By Omolaja Kehinde Abayomi
May be we should allow our pre-1999 political history in IREPODUN a peaceful REST or maybe not.
May be we should remind ourselves for the records the 4th Republic political arrangement in CONSTITUENCY II specifically as regards our ‘unwritten’ zoning arrangement in arriving at the choice of our Representatives at the State House of Assembly.
May be we should state in clear terms that it has been IJEDE, IGBOGBO and IMOTA turn-by-turn arrangement.
May be we should add for the benefits of enlightenment and any other further reasonable reasons that this is IREPODUN ARRANGEMENT that has been tested and respected. no more, no less.
May be a reminder that the three (3) Cities (Ijede, Igbogbo, and Imota) are the main constituents of the defunct IREPODUN LOCAL GOVERNMENT, no thanks to the 1984 MUHAMMAD BUHARI Local Government Review Committee Chaired by DANSUKI.
May be our founding fathers were informed, farsighted, altruistic statesmen and democrats who believed in social and political equality of all the people of IREPODUN in the true spirit of the name IREPODUN.
May be for the avoidance of a political tailspin and its telling consequences they created this methodical but prudent legacy to institutionalize an inclusive and enduring political arrangement in IREPODUN.
May be today, we can conveniently speculate that in the middle of the political game the rule is about to be fraudulently changed.
May be for the purpose of their uninitiated minds, they deserve to be lectured that their ‘principal officer’ reason as advanced and rigorously being canvassed is weak, repugnant and antithetical to the rule of logic and common sense.
May be they should have played this card upon the return of democratic governance in 1999 before the kick-off of the political competition, whereas the law of the game would have been expressly spelt out, agreed to by all and as well internalized by each political player in this case the three (3) Constituents. That would have been fair and timely.
May be we should ask them why now? If they so much believe in the veracity and righteousness of their logic let us start the three-term arrangement from IJEDE, since the round of two terms arrangement has ended with IMOTA. And IJEDE LCDA is next in turn to produce our representative come 2023.
May be they are confused, may be not, probably a contraption, already complex enough to assisting an ill conceived idea and inordinate ambition. It is simple, let us start all over with IJEDE LCDA if that is our agreement, three terms for IJEDE LCDA, three terms for IGBOGBO/BAIYEKU LCDA, and Imota LCDA three terms. It is that simple!
May be a quick reminder or rebuttal that our inability to clinch a principal officer position in the House has little or nothing to do with span of term in IREPODUN. It is a baseless argument. It is more than that. We expect our honorable to know better. Haba!
May be some of us are not deceived by the veil of 5-Division or IBILE as it is called in the appointment of principal officers. It is a function of population and the constitution of the state.
May be Honorable needed to be reminded that there are Constitutionally 20-Local Governments in Lagos State and how the AWORIS own the larger chunk of the State with IKORODU, EPE, IBEJU-LEKKI being the Ijebu owned Local Governments.
May be the AWORIS even own part of Ikorodu, IBEJU-LEKKI and a part of EPE being largely occupied by the ISLANDERS.
May be a reason for the preference of EPE for principal officer position as against Ikorodu for even the Governorship slot when it was zoned to Lagos East.
May be the promoters of principal members agenda should provide facts to disprove our claims.
May be this is a call to our founding fathers some of whom are still around and by providence are within the same political party as we speak. A call to protect their good intendment, thinking, and legacy of peace.
May be this is a call to all the political parties that a fair and just political environment is more important than the tall ambition of an individual.
May be our TRADITIONAL RULERS whose role stuck out like a sour wound and can be significantly influential will get involved in preventing a cold war that the end remains a pregnancy.
May be it is a louder call to all the youths in IREPODUN to assert who they root for and stand up to be counted on the side of justice and fairness.
May be when they realized that the facts will never absorb them or their tainted ambition, or any of the defence they raised shall never be resolved in thier favour, then they may realize what grave danger they ported to our stable political clime in IREPODUN.
May be we should remind them that what we do today will echo till eternity.
Oba toje ti ilu di igoro….
Omolaja Kehinde Abayomi, Esq. writes from Igbogbo
