These days, in Oyo state, especially, the ruling PDP in the state keeps getting away with blue murder. There seems to be a conspiracy to remain silent by both the main opposition APC and the members of the public over the brazen leprosy of lies that has afflicted the PDP and its government headed by Governor Seyi Makinde. It’s unbelievable that in this Oyo state, in Ibadan in particular, where citizens were thought to be politically savvy and are quite outspoken against anticipated rots in governance let alone rots in realistic stares, naked lies are being thrown around by the PDP over the issues of cooking up satisfactory governmental performances on one hand, and cooking up lies against the opposition APC on the other hand. For all they care, the citizens can look the other way while Seyi Makinde buries governance in the sand of lies. But the APC has both political and oppositional responsibilities to prevent the state from sinking into the ocean of misgovernment being dredged by Seyi Makinde.
Just yesterday, some PDP copy-and-paste publicists made a viral spread of spurious claims from one of its lazy writers of ‘satisfactory’ performances by Seyi Makinde’s inept government. It’s not clear now whether those in charge of the APC media have got hold of the spurious piece and have digested the lies and the misrepresentation of facts therein in readiness for appropriate refutations and reactions. To cite one claim of ‘satisfactory’ performance by Seyi Makinde from the watery piece, it was claimed that Akala Expressway leading to Apata, mischievously alleged to have been abandoned by the government of Senator Abiola Ajimobi, had been constructed and completed by Seyi Makinde! As if that was not blatant enough, Iseyin-Moniya road was also listed among the projects the present government had completed! There are many other unfinished, undone projects that the government had claimed to have completed in the said article.
Yesterday again, the PDP e-incompetents flooded Facebook with videos of incessant shootings from Ondo state, attributing the shootings to be coming from thugs hired by Governor Akeredolu to scare and kill members of the opposition. This deliberate lie was being spread by the members of the PDP in Oyo state to curry pity for Governor Seyi Makinde who has been on futile political trips to Ondo state because of the forthcoming governorship election. It took a piece of breaking news from The Vanguard around midnight yesterday to get the true gist that it was the convoy of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu that was attacked by political thugs believed to be working for the opposition PDP! This concerns Oyo APC because the lies against Governor Akeredolu were being spread by Oyo PDP!
It appears that the APC in Oyo state has become a dog without teeth. Does the party not have a publicity secretary? Isn’t there a media team working to promote the party and give vibrant reactions to government policies and misinformation? What are the divided leaders of the APC in Oyo state doing to oil the party’s media machinery so it can return to media vibrancy? Yes, reconciliation efforts are ongoing in the party and this is commendable. But it is wrong for the leaders to fixate their minds on making reconciliation efforts come to fruition while they open the party’s flanks to character assassination from the government that the party may never recover from. Even when the party gets finally reconciled, don’t the leaders and governorship aspirants think the party tend not to go far in the next round of elections after its image might have been battered to irretrievable shreds?
It’s high time the Oyo APC returned to the drawing board and fashioned a virile and vibrant media reactions and campaigns to promote the values and ideals of the party, to mend what’s remained of its battered image, to mount constructive opposition to the government of Seyi Makinde, to refute lies and misinformation coming from government quarters and to set records of facts and events straight.
If Oyo PDP is not cured of its leprosy of lies, it’s APC that will suffer the debilitating effects of the affliction! If Oyo APC does not kill lethargy, lethargy will kill it! Whichever way it swings, every loss is Oyo APC’s for the asking.
Morufu Smith writes from, the Oyo state capital. He can be reached via almaroof71@gmail.com.
