Kayode Fayemi : Ekiti Child of Entitlement
By Akin Adegbola
Dr John Kayode Fayemi, former Governor of Ekiti State set an unprecedented political history in Ekiti when he was roundedly defeated by former Governor Ayodele Fayose on June 21, 2014 governorship election in a surprise comeback of Fayose. He lost elections in all the sixteen local governments including his hometown, Ishan Ekiti. This historical low registered a repeat of a similar one suffered by Niyi Adebayo, his godfather during 2003 governorship election in Ekiti.
In the two scenarios, the similarity was the loud rejection of Fayemi and Adebayo by the discerning Ekiti voters. The power of incumbency at their disposal couldn’t save them. While Adebayo was rejected because of his total inexperience and bloated ego of a General’s son, Fayemi naturally lacks the capacity to lead with humility and modesty which are hallmarks of Ekitis.
Adebayo felt he didn’t owe anyone explanations as to how the newly created Ekiti was being run, since the governorship ticket fell on his babyish laps through the influence of his father. On his part, Fayemi didn’t waste time in unleashing harassment against those who paved his way to the government house, a move that later became his greatest undoing.
In most cases, life doesn’t give a second chance, but it presented itself to Fayemi probably to redeem his battered image as he returned to government house in 2018. Expectedly, Fayemi couldn’t shed his leopard’s spots four years after. No sooner had he settled down than he began muscling every perceived political enemy within the Ekiti APC. This, he also demonstrated outside Ekiti against those he felt could stop his future political opportunities.
It is on record how Fayemi ran an exclusive government blocking inputs of other leaders from the party. A repeat of what led to his waterloo in 2014 played out again, in the likeness of the proverbial dog destined to get lost and will never listen to the whistle of the hunter.
This time around, Fayemi took a step further in his political opportunism by swallowing line, hook and sinker the dummy presidential package sold to him by the cabal in Buhari’s presidential villa.
He rose arrogantly against the presidential project of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is today by the grace of God the President-elect. Fayemi positioned himself as one of the biggest hurdles Asiwaju needed to cross before emerging victorious. He fought Asiwaju in all fronts; both at home and in Abuja using his chairmanship of Nigeria Governors’ Forum as a platform. A position he couldn’t use to attract a single federal project to Ekiti.
At home, he continued clamping down on the prominent members of the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers, threatening to depose their arrowhead, the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, highly respected Oba Rufus Adejugbe. It took the intervention of the late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi to save the day. Fayemi was ready to carry out his threat of deposition. Adejugbe’s main offence according to Fayemi’s close associates was that Kabiyesi was gathering traditional support, along other Yoruba Obas for the impending presidential project of the former Lagos Governor then. A move seen in their caucus as anti-Fayemi presidential wishful thinking.
As momentum gathered, Fayemi left no stone unturned in persecuting anyone linked with Tinubu’s project in Ekiti. Followers of political happenings in Ekiti saw the humiliation suffered by members of the South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA) in this regard. While many of its members were physically attacked by tugs loyal to Fayemi, the National Coordinator, Prince Dayo Adeyeye was not spared. The judicial abracadabra that ousted Adeyeye from the 9th Senate was the biggest straw.
For Opeyemi Bamidele, the current senator representing Ekiti Central, the story was not different. The June 1, 2018 gunshot incident that nearly claimed his life meant nothing to Fayemi. It took last minute intervention from outside Ekiti to prevent JKF from denying his one-time good friend the senate ticket. It is on record how Fayemi unleashed media attacks on Bamidele in attempt to discredit him from going to the senate. Again, The senatorial primary election between Bamidele and Senator Raji Razaki was strangely conducted three times courtesy of Fayemi’s scheming.
Fayemi eventually gave up when Bamidele won on the three occasions. It is also interesting that These are certain revealing details that Fayemi’s battle against Tinubu’s presidential ambition and anyone close to him started long time ago.
