In the Yoruba style of nomenclature, the
traditional beliefs of the people are reflected as prefixes to the names of the
offsprings of that family line. In the Sango worshippers’lineage, you are likely
going to hear names like ‘Sangodapo’, ‘Sangotoye’, ‘Sangotoro’and other
‘Sango-prefixed’names. This is a means of naming offsprings such that they may
be identified with the deities the family line worship. So, when one begins to
hear ‘Fasola’, ‘Fanibe’, ‘Fayose’ and ‘Fayemi’, one will be right to conclude
that these persons are of an Ifa-worshipping lineage.
It is such amusing coincidence that the
‘Fountain of Knowledge’State (Ekiti) has been under the rule of the
Fa-something people of the State. Unarguably so, the advent of Christianity has
made it such that both of these Fa-something Governor and Ex-Governor are not
active worshippers of the Ifa deity, but yet, their names clearly associate
them with something very familiar with the Yoruba traditional worshippers – the
Ifa deity.
Over the years however, it has been
evident that certain moral traits are often passed down the family line of Ifa
worshippers. In my little interactions with them, I have come to discover that
dedicated Ifa worshippers take lying, corruption of any kind and other
anti-social behaviours as being abominations in Ifa worship. They fear the
deities so much that they cannot afford to go against these honest standards
that their beliefs has set. It is on this premise that I believe Ekiti people
were lucky to have had ‘Fayemi’as their Governor for four years running from
2010 till 2014. He should by my thinking, have inherited certain traits of
uprightness from his forefathers that made them devout followers of the Ifa
deity.
It is logically correct to conclude
thence, that if he were to be found upright, honest, accountable and
people-oriented as his forefathers would have been, it would have been a moral
compulsion for Ekiti people to give Fayemi their mandate for another four
years. Alas, shocked was I when the results of the 2014 gubernatorial election
in Ekiti State was released and ‘Fayose’became the choice of the people. It was
another ‘Fa-something’ person, another one in the lineage of the
Ifa-worshipping forefathers who is supposed to live by high moral standards.
As an aftermath of the result declaring
Fayose as the Governor-elect of Ekiti State, various questions started running
through my mind. If Fayemi had been as honest as he was expected to be inter-alia and has been portrayed to be
by the media, why did Ekiti people overwhelmingly bundle him out in a
more-than-landslide manner? If he performed excellently as being touted by his
aides and admirers, why was he rejected at the polls? Was he also a
propagandist as are most of his colleagues who perform excellently well only on
the faces of newspapers? Did Fayemi take for granted, the confidence that was
reposed in him by the Ekiti people? Whatever might be the answer to these
questions, something definitely went wrong between Fayemi and the people he
claimed to serve.
Where Fayose is concerned, I asked
myself, if he is truly a ‘bad egg’ as he has been continually painted in media
reports, why did Ekiti people so willingly give him their mandate? If he was so
loved by the people prior to the last elections in Ekiti State, why was he
detested around the year 2007? Was he truly victimized as he claimed? If people
could so quickly go from praise-singing Fayemi to condemning him and then
praise-singing Fayose, could it be said that Ekiti people are weak of heart and
are nomadic in thinking? Is Fayose who had earlier been called a ‘thug’ in the
judgement of Ekiti people, of a higher moral standing than Fayemi who was
earlier seen as the people’s messiah?
I wish I could have access to the minds
of majority of Ekiti people and seek answers to these questions that have not
stopped running through my mind since the election of Fayose was concluded. I
will ask them, what yardstick did you use to condemn Fayose earlier, praise Fayemi
after, then back to hero-treating Fayose? Is it that the decisions Ekiti people
have been taking collectively has not been a factor of the personalities of
these two men, but a reflection of the weakness of heart of Ekiti people?
Whatever may be the answers to these
questions, there are lessons to learn for the Fa-somethings and the general
public. For one, Ekiti people have shown us, that a man once celebrated can go
from grace to grass in the twinkle of an eye, for the slightest of reasons. They
have also shown the world, that no politician can claim to eternally enjoy the
goodwill of a certain people without having to constantly do check and balances
to see if he still enjoys that support. Ekiti people like the teachers of old
have given us all a lesson in loyalty and flexibility.
Former Governor Fayemi needs to return
to his study, reflect on his four-year reign as the Governor of the State,
check for the areas where he lost touch and make amends. Just like Fayose, he
can return to the minds of Ekiti people, given their evident light-heartedness
and nomadic nature. He must seek to reconnect with the people from whom he has
been disconnected in principle and re-establish his support base even if he has
to go by ‘stomach infrastructure’. He must also check his moral standing and
confirm if he has not swayed from the upright personality that he was taken
for; see if he has missed the track of honesty which he was perceived to be
following earlier.
Governor Fayose on his end has a greater
responsibility on his shoulders. He first must justify the overwhelming
confidence that Ekiti people reposed in him at the polls by catering for them
politically, economically, infrastructurally, educationally and what have you.
He cannot afford to rule Ekiti State with the controversial attitude that most
of his political adversaries have claimed he possesses. He must look after the
welfare of the Ekiti people with passion, they must not suffer injustice under
his government; corruption must be eradicated in his government and he must
live up to the expectations of these ever-changing people of Ekiti State.
Yorubas will say, ‘agba to jin si koto, o ko ara yoku logbon’, meaning an elder who
falls into a pit is an example to other people. Fayemi is an example to Fayose,
that as easily as people ascend to grace, falling from grace is far easier.
Because it is evident that there are certain things that people of Ekiti State
desire but were lacking in Fayemi, Fayose must quickly identify those needs and
promptly attend to them lest he be flogged with the same whip that Fayemi
received merciless strokes of.
Between the Fa-something that fell from
grace and the Fa-something who climbed back to grace, there seems to be a thin
line – the desire of Ekiti people to have a government that caters for their
needs wholly without any reckless abandon. This Fayemi must identify to make
amends and Fayose must reference to retain the support. This is inevitable.
ODERINU
ADEDAYO
ibuckresources@gmail.com
