By Abiola Olawale
An O’odua activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Igboho on Tuesday denied ever meeting a former Governor of Lagos state, and one of the national leaders of the All Progressives Congress(APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the 2009 governorship rerun in Ekiti state.
On Monday, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Political Matters had in a piece entitled: ‘The Sunday Igboho I Knew’ said Igboho was allegedly contracted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to disrupt the 2009 Ekiti state governorship rerun before Tinubu made overtures to him, hence bought him over.
Senator Ojudu, is a highly respected Nigerian professional of the pen profession, activist, writer and a former Senator from Ekiti State was one of those who championed the battle for the restoration of democracy and constitutional government in Nigeria in 1999.
The New Diplomat recalls the governoship rerun was between the PDP’s candidate Segun Oni; and Kayode Fayemi, candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), controlled then by Tinubu, who is now one of the national leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The re-run between Oni and Fayemi followed an Appeal Court ruling which had ordered that the two candidates should go head-to-head again in a number of polling units in Ekiti to determine a clear winner in the keenly contested guber poll.
But Igboho who reacted to a Facebook post by Ojudu in an interview with Dele momodu, a Nigerian journalist and the Chief Executive Officer of Ovation International refuted meeting Tinubu over the 2009 Ekiti rerun as the presidential had said.
Ojudu in the piece wrote in parts that “The biggest headache for us then was Sunday Igboho who we learnt has been hired and paid by a Senator from Osun to come and cause mayhem in Ekiti. Tinubu instructed we must get him at all cost. Six days to the election we began our search for him. Eventually we met someone who had his number. I put a call through to him and he agreed to meet with me in Ibadan..
“Tinubu went on and on lecturing him on the beauty of democracy and unencumbered electoral process. By the time Tinubu finished with him, he became sober and contrite. ‘Baba, he said, I have heard you and I am pleased with what you have said. Whatever you want me to do I will do even though I have collected money from the other side.”
However, Igboho dissociated himself from the account. He also requested the former Senator to substantiate the allegations with evidence, claiming that he has never met with the former Senator before now.
He also said he never collected money from Tinubu over the 2009 Ekiti rerun as Ojudu’s account suggested.
In Igboho’s words: “I have been hearing reports about a man called Femi Ojodu. I don’t know this man. Ojodu mentioned Ahmed Tinubu in the piece, you can go and ask him about the election. I have only worked for two people; the late Lamidi Adesina and Rashidi Ladoja.
“I have never worked for Adedibu. Adedibu died in 2008 and Ojudu said the same Adedibu asked me to go to Ekiti in 2009… Late Chief Adedibu did not train me for any job and I was not close to the late Adedibu. Politicians are trying to penetrate the Yoruba struggle. You can kill the messenger but you cannot kill the message. I don’t know any Ojudu and if he is sure that I met him in a hotel, let him swear by the life of his children.”
Igboho further stated that politicians are trying to spoil his reputation following his recent action against herders’ attacks in the Southwest.
“Politicians are now politicising the herdsmen issue to tarnish my image so as to weaken me. Any politician who knows he paid me money to do all that I am doing should come out openly before the whole world. I was not bankrolled by anyone. My paramount concern is for peace to reign in the land of my forefathers. The Fulani herdsmen have been killing, kidnapping and raping the people but no government came to their rescue until my intervention. I owe the people a duty because I hail from the town, I even have the tribal mark of the people.”
When asked whether he was interested in becoming the leader of the Western Security Network, codenamed ‘Amotekun’ as some Yoruba leaders had projected, Igboho said he’s not after occupying any position. He noted that he started the struggle to stop the daily aggression and act of criminality in Southwest by some bandits who are out to maim and kill in local communities.
However, another account states that there might be more to the issues as regards both narratives-both Igboho and Ojudu’s accounts. A prominent politician told The New Diplomat that some political figures in Ekiti state may also be encouraging Igboho to put out his narrative in the build up to the political intrigues that have emerged in the South-West ahead of the 2023 presidential race in a bid to get at the Tinubu political camp.
So far, Tinubu and Governor of Ekiti state, Dr Kayode Fayemi who are from the South West are believed to be nursing the intention of running for the presidency in 2023. Ojudu, a Presidential adviser as well a former Senator, activist and respected senior journalist is believed to be an ally of Asiwaju Tinubu.
It would be recalled that Igboho has been in the news for the past few days over the 7-day ultimatum he gave to the herders of Ibarapa to vacate the town due to reported cases of killings, kidnapping, raping, allegedly perpetrated by herders.