Similarly, former House of Representatives Member, Bimbo Daramola who served as DG Fayemi Campaign in 2014 was served a portion of Fayemi’s vindictiveness. Today, Daramola and Fayemi are sworn political enemies who don’t see eyeball to eyeball despite the roles played by the congressman in the failed “Koduro soke” campaign movement. The list is endless, including that of Hon. Femi Bamisinle who was once a close ally of Fayemi but saw JKF’s other side for aspiring to become a governor of his home state. The story behind Bamisinle’s current second term ticket in the House of Representatives against Fayemi’s wish is better saved for another day.
At the national level, Fayemi lived to the billing of his anti-Tinubu co-travellers. He joined forces with others as the chair of NGF to remove Comrade Adams Oshiomole (now Senator-elect) from office as National Chairman of APC. As opportunistic as usual, Fayemi with no political base anywhere in Nigeria including southwest felt he could benefit from Oshiomole’s removal from office.
Under Fayemi administration between 2018 to 2022, everything revolved around him and his wife Bisi. No State Commissioner or Local Government Chairman could award project to the tune of One hundred thousand naira (N100,000). Everything stopped on his table in those four years. Is it not laughable for such a man to square up with a man of Tinubu’s political stature? Tinubu who has raised leaders, changed destinies and built bridges across local and international boundaries.
Fayemi didn’t only team up with the Aso Rock cabal to stop Tinubu. He held meetings with Atiku Abubakar of PDP and Peter Obi of LP in the middle of the fuel and naira scarcity of January and February this year. At a point, he positioned himself as a running mate to Ahmed Lawan, another card desperately played by the cabal.
In a meeting, Fayemi boasted that a king maker doesn’t become king. (Referring to Asiwaju). In another, he remarked that presidency is not a birthright of anyone, including that of the President-elect.
With support of the likes of Niyi Adebayo, Fayemi was encouraged to continue nursing his dead-on-arrival presidential ambition. Part of the reasons Adebayo refused to mount campaign podium with Asiwaju when he came to Ekiti on February 3rd, after he was dragged to the rally from Abuja. Adebayo and Fayemi dodged all campaign meetings in Ekiti and southwest for Tinubu. But they are always in the forefront anytime President Muhammadu Buhari visits locations in Yoruba land.
More unfortunate was the humongous amount of state resources wasted on Fayemi’s presidential project. He relocated to Abuja and left Ekiti in the hands of sickly old Pa Bisi Egbeyemi putting development on a standstill. The late deputy could only attend to courtesy calls and occasional condolence visits as approved by Fayemi from Abuja. Sadly, Ekiti remained in limbo for the second half of Fayemi’s administration because of the distraction of Aso Rock.
Now, Fayemi a child of entertainment is at it again. He’s scheming up and down to make the cabinet list of the President-elect, the same man he fought tooth and nail in the last five years. He’s currently jumping from Emirs to senior chieftains of APC to convince Asiwaju on his behalf. Fayemi is dying to serve as minister of foreign affairs as if his life depends solely on it.
An informed source hinted that he had met Kaduna State Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to convince Asiwaju for him. And a recent report said he’s on the neck of former governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande to clinch the portfolio.
Truth remains that Fayemi has the right to aspire to any position, but he shouldn’t be allowed to reap where he didn’t sow. Besides, his eight years and four years as governor and minister respectively added nothing to Ekiti just like that of Niyi Adebayo who is currently a minister. As minister of Steel and Solid Minerals Fayemi brought nothing to Ekiti just like Adebayo’s four years as minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.
In Nigeria, Fayemi set the record of being the first state governor to commission an uncompleted airport project in history. Till date, no one knows how much he spent on the airport project. His financial administrations are often shrouded in secrecy as demonstrated in the Ekiti State Governor’s Lodge project in Asokoro Abuja, which raised a lot of dusts.
