Ajimobi and the storm in a tea cup

MY boss was recently in the eye of the storm. Never mind that the storm was in a tea cup. For about a fortnight, the worldwide social media was abuzz with distorted stories, misrepresentations and caricatures of Governor Abiola Ajimobi as well as some members of his nuclear family.

Now that we thankfully have some calm in the air, perhaps we can do a brief recap of, and some reflections, on a few of the matters arising from that hoopla. But first, it is important to note the politically toxic environment in which all these events occur; a universe of the politically dead, terminally wounded and vengeful foes – always lurking around, looking for any opportunity to pounce and take their pounds of flesh.

So, when next you hear that Ajimobi is in the eye of some storm, please be reminded that it may be no more than another round of vilification by a motley crowd of vengeful foes.

Now that the storm in the tea cup is over, perhaps it is appropriate to look at some of the matters arising from this clearly avoidable sensationalism.

First, is our national proclivity for contradictory expectations. As a people, we seem to find it difficult accepting the basic notion  that we cannot eat our omelet without breaking an egg, just as we cannot eat our cake and have it. At every meeting between Nigerians, we are quick to bemoan how things have deteriorated but quick to absolve ourselves of any guilt in the deterioration. We refuse to take responsibility for our actions and inactions, always passing the buck to the next person who promptly and dutifully passes it on to the next person, ad nauseam. We all complain about the corrosion of our communal ties and values, about the progressive breakdown of law and order in our society but we are also the first to scoff at the few good people trying to fix things.

When our governments take the hard nosed and corrective positions necessary to return our country back on to the path of honour, we swiftly rise in unison asking our functionaries to ‘relax’ the rules. When Ajimobi asks market women to stop endangering their lives by selling on the highways, we turn logic upside, railing and ranting to score cheap political points. When he directs the law enforcement agencies to follow through on extant laws that demand compliance, interests groups begin to lobby and seek ways out of their obligations. If and when Ajimobi insists on pursuing those laws to their logical conclusions, he is branded obstinate, inflexible and proud. We claim to be worried that our youths are becoming wayward, uncouth and unruly; Ajimobi tries to say the same thing to some disorderly youngsters, but rather than rally behind him, we instead upbraid him about correcting his children’s misbehaviors. So, what do we really want?

Second is that some of the commentators unwittingly, and I believe, in grave error, sniggered at the fundamental importance of culture in the definition, sustenance and growth of any community. To this, I can only plead caution. As we generally ought to know, culture is the totality of a people’s way of life covering their history, lifestyles, arts and the subtler codes of their relationships. It includes the moral anchor and spiritual compass that help them navigate through Life’s treacherous labyrinths. Without such strict codes of etiquette between stakeholders, the journey may be no more than a rudderless adventure that surely leads to communal perdition. Once it becomes acceptable for children to publicly abuse and ridicule their parents and constituted authorities, then we may well say goodbye to all the holding devices that are left of our already fractured society. Our people say, and I concur, ‘it is the lack of respect for the elderly that has turned the world into a crooked place’. As for those who suggest that we can hide behind the veil of modernity to cover up the shame of our failing society, I say: look towards China, India and other great and emerging civilizations to see whether they sold their mores and cultural values at the alter of modernity.

Which brings me to the much joked about, and now popularized ‘Constituted Authority’ subject. While the phrase itself is not new, Governor Ajimobi may have at last brought the nation’s attention to it in far more important ways that we think. Apart from offering us a chance to ponder the true meaning and implications of the term, he provided us the chance to enjoy big terminologies made simple; much like “Oga at the top’ and ‘The Other Room’ before it. So, while this one lasts, let us enjoy the fun, so long as we do not suddenly find that the joke is on us. Meanwhile, and quite significantly, neither the rankled critics nor the satirists have argued against the validity of Ajimobi’s claim to the title. No one that I know has competently put a tenable counter to his legal iteration. The Law Dictionary defines constituted authorities as ‘officers properly appointed under the constitution for the government of the people’. Constituted Authorities can be said to be the sacred guardians of the laws, of the orders and of the cultural codes of the community. The refusal or inability of such officers to carry out these functions is not only irresponsible but may threaten the survival of the community.

