WHY FAYOSE IS THE NEW DARLING OF THE IGBOS
Governor of Ekiti Ayodele Fayose is riding high on the wings of cheap popularity thruster upon him by being one of the most vocal politicians in the country at the moment. He is also a fearless voice of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the main opposition political party in Nigeria which is always a thorn in the flesh of the ruling All Progressive Congress. Fayose is the man to beat when it comes to arguing out a point as he has a peculiar way of marshalling his points in a way that will always make him make the headlines.Love him or hate him, Fayose has become the name on every one’s lips from the South to the North in Nigeria and at the moment he has almost reached a cult status in his Ekiti State. Many people have actually begun to look for that thing that makes the strong man of Ekiti politics tick but one can place a bet on the fact that they are not likely to find how Fayose does it.
It is on record that apart from the former Minister of Aviation Femi’s Fani-Kayode, it is only Fayose that is now the lone voice from the camp of the opposition in Nigeria. And he remains the only one who is not afraid to say it when others would take the “siddon look” approach espoused by the late Cicero of Esa-Okereke, Chief Ajibola Ige of blessed memory. Fayose has answers for every question you thrown at him and none will hit him off- balance.
Fayose who is the Chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum is seen as Buhari’s number one political foe at the moment and rightly so why because he(Fayose) remains the only Nigerian alive who has given Buhari the necessary “constant checks” which some of his party organs ought to be doing. At various times, Fayose has called the President to order on so many issues. Just this week, Fayose promised to release 11 pictures of the president to justify his stance on Buhari’s state of health.
However, be that as it may, the growing influence of Fayose in the South-East states of Nigeria is very interesting as it is worthy of mentioning here. over the past few months, Fayose has aligned himself with the plight of the Igbo nation and their call for self-determination and restructuring of the country. He is seen as the friend of Nnamidi Kanu, the IPOB leader and a staunch supporter of the new calls for the Biafran nation.
One thing that is clear as of this week however about the fact that Fayose is not just a rabble-rouser but a very calculative politician who knows how to play his card. Even though, other political watchers would say he is a dirty politician who will go to any length in actualizing his political wish. But as things stand today, a larger percentage of the Igbos are loving every thing about Fayose and as a matter of fact, he is fast becoming a hero in this part of Nigeria.
An attestation to the very fact that Fayose is now seen as a rallying point in the SouthEast is the heroic welcome he was accorded by IPOB supporters when he visited the South-East a day after he launched his 2019 Presidential Campaign bid on Facebook. The video of the visit which has since gone viral shows Fayose being followed by thousands of Igbo people whilst chanting “Fayose, we love you”. And with thousands of IPOB supporters openly chanting Fayose’s praise, one can safely conclude that the road to 2019 Presidential polls is going to be very very interesting.