Fayemi is not morally fit to represent Ekiti in any political office again. He couldn’t give account of all the previous opportunities he had. I therefore call on all stakeholders and well-meaning Ekiti sons and daughters to rise against this pseudo-progressive and fake “Friend of Obama” from raising his ugly political head again. This piece is my own candid contribution to the onerous task of drawing attention of the President-elect to Fayemi’s atrocities . Especially those done against his “Renewed Hope Project” and those who worked for its actualisation. More importantly, why Fayemi should be stopped immediately.
ent
By Akin Adegbola
Dr John Kayode Fayemi, former Governor of Ekiti State set an unprecedented political history in Ekiti when he was roundedly defeated by former Governor Ayodele Fayose on June 21, 2014 governorship election in a surprise comeback of Fayose. He lost elections in all the sixteen local governments including his hometown, Ishan Ekiti. This historical low registered a repeat of a similar one suffered by Niyi Adebayo, his godfather during 2003 governorship election in Ekiti.
In the two scenarios, the similarity was the loud rejection of Fayemi and Adebayo by the discerning Ekiti voters. The power of incumbency at their disposal couldn’t save them. While Adebayo was rejected because of his total inexperience and bloated ego of a General’s son, Fayemi naturally lacks the capacity to lead with humility and modesty which are hallmarks of Ekitis.
Adebayo felt he didn’t owe anyone explanations as to how the newly created Ekiti was being run, since the governorship ticket fell on his babyish laps through the influence of his father. On his part, Fayemi didn’t waste time in unleashing harassment against those who paved his way to the government house, a move that later became his greatest undoing.
In most cases, life doesn’t give a second chance, but it presented itself to Fayemi probably to redeem his battered image as he returned to government house in 2018. Expectedly, Fayemi couldn’t shed his leopard’s spots four years after. No sooner had he settled down than he began muscling every perceived political enemy within the Ekiti APC. This, he also demonstrated outside Ekiti against those he felt could stop his future political opportunities.
It is on record how Fayemi ran an exclusive government blocking inputs of other leaders from the party. A repeat of what led to his waterloo in 2014 played out again, in the likeness of the proverbial dog destined to get lost and will never listen to the whistle of the hunter.
This time around, Fayemi took a step further in his political opportunism by swallowing line, hook and sinker the dummy presidential package sold to him by the cabal in Buhari’s presidential villa.
He rose arrogantly against the presidential project of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is today by the grace of God the President-elect. Fayemi positioned himself as one of the biggest hurdles Asiwaju needed to cross before emerging victorious. He fought Asiwaju in all fronts; both at home and in Abuja using his chairmanship of Nigeria Governors’ Forum as a platform. A position he couldn’t use to attract a single federal project to Ekiti.
At home, he continued clamping down on the prominent members of the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers, threatening to depose their arrowhead, the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, highly respected Oba Rufus Adejugbe. It took the intervention of the late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi to save the day. Fayemi was ready to carry out his threat of deposition. Adejugbe’s main offence according to Fayemi’s close associates was that Kabiyesi was gathering traditional support, along other Yoruba Obas for the impending presidential project of the former Lagos Governor then. A move seen in their caucus as anti-Fayemi presidential wishful thinking.
As momentum gathered, Fayemi left no stone unturned in persecuting anyone linked with Tinubu’s project in Ekiti. Followers of political happenings in Ekiti saw the humiliation suffered by members of the South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA) in this regard. While many of its members were physically attacked by tugs loyal to Fayemi, the National Coordinator, Prince Dayo Adeyeye was not spared. The judicial abracadabra that ousted Adeyeye from the 9th Senate was the biggest straw.
For Opeyemi Bamidele, the current senator representing Ekiti Central, the story was not different. The June 1, 2018 gunshot incident that nearly claimed his life meant nothing to Fayemi. It took last minute intervention from outside Ekiti to prevent JKF from denying his one-time good friend the senate ticket. It is on record how Fayemi unleashed media attacks on Bamidele in attempt to discredit him from going to the senate. Again, The senatorial primary election between Bamidele and Senator Raji Razaki was strangely conducted three times courtesy of Fayemi’s scheming.
Fayemi eventually gave up when Bamidele won on the three occasions. It is also interesting that These are certain revealing details that Fayemi’s battle against Tinubu’s presidential ambition and anyone close to him started long time ago.
