One of those lips belongs to a man making the rounds on any Internet discussion site he could sneak on to engage in character assassination, hawk conjured facts, and peddle falsehood of all dimensions. This man is called Adewale Donald Ologbon.
Since the Ondo State Tribunal ruled last July, Mr. Ologbon and scores of commentators have assumed the role of arm-chair lawyers and legal experts examining and re-examining the tribunal case. Their analytical skills and knowledge of law ought to have made the PDP legal team bury its head in shame, but they were all baseless rants!
One way to deal with agents of misinformation is to ignore them. Not in this case, I’m going to confront this man. Since my heritage stems from Ondo State, it’s hard to assume a “silent mode” knowing that Mr. Ologbon is either oblivious of the facts or just malicious in intent.
Those that have been following the electoral proceedings in Ondo will know that the incumbent governor — Dr. Segun Agagu (PDP), has had his mandate voided in favor of Dr. Segun Mimiko (Labour Party, LP) since last July. A verdict the incumbent has appealed in a higher court. The verdict of that appeal is being awaited as I write. The irregularities recorded during the election and the tribunal ruling –and its appeal, have been well documented in the media and even here on Grandiose Parlor — just search “mimiko” or “agagu” or “ondo” to read.
Mr. Ologbon’s latest rant on Ondo State can be found on Nigerian Muse and Nigerians in America titled: “Labour Party vs. Ondo State People”. Excerpts:
“the Labour Party (LP), an amalgam of groups of political jobbers who found leadership and direction in the character of a public name with uncontrolled personal quest for political power…”
Those being referred to are Dr. Mimiko and the leadership of the Labour Party in Ondo State.
The facts:
Dr. Mimiko can’t be described as a “political jobber”. He was a Federal Minister for Housing before the election. And he wasn’t fired, he voluntarily resigned so he can contest the election.
Also, the current Chairman of LP was the Chairman of PDP under Agagu before Mimiko joined the gubernatorial race. He wasn’t fired either, he left PDP voluntarily for LP! And he wasn’t the only one, even the Secretary of PDP then left to join LP too! And several PDP party-men did as well!
What Mr. Olugbon should be asked is why would the people he has tagged “political jobber” leave certainty for uncertainly? Why did they leave the ruling party (PDP) for LP that emerged just weeks before the election? What happened to the so-called power of incumbency?
Included in the article is the half-truth about the EFCC’s investigation of the contracts awarded by the Dr. Agagu after the July tribunal ruling. Excerpts:
“…Through spurious petition to the EFCC and the ICPC, obtained restraints against the government from discharging its statutory responsibility to the people of this state through the spread of general goods among the population.”
The facts:
The restraints came after it was discovered that Dr. Agagu had awarded more than N65 billion Naira worth of contracts within a period of six months. The governor went on a contract-signing binge after the tribunal ruled against him in July.
Some of the projects being questioned include a N14.4 billion dam renovation and a N3.8 billion stadium construction — which the writer states “will change the skyline of the state capital”. I wonder why the construction of a stadium should be a priority of a state that can’t boast of one functioning industry!
It can be argued that the timing of the contracts was just a coincidence. This is a plausible explanation; however, the Ondo State Finance Commissioner did let the dog out of the bag: The contracts were awarded to either loot or empty the state coffers in the event of a negative ruling from the Appeal Court.
The Nigerian Guardian reported on Feb.10, also highlighted here on Grandiose Parlor:
“An insight into why the Ondo State government decided to embark on massive award of what it termed “monumental projects” just after the verdict of the election petition tribunal voiding Olusegun Agagu’s election was given yesterday as the Commissioner for Finance, Tayo Alasoadura, said: “We cannot allow the opposition to spend our hard-earned resources”.
I have more instances of misinformation being dispersed by Mr. Ologbon, but I wouldn’t waste more energy going into details.
One thing is clear: the only way the truth can be countered is through falsehood. There is no other way, and this is what Mr. Ologbon and his cohorts have resolved to do. And this is permissible since we live in a world where freedom of speech is a standard. However, in the same spirit, it is also necessary to confront those paid agents and freelancer-peddler of misinformation. It will be interesting to know which category Mr. Ologbon falls in — is he being paid to write or just a man of conviction.
In closing, it’s interesting that Mr. Ologbon concluded his article with these words: “The people will overcome”.
I thought the people already did. It was reported in the news media that the people of Ondo State took to the streets to rejoice when the tribunal ruled last July!
When Adams Oshiomole (Action Congress candidate) decided to run for office as the Governor of Edo State, he didn’t know that it would take him 19 months to actualize his mandate. During those long and troubling months, the state and the people of Edo sat helplessly under the reign of Oserheimen Osunbor of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, whose “mandate” came via the manipulation of a weak electoral system.