Ausubillahi mina shaetani rajeem, Bismillahi Rahman Raheem. Gentlemen of the Press: When the story about the oath-taking first came out, my first instinct was to hide myself given the shame and ridicule that the Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, is trying to put my family to. But following spiritual advice to that effect, I have no choice but to continue with what my conscience had earlier asked me to do, struggle for justice on behalf of my immediate constituency in Ijebu Ode, and Ogun State citizens in general.
Friends, colleagues and people that I don’t even know have been calling me all kinds of names with abuses for taking a fetish oath. Some even went as far as to say I am a desperate politician who wants to remain in office to enjoy the spoils of politics by all means necessary. To such people, I say, forgive me. I am sorry. But you also need to understand where I am coming from and why I did what was reported by Otunba Gbenga Daniel’s newspaper in a manipulative way. I was used, dumped and abused by the same man that is now trying to pin a label of a fetish oath-taker on me.
As a Yoruba, and an Ijebu for that matter, I am not an Omo Ale (bastard). I challenge you journalists here and those of your colleagues in Ogun State to go back and check my past activities as a member of the Ogun State House of Assembly. I was a very vibrant member of the Group of 15 credible legislators who declared through our removal of Hon. Titilayo Oseni as Speaker last year that we’ve had enough of civilian dictatorship in Ogun State. We stood our ground despite physical and spiritual threats to our lives. We were called names. They even said we took money from the former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to effect Oseni’s removal. But to God be the glory that the people of Ogun State and Nigerians interested in the affairs of our state have seen through that falsehood.
Now, back to the issue of Omo Ale. It may surprise you to know that my father is the Chairman of the Ogun East Senatorial District of the Peoples Democratic (PDP). He is a well-respected title holder as Otun Balogun of Ijebuland. Following our action against Oseni last year, pressures were mounted on my father to prevail on me to withdraw my support for the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Tunji Egbetokun. My father knows he has a principled son. His response to Otunba Gbenga Daniel each time such pressure came was that his son is an adult with a family of his own, who is able to take decisions without recourse to him.
However, when the pressures on my father became too much, he became the butt of jokes in party circles. It was as if he could not control his son. Suddenly, a non-existent Ogun East Elders Council was formed by Otunba Gbenga Daniel to usurp the functions of the constitutionally recognised Ogun East Senatorial District Executive headed by my father. Daddy was thoroughly disgraced wherever he went in the state by agents of Otunba Gbenga Daniel. Nevertheless, he did not budge. He left me to decide what is best for my constituency without putting any pressure on me. But the involvement of our royal father, the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, by Otunba Gbenga Daniel, I believe, made my father bend a rule which he imbibed in us from childhood that, once we believe in something we should face it squarely without fear of anyone except Almighty Allah (SWT).
You may want to check past editions of your newspapers to confirm what I am about to say. Somewhere along the line, the G-15 became G-14. This was celebrated in Otunba Gbenga Daniel’s newspaper as well as others without mentioning my name. But I hereby confess I was the one who left the group to pledge allegiance to the Governor following the untold pressure on my dad, especially the need to respect our royal father. The condition of pledging allegiance to Otunba Gbenga Daniel was humiliating, but before the Almighty Allah who created me, I stuck to my guns that unless he also took the same oath, I will refuse to do so.
You might then wonder how the photograph came about. Long before then, especially before the 2007 elections shortly after the party primaries, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, had ensured that most, if not all those seeking elective offices took the oath of allegiance to him. You can ask your colleagues in Ogun State, if they are honest, they will also tell you that there is no Council Chairman that did not take the oath before their elections. But at that time, they know my background and they know such a thing could not be forced on me because the role I’ll play in the election will even be more than all of them combined together. So, I was left alone. But it was my dad they believed will hold me anytime they want.
I sincerely believe Otunba Gbenga Daniel has no honour, no shame, a ritualist and is a completely dishonest sodomist and treacherous individual.
One thing I thank God for in all of these is that the confidence of my colleagues which I betrayed because I do not want to be labelled an Omo Ale has been restored by God Himself. Because how can one explain Otunba Gbenga Daniel’s release of a photograph he took deceitfully? I know he has been angry because he expected I’ll return to the G-15 and begin passing details of our meeting to him. But I refused. The oath I took was to the effect that I will not be among those who will impeach him from office. It did not include spying on my colleagues. Part of the argument was that as an Ijebu, I should not allow the Egba to disgrace our son, Otunba Gbenga Daniel. I agreed after that pressure from my dad. But it was a reluctant decision, which I made as a dutiful Yoruba son to a father who has been everything to me.
In addition, if he feels my principled support for Resolution 167 of the Ogun State House of Assembly along with a credible performance of my oversight function is a basis for this failed attempt to cow me into submission through blackmail, he has got a wrong person at the end his hook. No intimidation, harassment or blackmail of any kind can make me conspire with him in his despicable attempt to plunge our dear state into perpetual bondage.
May God deliver the Gateway State from the gate of hell.
Thank you. And God bless.
Hon. Wale Alausa
(Member, Ijebu Ode State Constituency, Ogun State House of Assembly)
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(Being the text of an address to the press by Hon. Wale Alausa, Member, Ogun State House of Assembly, Ijebu Ode State Constituency, at the International Press Centre, Ogba, Lagos State today, Tuesday, 30 June 2009).
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