The Olu of Orile Kemta in Ogun State, Oba Adetokunbo Tejuosho, has described the verbal attack of former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose on erstwhile President Olusegun Obasanjo as unguarded, uncultured and unwarranted.
Recall that Fayose, in a private message to the former president, had described the latter’s comments during his birthday celebration as irresponsible.
Among other vituperations, the former governor also said that Obasanjo was, as some people often claimed, supposed to be kept in a zoo.
Reacting via a statement titled, “A Royal Rebuke to Ayo Fayose”, the monarch said the former governor had merely demonstrated to the world his hollowness and haughtiness “against nothing”.
The statement reads in part, “Mr Fayose, your recent message to our Baba Obasanjo was not courage; it was simply reckless and unguarded noise. It is a confession of your own moral confusion. Like Baba rightly said at the event marking your 65th birthday, there is a total difference between being courageous and being foolhardy.
“That latest action of yours was the restless echo of a man who forgets that elders are the pillars of our civilisation. You dare speak to a general while standing on ground that his service, sweat, discipline and sacrifice helped secure.
“You throw stones at a colossus while standing barefoot on a hill he built. You spit towards the sky, forgetting that the heavens you insult today will send the rain back upon your own face tomorrow.
“Mr Former Governor, your mouth did not even tremble when you called the old man such names; I am even afraid to repeat those words of yours. You have not wounded Baba Obasanjo’s honour; you have only amplified your own irrelevance. Your words show not bravery, but a staggering poverty of wisdom.”
Continuing, the monarch said, “Let me remind you: Baba Obasanjo is not just a man. He is a chapter of our national story, a pride of the Yoruba race and a sentinel of the republic.
“You were only 16 when Baba became Head of State. You had not even tasted the soil of responsibility when Obasanjo was already shaping the destiny of nations, yet you now want to challenge the legacy of such a legend
“Your political relevance is already flickering like a dying lantern, yet you choose to bark at a lion that the entire forest pauses to adore. There is nothing more tragic than a man trying to wrestle with history when history does not know his name.
“You once danced around in your youth with no understanding of statecraft; you were barely 43 when this old man gave you everything within his power to support your ambition, which made you governor in 2003. You now have the temerity to rebuke a man who carried Nigeria through storms you could never comprehend.”
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