Not too much naming FUTA, FECA after Pa Reuben Fashoranti – Akeredolu

By Dr. Akeredolu O.N

The federal government of Nigeria recently named some airports after prominent individuals in the country.

It wouldn’t be too much if either the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), or the Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, is named after this Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fashoranti, in recognition of his services to the nation.

It would encourage others and show that politics is not about being selfish. Additionally, one of his biological sons, Pharmacist Kehinde Fashoranti, is preparing to become the next deputy governor of the Sunshine State.

This aspiration is believed to have the blessings of the Yoruba social-cultural group, Afenifere, with regard to the presidency. This is one of the ways Pa. Fashoranti can be honoured during his lifetime for his unprecedented sacrifices in the past.

The Akure-born Afenifere leader, Pa. Reuben Fashoranti, is a very unique and rare gem, one of the unsung heroes in the Yoruba race. No doubt, I believe in and celebrate other prominent leaders like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Sir Ladoke Akintola, Chief Adekunle Ajasin, Chief Bisi Onabanjo, Prof. Ambrose Ali, others from the Action Group and UPN. However, in terms of selflessness and moral standards, Pa Reuben Fashoranti surpasses many, if not all of them, I stand to be corrected on this my assertion. 

Likewise, we have many illustrious sons like Chief MKO Abiola, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, many past , current governors and political leaders in this generation, but none of them ever did or is planning to do Pa. Reuben Fashoranti’s act of love.

Another hero of his genre was Lieutenant Col. Adekunle Fajuyi from Ado-Ekiti, who fell to the guns of a reprisal attack by northern young military officers in retaliation for the presumed Igbo coup led by Major Kaduna Nzeogwu, happened six months earlier. For the sake of knowledge, this great hero was the military administrator of the Western region of Nigeria, hosting then military head of state Major General Aguiyi Ironsi when the mutiny led by Major Muritala Muhammed and Capt Theophilus Danjuma usurped power. All efforts to quell the uprising by this host proved abortive, so he decided to die with his visitor. This act is quite unique and heroic in the history of Nigeria and is under-celebrated because of the evil society we live in as black people.

In the same spirit, after serving as the Commissioner for Finance of the most productive administration in Ondo State’s political history and subsequently paid his dues with NADECO, a pro-democratic group that agitated for Chief MKO Abiola’s mandate against the dreaded Gen. Sani Abacha’s administration, Pa Reuben Fashoranti was given the governorship mandate of Ondo state as compensation for his past sacrifices. In his selfless nature, he preferred his friend from Akoko Southwest, the late Chief Adebayo Adefarati, to be precise. He used his status as a widower as an excuse and gave the Akoko people of Ondo State the golden opportunity to occupy the prestigious seat in the Sunshine State.

Many have argued that he wasn’t interested in the position because of his late wife and that he had no plan to remarry, but I disagree. This Afenifere leader was well-read and learned, he knew that the governor’s wife has no constitutional role. Even Chief Bisi Akande, who became the governor of Osun State at the same time, rendered the position of First Lady redundant. Pa. Fashoranti could have done the same if he was interested in the coveted governorship seat. This singular act of allowing Akoko’s son to be governor in his place, which these people couldn’t do for themselves as evidenced by the governorship primary of APC that produced Akeredolu in 2016, was a rare opportunity for them to produce another governor. However, they blew it up due to their self-centeredness. All efforts to unite the political bigwigs among this ethnic group failed, as gladiators like Dr. Segun Abraham, Sen. Ajayi Boroffice, and Rt. Hon. Victor Olabimtan divided the delegates’ votes, paving the way for the current governor, Akeredolu, from Owo to carry the day, in the keenly contested primary.

In the same spirit, Hon. Friday Stephen Olemija, who was a member of the House of Representatives at that time, refused the pleas of Ikare’s leaders and monarchs who wanted him to support the son of the soil, Dr. Segun Abraham. He ensured that the bulk of the delegates went to Sen.Tayo Alasoadura from Akure, at the expense of his own people. In a nutshell, what Pa. Fashoranti did for them, these individuals couldn’t do for themselves, justifying the gravity of his actions. This shows the level of sacrifice he made and why he deserves to be celebrated in an uncommon manner.

Our patriarchs, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Sir Ladoke Akintola, who transformed the Egbe Omo Oduduwa of London in 1948 into the Action Group at the palace of Olowo, Sir Olateru Olagbegi, later became sworn enemies because of the premiership (governorship) of the Western region. The popular Akintola TAKU (the recalcitrant Akintola) was a result of his unwillingness to vacate the seat as the premier, following the fallout at the Jos convention of the Action Group that necessitated the pronouncement of the Governor-General, then Ooni of Ife, Sir Adesoji Aderemi, against Chief Akintola’s position. The entire scenario later put the region in jeopardy.

In the same vein, Chief Adekunle Ajasin and his erstwhile deputy, Chief Akin Omoboriowo, set the Sunshine State on fire in the fight for the stolen mandate of the latter. This struggle claimed several lives and properties during the popular 1983 political riot, which many political observers concluded as the beginning of the end of that political dispensation. If greed and an inordinate aspiration for political power had been like this from the inception of Nigerian democracy, there is a need for us to unusually celebrate this Akure-born politician for his selflessness.

The current President of Nigeria, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, made sacrifices at certain points in his political career of over three decades. In 2007, after completing his two terms as the Governor of Lagos State, he wanted to be a senator but later relinquished his ambition for Hon. Ganiyu Solomon, who spent eight years in the red chamber. Also, following the merger of major opposition parties as APC, the Jagaban of Borgu wanted to be the president but later dropped it for Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who recently finished his two terms as the number two citizen of Nigeria.

The federal government of Nigeria recently named some airports after prominent individuals in the country. It wouldn’t be too much if either the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), or the Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, is named after this Afenifere leader in recognition of his services to the nation. It would encourage others and show that politics is not about being selfish. Additionally, one of his biological sons, Pharmacist Kehinde Fashoranti, is preparing to become the next deputy governor of the Sunshine State. 

This aspiration is believed to have the blessings of the social-political group, Afenifere, vis-à-vis the presidency. This is one of the ways this selfless individual can be honoured for his unprecedented sacrifices of the past.

Peoplesmind