Like him or hate him, the Ekiti state Governor, Mr. Peter Ayodele Fayose is a game-changer, an admirable Politician, an influential political leader who commands an 'occultic' followership amongst the ordinary people and pedestrian Ekiti masses with whom he openly fraternises and 'romances'- of the Awoist kind which no other Nigerian leader (dead or alive) enjoys, a man who thoroughly understands the language spoken by his people, an anointed Leader chosen by God inspite of his human frailty and touted personal short-comings, a thoroughbred, extremely simplistic yet overtly charismatic leader with the magic wand and electoral victory magic having roundly defeated convincingly two 'lettered' Governors and an effective public speaker! My first encounter with him dates back to year 2000 when he came with the 'spotless' brand as a Gubernatorial aspirant who shared potable water, kerosine and ran an effective mobile clinic to the nooks and crannies of Ekiti as a yet unelected 'Governor' without a budget or an office! I admired his imposing height and seriousness of the pursuit of his gubernatorial ambition. He conducted one of the most sought after medical outreach programmes during his political campaign in 2001 and understood his people's basic needs of food, water, good health and shelter just like the late but 'living' inimical sage, Pa Obafemi Awolowo and used it to warm himself into the hearts of Ekiti people. He doesn't come off as the typical Ekiti man seen as a 'connoisseur of book knowledge', but you can't take away the application of knowledge which is understanding and wisdom away from him. Perhaps the greatest undoing of his opponents and detractors, which incidentally is his strength is to always underate and undermine him. He was left to penetrate the rank and file of the downtrodden and presumed inconsequential until he became a household name in Ekiti. He has the uncurbable strength of a bullock and the wit of a tortoise as he frolicked with everyone that mattered prior to his resounding electoral victory as Ekiti Governor in his first coming. Fayose is a Governor who would knock the door of a Party leader or a ward executive at 2am in the night to converse and converge with them politically in order to accord them their sense of belonging. His profound humility prior to and after his election was legendary even though he loathed elders' cheating, manipulation and condescension. Fayose lives and operates in a world of his own. He came with a unique message of hope for the hopeless and a ray of improvement for the downtrodden.
His life bears eloquent testimony to God's extra-ordinary capacity to bring anyone from the dregs of grass to the garment of grace. Ayo Fayose is a sole testament to the axiom that irrespective of the common man's pedigree, parentage, academic qualifications, institutions attended, travails and turmoil, our dreams are valid! He has proven as a dogged fighter, that with dedication, sense of duty, commitment, sense of direction, responsibility, empathy and God's grace, impossible is nothing! Fayose has proven once again that possessing myriads of irrelevant degrees from pricey institutions alone is not a valid prerequisite for effective political leadership! He has demonstrated that a man does not require a PhD degree to know that his constituents are hungry, famished and insecure. He has shown that paper certificate rather than knowledge is not a correlate of wisdom and political sagacity!
Born on the 13th day of November 1960, Nigeria's year of independence. Mr Ayo Fayose of the People's Democratic Party, (PDP) was Governor of Ekiti State between May 29 2003 and 16 October, 2006 in his first term and was sworn-in as Ekiti Governor the same day 8years after in an unmistakable twist of fate on 16 October, 2014 till date, a position he currently occupies.
Fayose grew up in Ibadan, Oyo State where he attended Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo and the Polytechnic, Ibadan. Born to clergy parents and married to Mrs. Feyisetan, an anointed woman of God I prefer to call a Prophetess, an unshakable pillar of support and God's guardian Angel over her husband.
Peter Ayodele Fayose was the PDP flag bearer in the 2014 Governorship election in Ekiti State conducted on June 21 2014 which he won with no tinge of doubt roundly defeating the incumbent Governor with an unprecedented (never-seen-before-mould-in-the-annals-of-Nigerian-political-history) in all the 16 local governments and in 158 out of 177wards of Ekiti state.
Ayo Fayose is a bastion of inspiration, a man of great political depth and insight, a leader of leaders and a prolific master of the political game. Ayo like his name connotes is a bundle of joy and a prism of divine radiance sent to Ekiti shores. I must admire his tact and endless political maturity since taking the guubernatorial mantle in October this year. His speech is inspiring and his programmes laudable. Fayose's charismatic smile is ever contagious as he exhumes brutal frankness and effective leadership. I am deeply enthralled by his love for his people and his urge to transform Ekiti totally which earned him the sobriquet 'Architect of modern Ekiti'. This true son of the fountain is as strong as the unicorn, energetic, untiring, relentless, purposeful and focused.
Mr Peter Ayodele Fayose holds a honorary Doctorate degree in public administration of the then University of Ado-Ekiti but dropped the prefix 'Dr'. in order to bond better with his major constituents- 'the masses'. Even his vilest critics cannot deny him epithets like the 'friend of the masses' and the 'Osokomole of Ekiti land' whose prime sterling trait is the ease with which he reinvents himself when the chips seem to be down. Fayose has demonstrated time and again that he has what it takes to navigate his ship through turbulent waves of thunderstorm with a distinct nerve for calmness as an effective leader with a forthright conscience and a subliminal sense of compassion for his people, especially the downtrodden pedestrians.
The natural ability to identify with the masses who are clearly in the majority has always been the source of his inexplicable endearment to the people. He equally has the effortless capacity to steer their energies in one conscious direction. The supreme confidence that bouys his spirit which was instrumental to his lifting of Ekiti PDP from the valley of defeat to the mountain top of victory through many self-financed, life-changing projects, which his Ayo Fayose Foundation Campaign movement moved to Ekiti people still amazes me. Through the distribution of potable water in inscribed tankers which reduced drastically the deadly incidence of typhoid and other water-borne diseases in the state, Fayose marshalled out his decipherable blueprint to lift the poor masses out of poverty and poor health. This remains the policy thrust of his populist vision for a new and viable Ekiti.
