From Tajudeen Kareem
He is deep in the theory, practice and
philosophy of the Islamic religion. Now I can bet that he would be
laughing at the antics of his detractors or those who choose to play
politics with the plan of the creator. His attitude, I dare assume, is
premised on the words of Allah in the Holy Quran, Surah 3,189: And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and Allah has power over all things.
So, if I may ask: Who is afraid of
Barrister Adulraheem Adebayo Shittu, the minister-nominee from Oyo
State? No matter their grievances, one million petitioners cannot stop
him from becoming a Minister. And to quote my late god-father, Alhaji
Arisekola Alao, one billion petitions cannot stop whomsoever Almighty
Allah wants to make a King.
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| Adebayo Shittu |
In all their grievances and petitions,
no one has said that Shittu is not qualified. They cannot accuse him of
being a fraudulent person, an incompetent lawyer, a womanizer or
drunkard. All they have said is that he does not belong to the
mainstream of the All Progressives Congress, APC. And that he is not the
choice of the powers-that-are in Oyo State.
Laughable as their allegations may be,
the story of Shittu should be a point of reference to many, whose
political antecedents are muddled in political prostitution and
inconsistency; a reproach some of his detractors may not get away from
till their last breath.
From all indications, way back from his
foray into politics when he was elected as a member of the Oyo State
House of Assembly in 1979, Shittu, a man who had been commissioner in
the state with records of performance trailing his stewardship, cannot
now at this point be vilified as half-hearted party man. Whatever
misgivings anyone may have, Barrister Shittu is one politician with
conscience, strength of character and a man of principle.
Adebayo Shittu sought to be governor of
Oyo State in 2011 on the platform of the now defunct Congress for
Progressive Change, one of the parties that fused into the current APC,
which by the grace of God is now the governing party in the country.
As one of those parties in the trenches
to wrest power from the Peoples Democratic Party, the ministerial
nominee from Oyo State, on the counsel of his principal, and now the
Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, jettisoned his personal ambition
to pursue the overall goal of the new party in the build up to the last
general election by throwing his weight behind the APC-led government of
Governor Isiaka Abiola Ajimobi.
Himself not being a political neophyte,
his people in Oke Ogun, which is the second largest division in Oyo
State, after Ibadan, voted overwhelmingly for the success of his party,
the APC; both at the presidential and governorship polls. How then can the intrigues of haters be dispatched to the refuse bin?
If the mantra of change is anchored on
recovery of the nation’s values and abolition of corruption and its
tendencies, and also to shift from the injustice of the past and
establish an equitable order, then, Barr. Shittu stands eminently
qualified for the new assignment ahead of him.
Rather than attacking his nomination,
one would expect that the leadership of the APC in Oyo State, and indeed
all other stakeholders in the political affairs of the state, should
applaud the choice of President Buhari in seeing through the spectrum of
the state to bring up a committed party man for the slot in the mold of
Barrister Shittu.
The Oke-Ogun Division of Oyo State has
complained of marginalization at different times, being one of the zones
that had been denied the opportunity to produce a minister since the
commencement of this democratic chain. They have voiced out their displeasure on how political posts often eluded them and with pleas that the imbalanced be redressed.
The late Alhaji Adekunle Aruna Elewi,
from Oyo Division, served as Minister between 1999 and 2003. Thereafter,
Prof. Taoheed Adedoja and Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide have served as
Ministers. They are both of Ibadan extraction. The choice of an Oke-Ogun
man this time by President Buhari should be situated in the right
perspective. Firstly, his selection by the President should be seen as a
reward for political consistency and loyalty to the vision of his
principal.
In this clime, and examples abound
everywhere, that only few politicians have that loyalty and patience to
stand with their principals through the thick and thin of the difficult
past and uncertain political future as Barrister Shittu. His elevation
should be a unifying factor for the people of Oyo State and be embraced
as one justice done the once politically marginalized people of the Oyo
north district.
In his choice, the scope of governance
has been widened in the state. Hopefully, this will assuage the seeming
disparity and neglect suffered by the Oke-Ogun people in the scheme of
federal appointments.
Gongnews
