Akala—Adelabu Parley: Setting The Record Straight

By Wadud Wadraj

With a reputation built on patriotic sacrifice to humanity, Alao-Akala's conscience has never been an item on auction. His moral courage cannot be broken in exchange of a few bites of crumbs. Leadership to him is not a ticket for enrichment but a dignifying call to service.

Forgive me for taking the liberty to start this piece where I should stop. I deemed it necessary not to wait a minute before calming all frayed nerves that have become increasingly unsettled since the rumour mill kicked into high gear with various allegations regarding the turn of events in Oyo state politics which is compelling the alignment of forces between political arch-rivals.

One of such infamous nuts of rumour being spilled in the full glare of the public is that a former governor of Oyo state and gubernatorial candidate of Action Democratic Party (ADP), Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala allegedly stepped aside from the gubernatorial race to midwife the ambition of Bayo Adelabu of the APC after he reached an agreement which borders on gratification of personal interest with the leadership of the ruling party in Abuja. While it is evident that the ex-governor has decided to form alliance with Bayo Adelabu, the move was not devised to achieve overriding selfish gains.

It is instructive to note that the former governor backed out of a proposed alliance with opposition parties in the state which he had initiated prior to the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections when it was seemingly becoming an assemblage that's only committed to ethnic dominance rather than core values of good governance.

The mediator of the coalition, Senator Rashid Ladoja was quoted to have said: ''Anyone outside Ibadan Zone cannot be considered as a consensus candidate for the alliance.'' This caustic remark from an elderstatesman confirmed that the coalition had been hijacked to address narrow ethnic interests as opposed the vision of forming an all-inclusive government which birthed its establishment by Otunba Alao-Akala.

Such an ethnic configuration is a great disservice to the cohesion and peaceful coexistence of the state and no altruistic leader would subject his teeming followers to help build a house which they will later be chased out of. An organization formed on the basis of ethnic supremacy where equality of right and privilege is substituted for self-serving goals will only lead to absolute deprivation of other zones that make up the state. Without unity and a common sense of purpose, such alliance cannot set the path of the state on a secure and prosperous future.

Leadership is not a function of ethnic association or family ties. Good leaders are products of positive mindset, an attribute you can't deny someone like Alao-Akala who is famed for his long track record of influencing human capital development and institutional growth which traverse the entire state.

With the belief that the roadmap of ethnic identity shouldn't be the path to attain position of influence, Otunba Alao-Akala jettisoned the alignment process between PDP, ADC and ZLP for a people-centered coalition with the leadership of APC as it became glaringly obvious that no political party could stand any chance by going to the polls all alone.

The choice of working with Adelabu's APC was later accepted because it does not recognize ethnic lines as identifiers for positions of leadership. The alliance promises to relate with all zones of the state on equal footing without any shred of prejudice. Also, the readiness of the ruling party to adopt the visions and agenda of the ADP as their guiding light will deliver the Oyo State of our dream.

History will always be kind to Otunba Alao-Akala for resisting ethnic bigotry. His disposition to virtue should be embraced by all. He has stood not for the Ogbomosos but the entire populace of the state including the generations yet unborn - he has entrenched a united front for the young suckers that would grow when the old banana dies.

Akala has done well