I am not afraid of being sacked from his government.
I am not worried about being sidelined in his administration.
I do not care if my proposals and files gather dust on his desk for daring to say this.
But honestly, Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji is not getting it right at all!
I don’t know what is wrong with him.
And I am shocked that people are not speaking louder about his actions—actions that go against the usual political playbook, even though that playbook was never the right one to begin with.
Gov Oyebanji believes in what ought to be, and like a stubborn Ekiti man, he sticks to it.
And those who should be challenging him? They have chosen silence.
Walahi!
Shamefully, Governor Oyebanji believes that every Ekiti person matters!
He is obsessed with inclusivity—to the point that he ensures every occupational guild in Ekiti has a stake in governance.
I mean, what kind of madness is this?
A taja-teran government? A government of the real people? Not the usual elitist club of imported “distinguished sons and daughters” handpicked by the Lords of the Manor?
He is running a government of the people, by the people, and for the people!
Has he forgotten that democracy has evolved?
That today’s governance is meant to be controlled by a select few, ruling over the masses?
But no, Oyebanji believes that there is no taja-teran in Ekiti.
That every Ekiti person has something to offer.
That whenever the opportunity arises, they must be included.
So, in every decision, he injects this inclusive mantra and gender balance nonsense!
To the extent that he appointed a common palm wine tapper—one Aperin, who owns a small shed outside his house in Omisanjana—as a member of the Ekiti State Tourism Board.
A palm wine tapper?!
Is it because palm wine is an integral part of Ekiti’s entertainment and culinary culture?
Is that why this ordinary grassroots man was chosen?
A palm wine tapper who has probably never been to New York, London, Honolulu, or even Lagos!
A man whose only contribution is local networking—running a joint patronized by multitudes of commoners discussing grassroots issues.
Instead of appointing a sophisticated London-based Ekiti elite,
Someone who would arrive at board meetings in flashy cars, wearing expensive rings and designer glasses,
Someone who would collect allowances and return to Lagos to spend Ekiti’s money there,
Oyebanji, in his wisdom, picked a mere palm wine tapper!
And to make matters worse, his equally clueless Director General of Ekiti State Bureau of Tourism Development, Barrister Wale Ojo-Lanre, had the audacity to take visiting international Nollywood stars to this ordinary man!
What kind of nonsense is this?
To make it even more insulting, the Nollywood stars—Dele Odule and Yeye Toyin Tomato—had the guts to be happy about it!
They even commended the governor for his visionary appointment!
Imagine!
They could not even see my point!
They could not grasp the outrage of appointing a common palm wine tapper to such an important board!
Shame on them all!
Signed,
Oloriburuku Oponu
Alainironu Street,
Obayeje Quarter,
Afenifebi Town.