By Wale Ojo-Lanre, Esq.
Haaaaaaa!!!
Walahi!
Subhanallah!
Ògún ń gbọ́ ooooo!
Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji has disengaged me!
And God Almighty will judge him!
Yes! He will!
I was somewhere in Oyo State, peacefully demolishing a sumptuous plate of amala at Iya Adijat’s joint, when my telephone rang.
“Aláyè! Where are you?”
“I’m eating amala. What happened?”
“Abeg, come and pack your load! Your Governor has disengaged you people!”
Haaaaaaa!
I looked at the amala. I looked at the gbegiri. I looked at the ewedu.
Then I smiled.
My caller probably expected me to collapse, abandon my amala, tear my clothes and begin to invoke the spirits of my ancestors.
But why?
Because I know the difference between being disengaged from an appointment and being disgraced out of office.
And believe me, I know what I am talking about.
Some of us have travelled this road before.
We have been honourably invited into government, voluntarily abandoned respectable and rewarding careers to serve our state, only to be disengaged under circumstances that left us wondering whether public service was a crime.
Imagine being called to serve with dignity and being sent away with humiliation, barely twelve months before the expiration of an administration!
Some of us have experienced it.
We know the difference between leaving office with your head bowed in embarrassment and walking out with your shoulders squared, your integrity intact and your reputation polished.
That is why I understand the weight of what Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji has just done.
He engaged us honourably.
He treated us honourably.
And just three days before his inauguration for a second term, he disengaged us honourably.
No humiliation.
No public ridicule.
No unnecessary embarrassment.
No manufactured scandal.
No deliberate assault on our integrity.
Instead, he has returned us to society with our dignity intact and our credentials enhanced.
Indeed, some of us are leaving with our reputational value raised to power one hundred!
Haaaa!
How can a Governor behave like this?
God will judge him!
And I pray that God Almighty will punish him with such severe, uncommon and unprecedented promotions that even his political adversaries will be compelled to acknowledge the punishment!
Amen!
You see, Governor Oyebanji has committed another terrible offence against us.
He pampered us!
Yes! He did!
He understood that a public official should not merely bear a government title but should also carry the dignity, confidence and appearance of the office like government officials in other states .
He ensured that his appointees could move around with the respect appropriate to their responsibilities.
He even made official mobility a matter of dignity rather than a financial burden secretly transferred to the appointee’s monthly salary.
Imagine!
A Governor who understands that you cannot ask a man to represent the dignity of government while denying him the means to appear dignified!
Haaaa!
God will judge BAO!
And his offence did not end there.
He provided welfare without turning government into a feeding trough.
He encouraged us without encouraging waste.
He supported us without making public service an invitation to recklessness.
He created an atmosphere in which appointees felt sufficiently appreciated to go the extra mile.
In fact, some of us became so emotionally invested in the success of his administration that we willingly spent our personal resources promoting Ekiti State.
Not because anybody compelled us.
Not because we were seeking personal reimbursement.
But because we believed in the assignment, respected the Governor and wanted Ekiti to succeed.
That is what humane leadership does. It converts official responsibility into personal commitment.
And this is where Governor Oyebanji deserves another round of divine punishment!
He has demonstrated that political appointments need not terminate in bitterness.
That disengagement need not become humiliation.
That the expiration of an appointment does not mean the expiration of a relationship.
That a Governor can exercise his constitutional and administrative prerogatives without destroying the dignity of those who served him.
After all, no political appointment is a hereditary title.
No Director-General owns his office.
No Special Adviser possesses a certificate of perpetual occupancy in Government House.
We are appointed to serve at the pleasure of the Governor, not to become permanent tenants of political power.
And when the time comes to leave, the manner of departure often says more about the character of the leader than the duration of the appointment.
Governor Oyebanji has made his statement.
And it is a powerful one.
He has shown that you can disengage a person from government without disengaging him from honour.
So, to those expecting me to lament, protest, abuse the Governor or begin to reveal imaginary secrets, I am sorry to disappoint you.
My amala did not lose its taste.
My gbegiri did not turn sour.
My ewedu remained slippery and delicious.
I finished my meal with gratitude.
Because I know that what I gained from this appointment goes far beyond the office I occupied.
I gained experience.
I gained exposure.
I gained relationships.
I gained institutional knowledge.
Above all, I gained the satisfaction of serving Ekiti State under a Governor who understands that leadership is not merely about exercising power but about respecting humanity.
And if the reward for loyal service is an honourable exit, an unblemished name and a stronger professional profile, then I have every reason to thank God.
So, Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, God will judge you!
May He judge you with greater wisdom!
May He punish you with greater accomplishments!
May He afflict you with extraordinary success!
May He embarrass you with unprecedented achievements!
May your second term be so overwhelmingly successful that even those who doubted you will struggle to find the vocabulary to describe your accomplishments!
And may the Almighty continue to surround you with people who will serve Ekiti with sincerity, courage and dedication.
As for me?
I remain Wale Ojo-Lanre.
The appointment may have ended.
The experience remains.
The honour remains.
The integrity remains.
And the commitment to Ekiti remains.
Because an appointment can be withdrawn, but a reputation honestly earned cannot be disengaged by a government circular.
Haaaaaaa!
BAO!
God will judge you ooooo!
And may His judgment be an avalanche of blessings, uncommon favour and unprecedented success!
Amen!
Wale Ojo-Lanre, Esq.
Outgoing Director-General
Ekiti State Bureau of Tourism Development
.