2015: Forum cautions Oyo gov aspirants against desperation

THE Oyo State Unity Forum (OSUM) has cautioned aspirants seeking to hold the exalted position of the governor of state on the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) not to throw the state into chaos and violence in their desperation to win the party's ticket.It warned that tension had risen over threats of ethnic gang-ups across the state.The forum, comprising indigenes and non-indigenes of the state spanning over five zones of the state, expressed worry that the recent reports and boasts of gang-ups against one another based on ethnic bases, by seven aspirants and a former governor of the state were capable of bringing back the long-forgotten days of politics of violence and killing in the state.The forum, according to a statement jointly signed by its chairman and secretary, Mr Olusoji Oyelakin and Pastor Benjamin Akpan, respectively, maintained that in as much as it was the right of each aspirant to use any strategy he considered necessary for his aspiration, a situation where wrong and parochial methods with potentials of causing disaffection, hate and fight among the people ought to be avoided.'We condemn in its entirety, the ganging-up of seven aspirants that met in the house of a former minister in the late Sani Abacha-led regime, Elder Wole Oyelese, which came out with a communique limiting the choice of governor for the state to Ibadan. We equally condemn the boast of a former governor of the state, Chief Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala, in a recent interview in the Tribune that he was equally ganging-up with Senator Ayo Adeseun and other other aspirants from his area against aspirants from a particular city.'Alao-Akala had said: 'Politics is about ganging-up against your opponent. If they say those of us from Ogbomoso are ganging-up against our opponents, we say yes to that. I was once ganged-up against. We won't allow ouropponents to rest. That has always been the case. 'Have you ever seen anybody challenging us in Ogbomoso'''The Ibadan aspirants are made up of Elder Oyelese, Azeem Ggbolarumi, Senator Teslim Folarin, Professsor Soji Adejumo, Mr Seyi Makinde, Mr Azeez Adeduntan and Professor Taohreed Adedoja.'Given the political reality on ground, the PDP candidate must come from Ibadan.'However, another aspirant from Ibadan boycotted the gang-up meeting, saying; 'I dont believe in gang-up. I want the best aspirant to emerge,'' the statement read.The forum noted that it was unbecoming of people aspiring to lead the state to be making such inflamatory statements, 'instead of using a better strategy of telling the world what they are capable of doing for the betterment of the state.'The forum urged the aspirants to emulate the competitive, but non-worrisome posture of Alhaji Kehinde Olaosebikan, former Chief Press Secretary to a former state governor and former local government chairman, who on his own said the best PDP could do for the state was to field the best aspirant as its standard-bearer without any sentiment whatsoever.
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