Former Ogun governorship aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Otunba Segun Showunmi, has cautioned President Bola Tinubu against antagonising members of his party who assisted his election in 2023.
In a statement he issued on Monday, he specifically mentioned former governors Nasir El-Rufai and Yahaya Bello of Kaduna and Kogi, respectively, and what he said has become their fates since leaving office.
Noting that All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains helped Tinubu to emerge president in the 2023 election, he said they have since been experiencing political travails.
According to him, the poor treatment the two former governors are getting under the Tinubu administration goes against the long-term understanding between Yorubas and the north.
According to him, the two APC chieftains supported him, especially against Atiku Abubakar and Rabiu Kwankwaso from the north in the 2023 election.
Showunmi said: “Upon reflection on the trajectory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his journey to the presidency, I find my mind wondering if my Yoruba Uncle is still the same person that I have always known and admired.
“You might need to think through this to understand me. The Yorubas already carry misconceptions about betrayal, that we don’t keep our end of the bargain. That we use and dump people. That we are cunning around the power play.
“Except Olusegun Obasanjo who as both in and outside power as military and civilian head of state kept his side of the agreement with his partners who got him into power.”
Showunmi added: “Nasir el-Rufai, say what you will about him, he supported Asiwaju fully during the primaries and the general elections. Pray, how has he been treated? Same el-Rufai now has a security report that humiliated him during a Senate clearance made up of a majority of Tinubu men! What would the world call that but betrayal?
“Now, Yahaya Adoza Bello who practically fought like a madman to give Asiwaju good numbers in Kogi not to talk of how he funded and ran the youth campaign with vigour and energy to the extent that I was so jealous compared to the disorganized charade of my PDP.
“Same Yahaya Bello who superintend over the membership registration of APC that to date I cannot but remember comparing the bliss and pageantry to the joke that my PDP ran under the Edo emperor.
“Pray, is that the same GYB that is embarrassed to the level we are all witnessing? If this is not a betrayal, I would like someone to tell me what can be a betrayal more than this.”
He alleged that everyone who worked hard with Tinubu to emerge, as president, is now being minimised by those around the president who are using the state agencies.
Sowunmi wondered if President Tinubu is interested in a second term, saying: “Do you plan to contest a second term or do you think your work will be done in one term of just four years? Shall tomorrow not come? Where are the men of yesterday?
“Akanni omo olodo ide, you know that on a deep level of nation-building, I won’t allow partisan politics to prevent me from saying it as I see it. You may need to understand that power must be shared and that the world over, people must feel protected by an arrangement they help bring about.”
He continued, “The Yorubas have a saying that ‘Oni kan ko ni fe ko baje,’ the owner of a thing will not want it to get destroyed.
“I see some very good ideas you wish to implement, I get the mess you are trying to clean and you know in your heart of hearts that I Segun Showunmi with me, Nigeria comes first.
“I will nevertheless refuse to point out what will have grave consequences for our shared Yoruba race.
“The issues from the Awolowo era have not been resolved with other tribes, especially the Igbos who to date see Yorubas in a bad light but for the efforts of men like Obasanjo, Pa Adebanjo and to a lesser extent myself who have demanded that fair is fair.
“Will you now break a long-term understanding between Yorubas and the north because you are now acting like you won’t respect people who supported you to the max, especially against their bothers Atiku and Kwankwaso.”