By Adewale Adeoye
His adversaries claim he came from Ekiti State. Senator Adeola Yayi insists he is an indegene of Ogun State. He even threatens to go to court. Seeking court injunction is unnecessary. That is playing to the trap of the enemy.
I have never met Yayi before in my life. But I think the debate is unnecessary. Abayomi Hunye and Folake Marcus Bello are the advocates of this silly and condescending position all in the quest to win the Ogun gubernatorial election.
They left the ball to kick the legs of the footballer.Those behind the allegation lack any sense of history. They are trite, frivolous and petty. It is the most ridiculous argument.Knowing Yoruba political culture, Yayi coming from Ekiti is immaterial. Infact, for a people known for intelligence and civilisation, this accusation may strengthen Ogun State support for him. I listened to phone-in programme on radio recently on the issue. Many who called from Ogun State said they were determined to vote for Yayi.
A leader of Alliance for Yoruba Democratic.Movement, [AYDM] told me his group of some 130 Pan Yoruba groups will move to Ogun State to mobilise house to house for Yayi just to shame those pushing him back on allegations of being from Ekiti.
“They are trying to destroy the Yoruba oneness and the fraternity that should guide Yoruba political history” he told me.
Their position is Yayi Yoruba and nothing more.
The allegation against Yayi might turn out to be a huge advantage on election day.
Let us stretch the debate further. Whos is an indigene? The dictionary describes an indegene as ‘a person, animal or thing native to the soil; aboriginal; autochthon.
The Senator was born in 1969.He is 57 years. He was born and raised in Ogun State.
Let us face it: I do not know what informed the position of those behind these claims, but certainly they must have been propelled by the argument that Yayi has no roots in Ogun State, in any case, the later being the creation of the military in 1976. Their strongest logic could only be that his parents migrated from Ekiti to Ogun State. But that is a very weak and unreasonable argument. Prior Ogun State, the territory was inhabited by indigenous Oyo, Egba, Yelwa, Ijebu-Remo, Anago, Awori and even many Ekiti, Ijesa, Igbomina families. So, migration is not new, in time and space and should not deny any one his rights. There are three ways a man could be categorised as an indigene of a place.Either he was born there, his parents migrated years aback or he is qualified by virtue of the dictates of the constitution. Any of this represents substantial compliance.
Human migration in Yoruba history
The greatest percentage of indigenes of Ogun State today migrated from other parts of Yorubaland, some in recent years.. From 14th to 18th centuries,the various Yoruba wars led to mass migration fueling to the emergence of inseparable bundle of energy all traced to Ile Ife. His accusers are not aware that the Chief Yelwa town, Ilaro was established Aro, a hunter from Ife and the first King was a Prince and son of Alaafin Abiodun. The Prince migrated from Oyo to establish Ilaro.
The founder of another significant Yelwa city,Ayetoro, Chief Abass Faremicame from Badagry and established the town in 1900. He was a Yoruba sea merchant who became very rich through local and international trade. Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State was established by various Yoruba clans from Oyo and other places only in 1830. The progenitor of the city was Sodeke, a hunter. They all had left Ibadan led by Lamodi who unfortunately died before getting to Abeokuta. These people were from various Yoruba sub-groups migrating because of the chains of war on their fatherland.
The purpose of this argument is that many of today’s families in Ogun State as it is elsewhere were migrants from various Yoruba towns and villages including Ekiti. It is not impossible that those attacking Yayi on his origin are actually from Ekiti, Ondo or Igbomina. Those accusing Yayi have no sense of history. The truth is that there is no Yoruba State you visit today that do not have its own history of migration.Visit Ekiti today you would see many families from Ogun State. There is a town in Ekiti State that actually came from Egba in Ogun State.
Not many people would know that Baba Enoch Adeboye actually hails from Ado Ekiti but lay claim to Ifewara in Osun State so also is the late Dr Fredrick Faseun, founder of O’odua Peoples Congress, (OPC) who originally came from Ekiti state but claimed Ondo town until his death. If Yayi’s parents actually migrated from Ekiti state, at this point,it no longer matter and it would be wrong for him to claim Ekiti State after many centuries or decades of establishing his roots in Ogun State, estrablishing many projects and providing funds for some development in Ogun State.
Yayi’s grandparents may have migrated from outside Ogun State just like the ancestors of those raising this childish argument. It is ridiculous that these politicians can diminish their own wisdom in the most disgraceful manner. Raising this Ekiti issue against Yayi is petty. The people behind these claims might actually be from Cotonue, Ghana,Oyo or Ondo States.Former Governor of Lagos State, Lateef Jakande was from Omu Aran in Kwara State. The popular Ebenezer Obe is not from Ogun State but from Akoko (Ekiti area)in present day Ondo State.
Yayi and the Constitution
The other point is that constitutionally, is Yayi qualified to aspire to be Governor of Ogun State? The answer is yes. Politicians should learn to show some decorum.
I see the argument as defeatist. It is as if the opposition to Yayi have exhausted their reasoning faculties realising that they could not withstand him in forthcoming election compelling them to resort to frivolous attacks.
If I have my way, any Yoruba person should be free to contest election in any of the Yoruba States, afterall Senator Ireti Kingibe representing Abuja is Yoruba while Grace Folashade Bent, a Yoruba woman won a Senate election in conservative Adamawa South Senatorial in 2007. Shame on those attacking Yayi on the basis of his origin.
