How Daniel Was Attacked, By Ogun Govt
Osoba: They want to make me the issue
By Joseph Ushigiale, Olawale Olaleye in Lagos and Toba Suleiman in Abeokuta
Ogun State government yesterday gave details of how the different convoys in which Governor Gbenga Daniel and his wife, Olufunke, were attacked in Ilaro. The government also dissociated itself from the Yewaland chieftaincy controversy and stated that no casualty was recorded in the attack.
But former governor of the state, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, who had been accused by the governor of masterminding the attack said the allegation was merely an orchestrated campaign by Daniel and his aides to make him the issue instead of taking responsibility for the government's lapses.
A statement by the state Commissioner of Information, Mr Niran Malaolu last night, stated that "reports of multiple casualties are clearly based on unsubstantiated reports and we repeat that no fatality was linked to the Tuesday attacks on the convoys of the Governor and his wife."
The state government stated that "On 5 October 2004, the Olu of Ilaro and Paramount Ruler of Yewaland, Oba Samuel Adekambi Tella withdrew an offer of a chieftaincy title to one Dipo Dina, whose nomination for the title was robustly resisted by the youth of the town. Mr. Dina, a member of the opposition Alliance for Democracy (AD) has since claimed that the State Government under the leadership of Otunba Gbenga Daniel prevailed on the Olu-in-Council to withdraw the title."
"The Olu has corrected this erroneous impression by publicly stating that the withdrawal of the offer of the title was informed solely by the genuine interests of his people," Malaolu stated.
He added that "on Tuesday, 19 October 2004, the wife of the Governor of Ogun State, Mrs. Olufunke Daniel, in her capacity as Chairperson of Gateway Front Foundation was scheduled to flag off a child de-worming exercise at Iwoye on the outskirts of Ilaro.
"Unfortunately, Mrs. Daniel could not reach the venue of the exercise where hundreds of children eagerly awaited her arrival. Hoodlums, claiming to be students of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro who were protesting power outage during their semester examinations laid siege to the venue of the event, generally making life unbearable for the crowd that had gathered to await the arrival of Mrs. Daniel.
"The conduct of the mob made the venue unruly and posed a threat to law and order. The law enforcement agents and men of goodwill, therefore felt constrained to resist the affront of the mob, which was promptly dispersed while some arrests were made.
"Just as her convoy was leaving Ilaro for the final stretch to Iwoye, another mob of hoodlums attacked Mrs. Daniel's convoy, pelting the vehicles with stones and other dangerous weapons and damaging many vehicles in the process. The action of the mob forced Mrs. Daniel and her entourage, largely made up of women and medical officers to turn back and return to Abeokuta, the State capital.
"The Governo decided to proceed to Iwoye for a first-hand assessment of the situation and to ensure that the intended beneficiaries of the de-worming exercise did not wait in vain. As the Governor's convoy entered Ilaro, it also came under a heavy barrage of missiles and gunshots while bonfires were set across the access roads.
"The convoy was, however, able to make its way to Iwoye, where the Governor addressed the people who had waited patiently and performed the symbolic de-worming exercise. On the return leg of his journey, the Governor's convoy came under another barrage of attack, which forced him to shelve a courtesy call on the Olu of Ilaro at his palace," he said.
While alleging that the cause of the mayhem was the incitement by the erstwhile governor of the state, the state government noted that "from the morning till the afternoon of Tuesday 19 October, a meeting that held in the residence of late Professor Afolabi Olabimtan was attended by both Mr. Dina and Chief Olusegun Osoba, immediate past Governor of the State.
He alleged that "it was from this meeting that the mayhem unleashed on the town was being co-ordinated."
Malaolu further claimed that "at no time during these protests that were ostensibly triggered by power outage did the mob visit the offices or any installation of the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) in the town. NEPA is the agency responsible for electricity.
"Prior to the incidents, the State Government had been actively involved in efforts to ensure a lasting solution to the problems of electricity supply in Ilaro, and had in fact undertaken to pay for the repairs of the faulty transformer, despite the fact that this was purely the business of NEPA, a Federal agency. Curiously also, the power failure under reference did not affect the campus of the Federal Polytechnic or many of the areas where the students reside"
According to him, "Government condemns in very strong terms the politics of bitterness that continues to characterize the conduct of elements of the opposition in the State. It is pertinent to note that the same Mr. Dina, who claims to have been a victim of official witch-hunt was just a week earlier conferred with a chieftaincy title by Oba Halidu Laloko, Sobekun II, the Agura of Gbagura in Abeokuta, the State capital. The question here is: Why would a State Government that did not have any problems with the conferment of a chieftaincy title right in the seat of Government object to a conferment in Ilaro?"
Osoba told THISDAY in an interview in Lagos that he could not comprehend why his presence in Ilaro for a private meeting would be interpreted as organising students to attack the convoy of the first family in Ogun State.
Narrating his side of the story, the former Ogun State Governor explained that he was in Ilaro for a meeting of members of the AD from Ogun West Senatorial District at the private residence of the late Olabimtan and the meeting ended around 4 pm in the evening.
Describing the allegation as totally untrue, Osoba said, "I see a case of terrible desperation on the part of the Ogun State government. Always running away from the shadow and the supposed ghost of Osoba. I thought a government that has been in place for one and a half years should by now have settled down and face governance rather than witch-hunting supposed opponents.
"That was totally untrue. I was in Ilaro for a scheduled meeting of our AD members in Ogun-west senatorial district. The meeting had been scheduled a month earlier and from the minutes of the meeting which is in October 19. I didn't even enter Ilaro town as the meeting was holding in the private residence of Senator Olabimtan", he said.
Osoba attributed the attack on the first family, to what he described as its insensitivity to pockets of security situations in the state, adding that the attack from students are normal occurrences in the life of any administration.
He said "since I left government, I have made no contacts with anybody in and out of government, deliberately. Not even a messenger. And that is why I don't sleep in Abeokuta, not because I am afraid of them. I didn't want a situation where some people would come to visit me and they would be tagged enemies of the state".
Osoba said though, it looked like there was crisis in the state, he however has nothing to do with it as the state government is the one enveloped with crisis.
"It is my right to live in my house. But I thought I should give them a chance to run their government too the way they feel. Yet, they are not comfortable. And I am amazed because the story I heard is that Osoba is of no political relevance anymore; we have clipped his wings, AD does not exist.
"But why are you still now afraid of what does not exist? I accept, AD does not exist anymore, Osoba is finished politically. You should ignore someone you have written off as an irrelevant material. But they are running away from their own shadows, not my own shadow", he stated.
Meanwhile, the state police command has arrested 33 suspects over the incident.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Olufemi Awoyale confirmed the attack as well as the arrest during an interview with journalists at the Command headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta.
Awoyale said 17of the arrested people were students of the Federal Polytechnic,Ilaro why others were ordinary members of the public.
Awoyale's disclosure of the arrest came as the AD Ogun State Chapter and a chieftain of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in the state, Alhaji Biodun Ogunbiyi yesterday reacted to the allegation against Osoba
In a statement signed by its State Secretary, Mr. Abimbola Awofeso, the AD said.
"For the avoidance of doubt and without any reservation, this allegation based on a purported 'security report' and preliminary investigation, elevates mischief, falsehood and cheap blackmail to the level of state policy."
In his reaction, Ogunbiyi, described the allegation against Osoba as rather unfortunate.
He said it would be sheer deceit and hypocrisy for Daniel to believe that he should be accorded red-carpet treatment and reception anywhere, anytime all through his tenure.
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