Posted by By BIYI ADEGOROYE on
Professor of Jurisprudence and pioneer Vice Chancellor of the University of Ado Ekiti, Prof. Akin Oyebode, has revealed that he once warned slain PDP governorship aspirant in Ekiti, Dr. Adedeji Daramola, to steer clear of the state's bloody politics.
Professor of Jurisprudence and pioneer Vice Chancellor of the University of Ado Ekiti, Prof. Akin Oyebode, has revealed that he once warned slain PDP governorship aspirant in Ekiti, Dr. Adedeji Daramola, to steer clear of the state's bloody politics.
Oyebode, who claimed he was one of the recipients of a threat text message from a ‘Killer Squad' a couple of months ago, told Saturday Sun during the week that he sounded the warning to Daramola about six weeks before his assassination.
'He visited me here (University of Lagos) sometime ago. I think about six weeks ago, and I warned him not to run. I told him the situation was too cloudy and I advised him to keep his political machinery intact and wait for an opportune time."
Oyebode said that he knew Daramola was not cut out for the kind of politics prevalent in Ekiti State. 'It is a kind of roforofo politics. I told him of the ‘killer squad'. But some people must have advised him to the contrary, hence he went ahead," he said.
Describing the killing as most dastardly and unfortunate, Oyebode said the latest development vindicated him and other indigenes of the state who were allegedly marked for killing via a text message sometime ago. He urged those who thought the text message was a hoax should now have a rethink.
Most worrisome to him was the failure of law enforcement agents to rise to the situation.
'I understand Daramola even sought police protection before his murder. But it was turned down, or at least ‘yet to be approved' before this incident. You know that was what happened in my case. I wrote to the IGP, the President and even the CPs of Lagos and Ekiti States, but nothing happened. They even lacked the courtesy to acknowledge the receipt of my letters."
Since the murder, the whole scenario and its implications on the political development in the state have been a source of concern among all Ekiti indigenes in the Diaspora, he said. 'You see, it is a source of concern to all Ekiti indigenes in the Diaspora. That is one issue a group called Ekiti panupo which I chair on the Internet has been discussing in the past few days."
As at Thursday afternoon, over 124 indigenes of Ekiti in Europe and America had visited the site and sent in memorials on the death. The site also contained the biography of the deceased.
Brawn and mafia take over
Oyebode lamented that the trend in Ekiti smacks of desperation for power in a pattern slightly akin to the Mafioso where the Capons hold sway in Italy. 'Certain people are desperate for power and they will stop at nothing to ensure their persons or geographical areas retain power. That is why they are going for the broke. They have made it a do-or-die affair as if there is no tomorrow."
He stated that most of the politicians have forgotten that politics is a matter of choice.
Describing it as a dangerous omen, Oyebode said the seeming reign of the Mafia could spell evil not only for Ekiti but the whole Southwest. 'Ekiti has tasted violence in the past, especially in the 1960s. Three weeks ago, it was Lagos, now it is Ekiti and this latest scenario, if not controlled, might be the beginning of a real debacle that could spread through the entire Southwest."
‘Anti-intellectual stance'
On why gangsters should allegedly call the shots in Ekiti - a state which parades thousands of intellectuals - Oyebode said there is an ‘anti-intellectual stance' in the state in particular and the political terrain in general. The goal, he said, was to scare the intellectuals from politics so that the political class can perpetuate themselves in office.
According to him, people are not ruled by ideology any longer, rather, they are governed by primordial interest, 'and that is the worry of some of us."
Speaking on Governor Ayo Fayose, Oyebode described him as an amiable person who has shown deep commitment to poverty alleviation in the state, going by what he saw as the pioneer vice chancellor of the University of Ado Ekiti. 'And from all indications, some individuals who have benefited or are still benefiting from this are afraid of a change in the status quo."