The Oba’s………by Gbenga Taylor

Have always known that Oba of Lagos will at a point run into trouble waters with his somewhat but obvious level of partisanship and meddlesomeness in the politics of Lagos State. Oba Rilwan did not hide his preference for the APC candidate – the very preference he’s entitled to because he has the right of choice and the right to choose. Howbeit and by the virtue of the sensitive position the Oba occupies in the scheme of things, he ought to have shown some restraints in the way he canvases for any candidate (of his choice). The Oba ought to have taken instruction from and be wisely guided by the way Chief Olusegun Obasanjo went about and still go about campaigning for and against some individuals. OBJ’s wit and brawn should have been copied and exemplified by the Oba of Lagos.

The throne and the palace would have saved itself and the Yoruba people of Lagos this avoidable but rancorous situation as we now have it. However and as my people will always say, let us first chase away the ‘wild cat’ and later come home to deal with the ‘chicken’. The King (wild cat) has gotten enough bashing for the comment credited to him. Methinks we should not denigrate that exalted throne and undermine the scared position of the palace because of the (in)actions of the King. Suffice to note that the Oba is human and he’s susceptible to human frailty and failings just like every other person.

Let the King be henceforth be cautious lest he and by his utterances render his person and the palace worthless and ignoble. And now to the Chicken – in this case, the PDP, its governorship candidate (Jimi Agbaje) and the ever industrious and resourceful Igbo. Playing petty politics and evoking tribal sentiments to advance political cause and candidates will and cannot help both in the immediate and the long run. The out-going President (Goodluck Jonathan) paid heavily for this and everyone should be guided by the lesson thereof.

To Uncle Jimi Agbaje, my question to you is that: would you rather want to be a governor of and to set and section of people who though are well entrenched and rooted among your (own) people but in reality are foreigners and strangers in the land? Your inactions – that allow some tribal bigots and political zealots – to use your political aspiration and quest for governorship to reinforce that somewhat warped thinking and statement that ‘Lagos is no man’s land’ are somewhat unfortunate and disturbing. Permit me to say that though this political scheme and tribal sentiment may seem to be helping you or whoever in the immediate, it is but a fleeting and very transient euphoria which will soon fade out but the backlash will be so heavy on you and the now battered and tattered political platform you now stand. It will go down in record that at some point in the history of the Yorubas and particularly in Lagos, the son of the soil gang up together with some foreigners to denigrate the throne and extol visitors more and at the expense of his own people? Just consider the scenarios where and when you either win or lose this guber race.

I’ll end this piece by one Yoruba adage: A ki ta ara ile eni lopo ka tun wa pada ra ni owon (You don’t make a cheap posturing of your own people and heritage and later seek to have it/them back with high price and pride). And let me add one more to this: Eni to ko ebi e sile, nise lo Fi apo iya koo (He who neglects his own immediate household and people of his lineage in lieu of visitors/outsiders is unwittingly setting himself up for future suffering and further ridicule to be unleashed on him at yet a later date/day).