…For Not Supporting TINUBU
Talk of one of the most fearless and factual Islamic scholars in Nigeria, Sheik Muyideen Bello ranks high among them. He says the truth without minding whose ox is gored. The Sheik who is popularly called “Oni Wasi Agbaye” meaning a world-renowned preacher is the shining light of Islam in Yorubaland. Those who are old enough to witness the military regime can testify to how hard he hit any military administration whose policies were anti-people. He has been like this right from time. Sheikh Muyideen never stops rebuking underperforming governments just as he praises those doing well. His brand of lecture delivering is top notch and sometimes comical despite his being frank with facts. This is why many people don’t joke with his lectures which always point out the evils in the society and cautions listeners to avert them.
This time around, Sheikh Muyideen blew hot as he hit the Yoruba hard for the part they played in the just concluded presidential election. It was obvious that the Yoruba people were divided over the choice of Tinubu as the successor of President Buhari. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu lost in Lagos and Osun State. The Sheikh during a Ramadan lecture in Lagos said he wasn’t surprised that the disposition of some Yoruba who went all out against their own during the election, that the Yoruba are their own enemies. They are known for not always supporting their own. Below are excerpts from his speech made in Yoruba but translated to English:
“The Yoruba race is full of hypocrites. They never want anybody to be as successful like them or more successful than they are. Hypocrisy is one key attribute of a bad person. Yoruba people are terrible people. They are deceitful people. If you see it in the morning, you have to go back and sleep. Many Yoruba are unfortunate people. When God is about bringing something great to their person, instead of them supporting such a person to achieve greatness, they would work against him. Something they can’t achieve for themselves. They are poor but always jealous of someone who is blessed with huge wealth. In the North where I used to stay, if a young person is rich, the entire community would from time to time visit, praise and pray for him. But if it were to be in Yorubaland, they would start saying all sorts of things like; he is too young to be successful; I know when his mother was married. I will never go to him or receive a gift from him.
“The show of shame of the Yoruba in Lagos during the presidential election was disgraceful. They really exposed Tinubu that the northerners kept wondering how you treated your person this bad. The North will never take us seriously again. They are always firm on what they want and won’t compromise just like the Yoruba are doing. The north used to hold us in high esteem but we have now become objects of ridicule before them. If Tinubu whom they are proud of as a big politician and philanthropist can be treated with much hatred by his people, it baffles them the kind of people we are
“Tinubu left the South West to do a lot for them in the north and he was responsible for the success story of Lagos. It’s high time we started seeking God’s forgiveness with the manner we treated one of us, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. What we did to him was nothing but hypocrisy.
“We, the Yoruba, need to amend our ways. The northerners are not happy with us. They are rebuking us. When Bola Tinubu needed our full support, we let him down. You can imagine how long we have been on it in this country. Chief Obafemi Awolowo aimed to become the president but he wasn’t allowed to get there. He was jailed on a false claim that he wanted to topple the government of the time, whereas he never imported guns or any ammunition into the country. He was sentenced to prison and after he returned, he swallowed his ambition and kept quiet. In 1979, Awolowo contested again. This time he was so sure of his victory but when the result was released, he lost again and returned home. Awolowo’s track record in Yorubaland remains unbroken till date. The day the sad news of Awolowo’s death broke, I was on my way to the mosque to observe Solatu Ishai in Kano. On that day, I said while addressing the people in a lecture that the Yoruba need to be more vigilant. Awolowo is now dead. It’s until another 50 years that God will raise another politician like Awolowo in our midst. “
“The truth is that Yorubas never wish people around them good. They only want goodness for themselves alone. We don’t have true companions. We are our companions. It was in Yorubaland where some pastors said there won’t be an election but we eventually voted. But what is the business of a pastor or an imam in politics? There was a pastor who was being unreasonable. He told his congregation that whoever among them does not vote for his candidate, Peter Obi, he said that he would flog them with a cane. You want to beat the elders who came to worship in the church. No wonder these are the type of people we follow in our country today that is why everything is upside down. Then I said, for all those prophets of doom saying negative things, whoever goes to them for prayers would die of poverty. “There is an elderly man writing nonsense letters calling for cancellation and reconducting another election. Then I ask, will he provide money to run another round of elections?
“If not for the elderstatemen who now write letters about, Lagos would have succeeded in generating and supplying adequate electricity to power the state. I know much about this. Tinubu and the late Baba Folawiyo held a meeting on how to generate electricity for Lagos. The late Folawiyo was ready to invest in the project. Tinubu and Baba Folawiyo spent heavily on the project. At the point when the plant to generate the needed electricity for Lagos is almost arriving at Marina, this man halted what would have been a landmark project. I was sitting with Tinubu and Baba Folawiyo when he ordered that the plant shouldn’t be installed. After that, Tinubu thought it wise to create additional local governments in the state. This same man refused to pay. Meanwhile, the majority of the money spent in Abuja was generated from Lagos.
“I could remember our sojourn to Kanji Dam. I spend a lot carrying out knowledge-based research. That is why it would be difficult for any government officials to nullify my claims. I went to Kanji to deliver a lecture in a community called Borgu. When I got there, I met the operator in charge of power which extends to countries like, Niger Republic, Ghana, and others. He is a crown prince of Saki town in Oyo State. After the lecture, he told me to visit him at his office before I leave. I didn’t know where he works until I got there, seeing that he worked in a power station. Then he showed me where they supply all the electricity in the country. Out of the 8 dooms supplying electricity, only one was working effectively. The man in charge at one point and I were full of tears. Everybody that went with me began to weep for our country. He said since the existence of Nigeria, this is where our electricity is being powered. He said money allotted for power didn’t get here. Is this how things would keep going? It is the same community that Bola Ahmed was given the title of Jagaban. In fact, the King of Borgu gave men a similar garment he gave to Asiwaju that day. Jagaban means Asiwaju. But why do we always get annoyed when God brings goodness to our people?
“I’m not interested in any political post or appointment. Those there should try and represent us well. But if any of them think they can do as they like once they get there, they will regret it. I have started warning those who will be working with the incoming administration of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. All government appointees should present what they have done in 6 months intervals. Whoever doesn’t perform should be replaced. We no longer want a non-performing government.
“We pray to Almighty God that the era of the president-elect should benefit all and sundry. God should use his presidency to praise the Yoruba race. Nigeria will not falter by God’s grace. When we were praying for Buhari’s government. We didn’t remember to tell God to choose good lieutenants for him. then all we prayed for was for Buhari to emerge. Let’s pray for the incoming government that God should help those that would be working with him. Make them good and successful people. We pray to God to save us from the unfortunate government in this country.
– Jamiu Abubakar
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