I read a letter to the editor written by Chief Kola Aderemi which was published in The Nation and Daily Trust of 23 December , 2014 in which the Ekiti Chief accused President Goodluck Jonathan of neglecting and marginalizing the Yoruba race in power sharing in the country, and that the President is now frantically courting the race to realize his re- election ambition.
Chief Aderemi further corroborated his points by reminding Nigerians how President Jonathan removed some Yoruba figures from national offices and replacing them with people from Igbo extraction.
According to him, “nothing illustrates President Jonathan’s hatred for Yoruba better than the way he removed some Yoruba people from key positions on allegation of being too close to the former President Olusegun Obasanjo. To buttress my point, I recalled how he removed Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola as People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Secretary. Mr. Yomi Bolarinwa was removed as Director General of Nigeria Broadcasting Commission, Otunba Segun Runsewe was removed as Director General of Nigerian Tourism Development Commission (NTDC) and they were replaced with Igbo people”
What impressed me most in that letter was the disclosure that from number one to 22 most important positions in the country, there is no Yoruba person.
But now that 2015 election is around the corner, President Jonathan is now courting Yoruba race for electoral support. No , this is too cheap to swallow. I totally align myself with Chief Aderemi’s position that Yoruba race must be tactical and politically sagacious in their choice.
In addition to the list of Yoruba people removed from office by President Jonathan , I recall that Segun Oni was removed as PDP South West Deputy Chairman, Olu oluleye was removed from Petroleum Trust Development Fund (PTDF) among others. Why is President Jonathan now desperate for the people he hates to see in his government .
Governor Segun Mimiko of Ondo State who was defending the President recently cannot speak for Yoruba race. By the way , where was Mimiko when Jonathan was removing Yoruba people from public office? It is obvious that President Jonathan has not been fair to Yoruba race. Yet, this is the race that assisted him to attain the present status! Yoruba should think twice before supporting him again, because it is clear that the race has been cheated politically. As if Gov. Mimiko was equally reminding us how President Jonathan treated us with disdain, hear what he said , “a Yoruba man was to be Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2011 but was denied and the slot given to North-West geopolitical zone. Also, the position of Minority Leader in the Senate was to be given to the Yoruba but was also taken to the North Central which already had the Senate presidency. The question now is what did Mimiko do to correct the situation? Why is he now defending and supporting Jonathan to woo South West that has been badly cheated? Yoruba is wiser for this. We are not stupid and we will not take stupidity from anybody