Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has slammed Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, over the ‘disrespectful’ remark towards Oyo monarchs at the inauguration of the 34.85km Oyo-Iseyin road in Oyo State.
OsunDailyNG reported that Obasanjo had ordered the monarchs to get up to greet Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, during the commissioning of the Iseyin Campus of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Renewable Natural Resources of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Iseyin.
Obasanjo, a special guest of honour at the event, expressed dismay over the behaviour of the kings, describing it as ‘disrespectful’ toward the governor’s office and himself when they were being introduced and the monarchs were seated.
Reacting to Obasanjo’s remark, Fani-Kayode, in a statement via his X handle on Saturday, said Obasanjo’s action saddens him.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain stated that Obasanjo’s words and behaviour are a desecration of Yoruba values and a grave insult to the traditional institutions.
He stressed that Obasanjo’s support for the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has demystified him in the eyes of most Yoruba traditional rulers.
Fani-Kayode further said that the ex-president displayed Peter Obi’s spirit of dishonesty and urged him to stop embarrassing those who still respect him.
He wrote, “I am deeply saddened and utterly mortified by the way in which former President Olusegun Obasanjo lambasted our revered traditional rulers in Oyo state and “ordered” them to “stand up” and “sit down” as if they were children.
“This is the same OBJ that, once upon a time, displayed his respect, humility, and, I daresay, greatness by bowing, kneeling and prostrating before our monarchs, even when he was President, yet today he talks to them as if they are his garbage collectors and orders them to jump up and down like a molue driver talking to his beleaguered passengers and a motor park tout talking to a bunch of jobless and worthless underlings.
“Many think that the whole thing is some kind of joke, but I do not. We must not take it lightly, and the truth is that by doing what he did he has spat on all our faces.
“I am constrained to be gentle and restrained in my criticism of Baba OBJ on this and so many other issues because of the undying love, respect and reverence I have for him. This is all the more so given the fact that I proudly served in his Government.
However, his association with and support for Peter Obi in the last presidential election has diminished and demystified him in the eyes of most to such an extent that it has become pitiful and embarrassing. It is also indefensible.
“How can a man who dedicated his life to and fought for a united Nigeria support a closet secessionist, a political fraud, a patently deceitful, vainglorious and dishonest man and a religious bigot like Peter to be President?
“That the great OBJ is now a flaming Obidient is the 8th wonder of the world. It really makes no sense, and it is simply mind-boggling.
“What we witnessed when OBJ insulted our traditional rulers in Oyo state yesterday was the Obi spirit, which is now firmly embedded in him at work.
“First, he was at a gathering in Awka where the Yoruba race was labelled “political rascals” by some Igbo leaders without a response from him, and now he has the guts and effrontery to tell our traditional rulers to jump up and down like yoyos and clowns?
“Baba, this is too much. Please respect yourself and stop embarrassing those of us who still have some affection and respect left for you.”
