Pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere has lampooned Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola after the governor was quoted as saying that the group’s support for President Goodluck Jonathan was a betrayal of the Yoruba people and was induced by corrupt money.
Reacting to the allegations via a statement issued on Wednesday, February 25, 2015, the National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin accused Governor Fashola of being a slave of the “Lion of Bourdillon” – apparently referring to National Leader if the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu – for eight years.
Odumakin also accused Governor Fashola of over inflating several contracts so as to favour those with whom his loyalty lay.
Read the full statement below:
The attention of Afenifere has been drawn to the rude remarks by Lagos state governor,Mr Babatunde Fashola that Yoruba leaders support for President Jonathan is a “betrayal ” borne out of “blood money”.
There comes a time when a child asks that we tell him his pertinent history and that is exactly what the spineless governor enslaved by the “Lion of Bourdillon” for eight years whose manhood is now rising against those more honorable than him has just asked for.
An unknown entity in the affairs of Yoruba nation before Tinubu hand -picked him to continue the raiding of Lagos, Fashola betrayed his crass ignorance by turning history upside down when he said Hubert Ogunde’s “Yoruba Ronu” was against the principled commitment to the Youruba quest for autonomy which the support for Jonathan bold move to restructure Nigeria symbolizes.
The truth is that Ogunde waxed that song against the precursors of Fashola’s godfather and his co-travelers mission to sell Yoruba to internal colonialists who want to perpetually enslave the Yoruba and other nationalities under their feudal hegemony.
These career looters (the Owoboriomos) have been blinded by their obscene loot to place their empire building to be of more importance under a fluke “change ” than the well being of millions of our people agonizing in a cage the unitary arrangement in Nigeria has put them.
Before Fashola can run his mouth against those who have been at the vanguard of the battle for federalism in Nigeria before he was born,we ask him to publicly declare his assets today against the Mercedez Benz 200 flat boot and Sagem handset which he brought to Alausa when Tinubu appointed him as Chief of staff in 2002.
It is widely known that the song his godfather has been singing since 2010 when he floated the “True Face of Lagos” against him is “mo ti ri ole to mo ole ja ju ole lo”(I’ve seen the one who steals better than the one they call the thief).
The joke in Alausa is that where Tinubu used wheel barrow,Fashola is using pay loader!
While His Excellency takes his time to give us his declaration we need to restate some of the public knowledge of what he had done with about N4trillion that has accrued to Lagos under his stewardship.
While there is a lot of media wash deodorizing the stench in Lagos as “performance”,the truth is that Lagos under Fashola is a failed project .Beyond the planting of flowers and Christmas lights at scandalous prices,the tell tales of Lagos are pot hole roads,pupils sitting on bare floor in schools, absence of potable water for most of residents,perennial strikes by doctors,poor conditions of service for workers and war against the poor.
The hallmark of Fashola style of governance has been overinflated contracts which explains why costs of projects are not officially disclosed,There is a law by Fashola gagging all officials of the state except from the information commissioner from speaking to the press.The FOI request on how much Fashola pays Alpha Beta Consulting from Lagos revenue monthly has yet to be answered.
The IKoyi-Lekki bridge built by Fashola has been rated as the most expensive in the entire world added to the many bare-faced looting documented by the “True Face of Lagos” which he used some judicial shenanigans to shield himself from accountability.
Fashola has yet to respond to the scandal of the metal scraps he went to pick from Canada which he is passing off to Lagosians as light rail in multi-billion Naira scam.
It is understandable that people like Fashola who have prospered in inequity at the expense of our people will defend the status -quo that has taken away the status of our people and call it “change”.
Yoruba people will show them on March 28 and April 11 that the education Awolowo gave them which the Tinubu-Fashola generations are taking away is sufficient to shield them from the deception of the neo-Afonjas and their Assembly.
We stand by our decision that Yoruba will realize their aspirations for accelerated development in a restructured Nigeria and should vote Goodluck Jonathan who is committed to the implementation of the 2014 National Conference report .
We however have nothing against those who want to follow those who lied that the conference did not address the Yoruba agenda and are supporting those whose quest for domination would have been the reason for the blocking of our quest for freedom if we had not used all the skills at our disposal to turn the tide against them at the Confab.
We urge our people to peacefully cause an electoral revolution in the coming elections so as to assert our civilization and put the entire Nigeria on a new path of development via Federalism.
There should be no room for violence of any sort which would naturally be the desire for those who cannot convince the Yoruba against their best interest and are threading “slippery ground.”
Our ancestors will not let them pass and they will not succeed in spilling the blood of anybody.