Similarly, former House of Representatives Member, Bimbo Daramola who served as DG Fayemi Campaign in 2014 was served a portion of Fayemi’s vindictiveness. Today, Daramola and Fayemi are sworn political enemies who don’t see eyeball to eyeball despite the roles played by the congressman in the failed “Koduro soke” campaign movement. The list is endless, including that of Hon. Femi Bamisinle who was once a close ally of Fayemi but saw JKF’s other side for aspiring to become a governor of his home state. The story behind Bamisinle’s current second term ticket in the House of Representatives against Fayemi’s wish is better saved for another day.
At the national level, Fayemi lived to the billing of his anti-Tinubu co-travellers. He joined forces with others as the chair of NGF to remove Comrade Adams Oshiomole (now Senator-elect) from office as National Chairman of APC. As opportunistic as usual, Fayemi with no political base anywhere in Nigeria including southwest felt he could benefit from Oshiomole’s removal from office.
Under Fayemi administration between 2018 to 2022, everything revolved around him and his wife Bisi. No State Commissioner or Local Government Chairman could award project to the tune of One hundred thousand naira (N100,000). Everything stopped on his table in those four years. Is it not laughable for such a man to square up with a man of Tinubu’s political stature? Tinubu who has raised leaders, changed destinies and built bridges across local and international boundaries.
Fayemi didn’t only team up with the Aso Rock cabal to stop Tinubu. He held meetings with Atiku Abubakar of PDP and Peter Obi of LP in the middle of the fuel and naira scarcity of January and February this year. At a point, he positioned himself as a running mate to Ahmed Lawan, another card desperately played by the cabal.
In a meeting, Fayemi boasted that a king maker doesn’t become king. (Referring to Asiwaju). In another, he remarked that presidency is not a birthright of anyone, including that of the President-elect.
With support of the likes of Niyi Adebayo, Fayemi was encouraged to continue nursing his dead-on-arrival presidential ambition. Part of the reasons Adebayo refused to mount campaign podium with Asiwaju when he came to Ekiti on February 3rd, after he was dragged to the rally from Abuja. Adebayo and Fayemi dodged all campaign meetings in Ekiti and southwest for Tinubu. But they are always in the forefront anytime President Muhammadu Buhari visits locations in Yoruba land.
More unfortunate was the humongous amount of state resources wasted on Fayemi’s presidential project. He relocated to Abuja and left Ekiti in the hands of sickly old Pa Bisi Egbeyemi putting development on a standstill. The late deputy could only attend to courtesy calls and occasional condolence visits as approved by Fayemi from Abuja. Sadly, Ekiti remained in limbo for the second half of Fayemi’s administration because of the distraction of Aso Rock.
Now, Fayemi a child of entertainment is at it again. He’s scheming up and down to make the cabinet list of the President-elect, the same man he fought tooth and nail in the last five years. He’s currently jumping from Emirs to senior chieftains of APC to convince Asiwaju on his behalf. Fayemi is dying to serve as minister of foreign affairs as if his life depends solely on it.
An informed source hinted that he had met Kaduna State Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to convince Asiwaju for him. And a recent report said he’s on the neck of former governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande to clinch the portfolio.
Truth remains that Fayemi has the right to aspire to any position, but he shouldn’t be allowed to reap where he didn’t sow. Besides, his eight years and four years as governor and minister respectively added nothing to Ekiti just like that of Niyi Adebayo who is currently a minister. As minister of Steel and Solid Minerals Fayemi brought nothing to Ekiti just like Adebayo’s four years as minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.
In Nigeria, Fayemi set the record of being the first state governor to commission an uncompleted airport project in history. Till date, no one knows how much he spent on the airport project. His financial administrations are often shrouded in secrecy as demonstrated in the Ekiti State Governor’s Lodge project in Asokoro Abuja, which raised a lot of dusts.
Fayemi is not morally fit to represent Ekiti in any political office again. He couldn’t give account of all the previous opportunities he had. I therefore call on all stakeholders and well-meaning Ekiti sons and daughters to rise against this pseudo-progressive and fake “Friend of Obama” from raising his ugly political head again. This piece is my own candid contribution to the onerous task of drawing attention of the President-elect to Fayemi’s atrocities . Especially those done against his “Renewed Hope Project” and those who worked for its actualisation. More importantly, why Fayemi should be stopped immediately.