So, really what the Governor did was simply to remind the heckling students that he was standing in front of them not only as an older member of the community who deserved to be respected on account of his age and experience within an African cultural space, but more importantly as a protector of the sacred duties given to him by the people and the laws of the land.

Another critical matter for consideration is the ownership question of the Ladoke Akintola University. The university is jointly owned by both the states of Osun and Oyo having been established in 1991 when both states were still in what is now known as the Old Oyo State. While there have since been some undeniable challenges and uneasiness in the relationship between these two owner-states, their current state governors in a document dated October 19, 2016 “agreed to an irrevocable commitment to the joint ownership of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso in accordance with the laws setting up the institution”. It follows therefore that whatever problems confront Lautech, whatever opportunities beckon at her, the responsibilities and gains must be shared in equal measure by both states. Whether the current governing codes and student fees regimes are sustainable is left to be seen. Since a visitation panel has been constituted to look into this and many more critical issues about the university, it is perhaps best to tarry along and await the detailed report of that Wole Olanipekun-led panel.

The next, and perhaps the most important, matter arising from this overtly dramatized incident is that for us in Nigeria, the time has come to start interrogating the insidious, negative and destructive character of the social media. For instance, it is truly confounding that even after the original faux pax, Premium Times and Sahara Reporters still went ahead to broadcast a false, unverified story of an Ajimobi daughter who purportedly made a disparaging statement about ‘a generation of mannerless children’ without as much as checking to know if indeed she IS the daughter of the governor. After the false story had enjoyed unfettered spread on the global space, Premium Times eventually felt constrained enough to come clean and disavow its falsehood.

A few days after this incident, the internet was literally in flames again with the death wishes of some depraved fellows who gleefully announced the demise of our country’s President Mohammadu Buhari. So strong and pervasive was the rumour that most citizens and friends of Nigeria began to believe the twisted story. Almost within the same period, and as if possessed of the compulsive need to malign the Ajimobi family, a recycled video started doing the rounds purporting to be of Abimbola Ajimobi, another of the Governor’s daughters seen at a so-called London party offensively spraying dollars into the air. It turns out that that the original video was posted on July 11, 2016 and was about the birthday party in Amsterdam (and not in the UK) for a certain Mrs Florence Edo (whose name was on the background banner in the video).

While many of these dysfunctions are not necessarily direct creations of the media, their cancerous elaboration is certainly directly related to the apparently cavalier manner in which some media manipulate reality. These days, entertainment and the celebration of all forms of misogyny seem to be the order of the day; one only needs to observe how most young men and women operate these days on social media networks, spewing hate and inanities like deranged hookers on rampage.

If the current culture of recklessness and the privileging of falsehood and sensationalism over truth and moderation is not urgently put on a leash, the chaotic and disorderly character of a world that is already fast spinning out of control will simply worsen.

Lastly, and this is really by the way: some commentators wrote that ‘Ajimobi talks too much’; that he seems to ‘talk out of control’; that ‘he is disrespectful of people’s sensibilities’; that he too often ‘verbalizes in public what he ought to say in private’. He has answered his accusers by declaring matter-of-factly that he is not about to sew up his mouth when the enemies are sharpening up their teeth to make mincemeat of him. What I have add is that Ajimobi speaks from his heart; that he fears no foes or whose ox is gored when the matter at hand demands frank, un-doctored rendering; that unlike most politicians who speak from the two corners of their mouths for electoral gains, this man prefers to shoot straight, speaking the honest, even if uncomfortable truth.

On the occasion of Governor Ajimobi’s sixty seventh birthday on December 16, 2016, I indicated as follows:

“In defining the essential Ajimobi, one is called upon to suspend judgment over his form of doing in preference for the motivations and substance of his actions.

While they may not always agree with every move he makes (perhaps due to some momentary limitations of understanding), most objective analysts typically confess their greater admiration for him every time the outcomes of his decisions are assessed.

For me, what ultimately characterizes his nobility of heart is his relentless pursuit of excellence at all costs – not only as a paradigm of doing – but as the undergirding motivation for action i.e. the use of the levers of power for the ultimate benefit of the silent majority rather than for the service of the private interests of a privileged few.

I fervently hope his leadership example endures in our collective interest.”

Layinka is the Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy