In his blue buba and sokoto, he was announced on the stage. This was not a political arena, and his rhetoric abounded with the gratitude of a worshipper. Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun came on stage to tell his story. He gave a testimony that sounded like a page out of Abraham Lincoln’s life. He had been at his political battle for a while, losing is quest for senator, and even his attempt at governor seemed a lost cause. He was not going to contest. Eventually he prevailed. His testimony was at the podium of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles last weekend. He said he was a member.
His testimony drew my mind back to a few days after he won the polls and was visiting the then outgoing governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi. Gov Ajimobi recalled with regret that Abiodun’s son was not around to see his father’s triumph. His son, a beloved entertainer known as DJ Olu, who passed away, was the champion of his father’s ambition. I thought Gov. Abiodun would tell that story to his MFM audience. But on reflection, I understand why he didn’t. When Ajimobi touched that subject in his residence in Ibadan, Abiodun’s face fell into tears and a handkerchief came to his rescue.
The most potent part of his MFM testimony was when he said he would run a transparent government in participatory style in accordance with the rule of law. He said it without prompting and soulfully. He might have said that at inauguration day. That was a political pledge. On the church podium, it was a spiritual pledge. It is his second pledge, but in effect, it was the first and superior pledge. The spiritual is above the natural, as Apostle Paul explains in the Bible. We wait to see this play out as his stewardship unfolds.
Once he was done, he walked back to his seat beside the BOS of Lagos. It was not only the handshake that joined them together, but an iconography of colour and wardrobe symmetry. Both governors were dressed in light blue buba and sokoto, as though they had a chat about it before hitting their wardrobes.
Piece written by Sam Omatseye, Editorial Board Chairman, The Nation Newspaper
