If you are one of those who think that the age-long acrimony between the former Lagos state deputy governor, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire and former Osun state governor and now Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is over you’d better have a rethink.
This is so because Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire has flagrantly ignored acknowledgement of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as her leader and benefactor in her recently launched book titled, The Wonders Of God’s Grace; and this has continued to generate a chain of reactions and condemnations from the political class in Lagos state, especially at Alimosho area of the state, the political base of both politicians. A reliable source revealed that “except her present position, Senior Special Assistant To The President On Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) every other position previously held by Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, including that of the deputy governor had been facilitated directly or indirectly by Aregbesola. God has continuously used Aregbesola to pave the ways for her from the moment she was Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) commissioner to her emergence as commissioner for Women Affairs in Lagos state, Aregbesola nominated her and ensured she got those positions. It’s surprising that she did not acknowledge him in her book.”
Investigations revealed that the rift between Aregbesola and Orelope-Adefulire began when Aregbesola, without the knowledge of Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire anointed and installed one Barrister Oyefeso as LASIEC commissioner after Adejoke became commissioner for Women Affairs. She was said to have developed interest in someone who she wanted to succeed her.
Since the incident, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire had been playing cat and mouse game with Aregbesola, and withdrew her adoration and respect for Aregbesola with reckless abandon.
However, the rift was alleged to have cost Orelope-Adefulire the opportunity to become the running mate to Lagos former governor, Babatunde Fashola in 2007 when the search for who becomes the deputy governor to Babatunde Fashola in 2007 came up, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire was considered for the position by the power that be in Lagos state politics, but her disloyalty to Aregbesola cost her the position as the latter was said to have vehemently made sure she was not given the nod. In her place, Adebisi Serah Sosan was picked to replace her.
Meanwhile, in 2011 Serah Sosan was dropped as running mate to Fashola for second term ticket, and this gave Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire another ample opportunity to take a shot at the deputy governorship seat of Lagos state. After all entreaties failed and the lost of yet another chance to become Lagos state deputy governor was staring her in the face, Adejoke was bluntly informed by the power that be of her need to beg Aregbesola because she has offended him.
In fact, she had to took her late father to that power that be to make passionate appeal to him for the position before this was revealed to her. Pronto, Adejoke hurriedly took some political leaders in Alimosho to beg Aregbesola in Osun state, then Aregbesola was governor of Osun state. After much apologies and passionate plea to Aregbesola, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire eventually got the nod to be running mate to Fashola and became the deputy governor.
However, in the book she launched few weeks back, The Wonders Of God’s Grace, Adejoke admitted that if not God that used her aunt to appeal to her father to enrol her in school, she might not have been educated not to talk of being a deputy governor. She said God used her aunt for her so that she could be educated.
“…I was to move on to secondary school but my father refused because of the cultural belief system about girl children ending up as wives in a man’s house and her name changing from her father’s to that of the husband. If not for God’s amazing grace and the ordered intervention of an aunt, getting to where God has taken me today may never have been.
…It was the instrument of an aunt in my case, that God used to speak to my father and i was delivered from that trap of devil to truncate God’s plan for my life.”
In the acknowledgement page also, she acknowledged Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as her leader, mentor and boss. “My special thanks go to His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, my leader, mentor and boss – Baba kekere, for his mentorship, support, encouragement and leadership quality.”
Meanwhile, the condemnations and criticisms of Adejoke by political class stemmed from omission of Rauf Aregbesola name in the book despite all the roles he had played in her political life, and how God used him for her to attained and achieved positions in politics. They argued that If she could acknowledged that God used her aunt for her to have secondary education, then why the omission of Rauf Aregbesola’s name as someone God used for her to get positions.
Though, she acknowledged Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the newly launched book, many still view her refusal to acknowledge Aregbesola as an act of ingratitude.
