Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has castigated the All Progressives Congress ( APC ) and its presidential candidate, Major General Mohammadu Buhari (rtd) for seeking the votes of Yorubas and people of Edo and Delta States rather than asking for their forgiveness.
According to the statement by the Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media in Ado Ekiti yesterday, Lere Olayinka said it was disheartening while recounting the kind of inhuman treatment melted to some of the Yoruba leaders during the regime of Buhari in 1985
Some of the Yoruba leaders,according to the statement who tasted the bitter pill from Buhari included late Chief Obafemi Awolowo Awolowo, Chief Adekunle Ajasin, Chief Bisi Onabanjo, Chief Bola Ige, Alhaji Lateef Jakande and the immediate past APC National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande,” all of whom championed development and good governance in the Southwest States.”
”Buhari’s coup of 1983 destroyed the Southwest and the old Bendel State (now Edo and Delta) as it put an end to the developmental programmes of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) government in the Southwest States of Lagos, Oyo, Ogun and Ondo, as well as Bendel State.”
Fayose described Buhari’s cancellation of the Lagos metroline project in 1985 as the grearest disservice to the Yoruba people in particular, and Nigerians in general.
”If Buhari had not cancelled the metroline project out of vendetta, transportation problems in Lagos would have been solved permanently.
”The metroline project would have made life easier and changed the face of transport in Lagos. But Buhari cancelled it an even went ahead to pay compensation to the French company that handled it. Buhari’s action cost Lagosians over $78 million then,” Fayose said.
Speaking further, the governor said; “In Yorubaland, we were enjoying free education and free health before Buhari came. Then, all that was needed to go to primary and secondary schools was school uniform. Drugs were free.
”Apart from free education and free health, the Southwest witnessed rapid development. Lagos State University, Ogun State University (now Olabisi Onabanjo University), Ondo State University (now Ekiti State University), Ondo State Polytechnic (now Rufus Giwa Polytechnic), and several other institutions were established.
”As at 1979, Lagos State had no secretariat. Jakande’s government built the Alausa Secretariat within four years. Ajasin’s government built Alagbaka Secretariat in Akure within four years. Even the Lekki-Epe road on which they are now collecting tolls was constructed by Jakande.
”For all that they did for us in Yorubaland, what did Buhari do to Jakande, Ajasin, Bola Ige and Bisi Onabanjo? He jailed them and Bisi Onabanjo came out of prison with health issues that eventually claimed his life.
”What did Buhari do to reward Awolowo, whose party gave us free education and free health? Awolowo’s international passport was seized and he was prevented from travelling abroad for medical treatment. Awolowo died two years after!
”In 1984 that Buhari introduced school fees, thousands of our youths then dropped out of school.
”Therefore, Buhari who truncated the future of many of our people and jailed our leaders who served our land selflessly should be seeking forgiveness from Yoruba people, not votes.”
