola, indicating his objection to the governor’s remarks. Ebiseni’s protest was met with a loud condemnation by the audience. Indeed, the hall had become divided.

However, Bankole tilted support towards Ebiseni, saying that “power is transcient”. He said elected official would enjoy a permanent tenure. 

Two other speakers; Tinubu and Lagos lawyer Femi Falana, intervened as moral voices. Tinubu chided Ebiseni for playing the self-imposed role of a book reviewer, adding that he should have exercised maturity and character expected from men on the high table. The former governor said that, if an aide is sent to deliver the message which a slave should bear, the onus is on him to deliver it as a son. Then, he dwelt on the urgency of faithfully implementing the document with sincerity, warning that delay could be dangerous. 

Falana supported Aregbesola’s view. His grouse was that certain people who supporters the killers of prominent Yoruba leaders during the dark period were given opportunity to address the audience. He said these people had nothing to contribute to the agenda.

Falana alluded to the philosophical dimension of the initiative, saying that it critical to the implementation of the agenda. He said a line of demarcation is required between the genuine lovers of the Southwest and the enemies of the region, who are estranged from the legitimate vision and aspirations of the zone.