On the day of his shining, Osun State
Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was clearly taller
than his height. He exuded charisma, strength and power.
Not so any more it appears as the governor fights for his
political future with a combustible workforce breathing
down his neck, even as a vexatious impeachment threat
has just been lifted off his neck. Olanrewaju Oyedeji
takes a look at how the maverick “Aregbe” lost his high
ground and how he can regain it.
His emergence on the nation’s political scene was
initially not with any much high drama. After his days as
a student activist, the youthful ‘Mushin Boy’ found a
spot in the neo-emergent Bola Ahmed Tinubu Campaign
Organisation (BATCO) and was to contribute most
vibrantly to the campaign success of his principal,
Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Post-election, the Osun
indigene was to be rewarded with the very critical
position of Commissioner of Works in the Tinubu
administration. He was riding high.
Appreciating that all political power flowed ultimately
from very close interaction with the grassroots,
Aregbesola however continued to keep a very close hold
on the politics of Mushin and the extended BATCO
campaign organization. Another strategic thing he did
was to also remain most loyal to his principal, even as
Tinubu warded off blows from all sides. Funsho
Williams. Chicago-gate. Kofo Bucknor. Olusegun
Obasanjo. AD. Afenifere. It was a most stormy season
but Aregbesola remained the active and ebullient
supporter of Bola Tinubu all the way.
When the then fledgling Action Congress took the
decision to spread beyond Lagos and pitch for power
across the states of the South West and beyond, it was
almost naturally its youthful and battle tested Turks like
Aregbesola that were to be given flags to lead the battle
charge in their respective states.
At first, Aregbesola’s fight to displace the incumbent
PDP Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola seemed like a
David and Goliath conflict. Oyinlola was a battle-
hardened Army General who had run Lagos State, been a
solid plank in the dreaded Abacha dictatorship and was
already serving one term in office as Governor in the
state that the youthful upstart from Lagos was coming to
ruffle. But Aregbesola forged on and in one of the most
determined contests of that season was finally to be
declared winner of the April 14, 2007 governorship
election held in Osun state after three years of a grueling
and most protracted political and legal battle by the
Appeal Court sitting in Ibadan.
Indeed, the seeds of the present crisis go as far back as
the period of that election. In Osun state then it was just
typical that indigenes of the state were divided into
factions, a faction was loyal to the candidate of the action
congress while the other faction was loyal to Oyinlola.
For instance in the Ife area of the state, the indigenes
were basically in support of the People’s Democratic
Party candidate while indigenes of Modakeke preferred
to cast their votes for the Action Congress. Such was the
divide in the state then. This division can be traced to
various reasons, some of which included the part of the
state each candidate hailed from and there was even an
assumption that “it is natural and normal for indigenes of
Ife to vote for the PDP while Modakeke indigenes will
always vote for the opposition party.”
Read more at www.thedifferencenews.com/aregbesolas-fading-glory/

How can a glory he never even had begin to fade?