Oh no, the heading is not a mistake. I am not one to put pen to paper and hide under some excuses of mis-writing. I am not even a politician – I am just a citizen, an ordinary citizen of Oyo State. Permit me to begin this write-up with a little expose.
I have always held my father in high esteem. He is one man I look up to. I envy him. I love his playful, yet down-to-earth attitude. He is till date one of the few honest men I know. Every time I say a single lie, I would wonder how my father found it so easy to always tell the truth. He would joke with you, laugh with you but when the time for some real talk arrives, he would never mince his words. Of course, he is a pastor. He is the pastor of a church in Oyo State.
I could remember some years back when my younger brother just wrote JAMB. He passed the exam, and since he chose LAUTECH, we all begged my father to place calls to some of his friends so admission could be sure. He didn’t! I was shocked and angry. ‘Why won’t he?’ I had muttered to myself. He told us in plain terms: ‘If God wants Lautech to give him an admission, Lautech will’. Sadly, the admission did not come through and the next year when he wrote the exam again, and we went to him with the same plea, he told us the same thing. He is that honest, even to the face of family denial.
Of course, he has few friends. If my father tells you he vouches for someone, to the people around him, that was like a 101% pass mark for the person. He has his principles and criteria with which he judges people. Everyone knows better than to doubt whatever he says about a personality.
With this, you can imagine my surprise weeks ago when he called me and in clear terms told me that, though his ministerial calling doesn’t permit him to campaign for any aspirant, but that in the forthcoming gubernatorial election, he would vote Alao Akala, and he told me to see reasons with him and do likewise. I was marvelled.
However, my ‘marvelling’ was short-lived. Why? It is so simple! Who wouldn’t vote Akala? I could remember how things went smoothly during his 2007 – 2011 tenure. The many infrastructural reforms that Oyo State witnessed are still visible till date. That’s not all, what have we to say to the fact that both all and sundry claim things were pretty easy to get then? Money was easy to come by. The opportunities were there for the youths. Everyone had a direction! Of a truth, one could plan one’s life then and trust in the government not to thwart the plans. I know businesses that sprang up during that tenure.
I am not a politician, at least not yet. And this is not even a campaign. This is merely a revelation of facts. The records are there to speak. Take me on my word: take a little trip to any market square in Oyo State. Don’t even go to the stall of the richest person there. Question an ordinary market woman who witnessed the era of Alao Akala. I have done that. The result is convincing enough. Akala wasn’t just a governor; he was a grassroots governor. This differentiates him from others. The experience is there. The leadership capacity is there. The pity for the masses is there. The sheer expertise at handling situations is there.
As I said, this is not a campaign. I have only shared facts. Come 2019, my household and I will vote Alao Akala; not because my father said so but because facts speak. The onus lies on us the citizens of Oyo State. Now we have the chance to choose our destinies. There are so many enemies for Akala and he is bound to feel down sometimes (he is only human, afterall). But whenever he feels down, it is our duty to fire him on. Alao Akala must be fired on! We must not relent. The future is today. Let’s do this, Oyo State. Just as my father, I vouch for Otunba Alao Akala.
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Dayo Adesina writes from Ibadan, Oyo State via dpadesina@gmail.com
