By Adeyinka Adeniran
The consensus at the 6th year Fidau prayer for the late former governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, was a urgent call for internal repair, discipline, and absolute sincerity among members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) if the party hopes to reclaim its winning streak in future elections.
Political bigwigs, associates, and loyalists who gathered in Ibadan to honor the late political leader agreed that the current state of the party requires immediate reconciliation, drawing deep reflections from the leadership style of the departed governor.
The spoke in a sideline interview shortly after the prayers which held at the Oluyole private residence of the late former governor.
Reflecting on the vacuum left by the late governor, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari (Oyo North) described Ajimobi as a very principal and strong man, a “go-getter” who never minced words in telling people the truth.
“He will tell you as it is, without minding anything, and he will let you know that this is the way it should be,” Buhari stated.
Senator Buhari, who acknowledged that his own political journey was heavily shaped by Ajimobi’s mentorship, admitted that the party is currently grappling with deep-seated internal crises.
Drawing an analogy with a standard football league, Buhari noted, “It’s like now… you are going to play in the Premiership, and you want to play Man U or Arsenal, and you belong to Wolverhampton. You now, in that your Wolverhampton again, you now carry the weakest of the weakest of Wolverhampton to go and play Man U or Arsenal, and even in your team, you now have a lot of internal crisis. You also know the results, apart from the god of soccer, the reality on ground”.
He stressed that while a single hour in politics can completely alter dynamics, solving the party’s present woes requires genuine guts and absolute sincerity from everyone involved.
Adding his voice to the legacy of the late political sage, former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, maintained that his personal relationship with Ajimobi was that of a son to a father, describing the late governor as a magnetized leader who provided clear direction and mentorship.
“I entered into politics through his influence. It was his style of governance and his style of politics that attracted me to join politics,” Adelabu explained.
Adelabu pointed out that under Ajimobi’s watch, the Oyo State APC was rock-solid, unified, and free from the fragmentation it currently experiences.
He noted that the late governor was a well-prepared administrator who confronted issues head-on, particularly across security, infrastructure, and education.
Recalling his time as the Chairman of the Oyo State Security Trust Fund, Adelabu praised the robust security architecture established by Ajimobi, saying, “his body language was that Oyo State should be crime-free, and he achieved it. A governor must confront crime, must be ready to fight crime head-on. You cannot run away from crime, you must face it. That is what Ajimobi did”.
He further urged party faithful to look past individual aspirations, respect the voice of reasoning, and embrace reconciliation to unseat the current PDP government in Oyo State come 2027.
On his part, the former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Olalekan Ali, appealed for a collective shift toward reforming and repositioning the party.
He urged both state citizens and APC members to look beyond recent political upheavals and instead focus on rebuilding Oyo State by emulating Ajimobi’s legacy of progress, strict discipline, and order.
Ali urged all aggrieved factions to put down their swords, emphasize concessions, and realize that no individual can override the hand of God in political outcomes.
“Let us very strongly appeal to everyone within the state in general, and within APC Oyo State in particular. Let us all come together as members of the same family and be patient enough to resolve what’s on ground,” Ali urged.
He made a passionate appeal to all gladiators and interest groups within the party to suppress personal ambitions and prioritize the collective interest and future of Oyo State, adding, “Let them realize that whatever happens, we cannot eliminate the hand of God from it”.
Earlier in his sermon, the Chief Imam of Oluyole Estate Extension, Sheikh Mudathir Bada said, noting that the gathering which was to celebrate the gift of God in the life of the late former governor called on everyone to have the fear of God in their heart. He said the more the fear of God in human lives, the more the life in reality.
He noted that all human, as long as they breath must have the fear of God so as to achieve the purpose of creator by living according to his tenets.
Highpoint of the event was recitation of selected chapters of the holy qursn, selected special prayers and special supplication for the deceased, the wife and children, the extended and political family, Oyo State and Nigeria as a whole.
The event was attended by family members, political associates, friends and political office holders from across the country.