Fayose enjoys the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members' unflinching loyalty including current and former local government chairmen, women and youth leaders, secretaries and treasurers in 16 local government areas of the state who have expressed confidence in the leadership of the party, adopted him as their preferred choice as Ekiti Governor and stand by him after his election. For those who deemed Fayose as politically irrelevant, they are still in shock as I write over the inexplicable landslide victory which they erroneously impinged on the new concept of 'stomach infrastructure' he allegedly evinced. His electoral victory at the polls, his continuous enjoyment of goodwill and vehement resistance of every alleged judicial coup against his candidature and freely-given mandate must have convinced and put a final stop on the dreary sentence weaved by his political detractors that he did not have the political clout to deliver Ekiti State to the PDP in any election or even rule thereby. The Nigerian Presidency is even totally shocked and altogether bewildered by the turn of events with Fayose’s current disposition as the charismatic man of the moment with tremendous political goodwill beyond Ekiti state and his capacity to deliver the Southwest for President Jonathan. He is the mighty terrible one who sends cold jitters to the weak spines of the opposition. He is the closest to the people at the grassroots and no other Ekiti Governor can claim to understand the plight of the common man better than him. His campaign strategies geared towards alleviating the plight of the masses is a testament of his recourse to communality and sense of purpose. The man Dr. Fayose is a tested and reliable quantum destined to unleash a spectre of development that would be unequalled in the annals of Ekiti State and he has shown this severally.
Fayose’s open admission of past mistakes and willingness and readiness to redress these in the light of exigencies in the state as one of the poorest in terms of monthly federal government allocation is an indication that all is on track to give Ekiti state (the fountain of knowledge) the requisite facelift deserving of the most intellectually endowed of all states in the country. It is on this note that I canvass that he be given the chance to unfurl his development blueprint for Ekiti transformation without any unwarranted political upheaval.
The opposition admittedly has an ache to contend with and his name is Ayo Fayose, the tormentor and likeable irunmale. He is not a flash in the pan as they think. Their discontent with him is his unusual 'Aworo' popularity and it is deservedly a huge cause for concern.
Driven by the desire for enduring change, Ayo Fayose says his passion is to lead the people of Ekiti State to a greater land of his dream. He is yet to renege from this ardent commitment to his promise of brighter dawns for Ekiti State. An unalloyed commitment to an ideal such as this, that holds the social contract sacrosanct is a great virtue indeed, no matter one’s human shortcomings. This is what sets this beautiful bride apart from his predecessors.
Greatness is often not hereditary as nobility is not ancestral for many. There are more men ennobled by nurture than by nature. Fayose is a classic example of an achiever blessed by nature but who excelled by nurture. I hereby join many millions of Nigerians to profusely congratulate this outstanding Nigerian, dependable compatriot, forthright Political leader, influential motivator, selfless patriot, prolific change agent, irrepressible brand ambassador, illustrious Ekiti son, amiable Political strategist, astute citizen and a firm believer in a new Nigeria on the occasion of his 54th birthday celebration which epitomises a milestone in his eventful life on the 13th day of November this year. I have thus written this piece to cloth my felicitation in form. It has indeed been a great watershed of achievement, travails and triumphs and moral conquest for this highly cerebral ideologue, seasoned Politician, shinning strobe, thoroughly helpful Political icon and compassionate Nigerian. I feel highly elated that Ekiti is ruled by the presumably 'lowly' and I am even more excited to pay him glowing well-deserved tributes. I make bold to say that with leaders like Fayose there is hope for the masses and our dear country, Nigeria.
It is not a passing mission to pay a glowing tribute to one of the few men who give the masses hope of a better generation and stands tall like an exception to the entrenchment of political dynasty and oligarchy in our national political firmament. He is altruistic, kind-hearted, stable, effective and mature. This Afao-Ekiti son has contributed so much to the political history of Ekiti state in particular and Nigeria in general. His life is a cautionary tale of an incredible rise to prominence of the ordinary Nigerian. His informal flair for excellence, non-conforming stance with bureaucratic imbroglio, effectiveness, sense of justice and service delivery strike his admirers like a raging thunderstorm! I aver that If more underdogs, ordinary people devoid of political ancestry and servant-leaders like Fayose occupy public office, Nigeria will soon stop limping in the doldrums of under-development, widespread poverty and needless corruption, lack of hope for the masses and would rather fly steadily to the airwaves of economic recovery, progress and enviable development. Fayose is not a saint and no one is, but he is a Leader quick to admit his faults and forge ahead with correction.
Fayose is a God-made person who has made history as a specialist in winning Gubernatorial elections and believing against all odds, he has unconsciously re-orientated the Nigerian citizenry about God's power to appoint and disappoint and has thus reduced political desperation. Governance thrives in Ekiti with his horde of political experience and personal accomplishments. His wealth of experience traverses the private sector, he is a prolific Public speaker, a proponent of social justice, populism and public welfarism who has personally engaged Nigerians on the notable distinction between development and growth. He is an adherent of the nugget that the welfare of the people should be the final law! Call him a social welfarist or a pragmatist and you won't be far from the truth, this man's unbridled love for teachers and civil servants is an ingenious reflection of his personal humaneness as demonstrated by his unflinching commitment to their overall welfare and professional well-being. It is not a deliberate pleonasm to constantly harp on his stellar human relationship indicial, competence at delivery, political sagacity and infrastructural accomplishments.
It is not an easy task to adequately describe this extremely complex, simple yet sophisticated, dutiful yet informal, selfless and very warm leader on many frontiers. He is principally a Scientist who cleansed freckles and spots hence his cliche, 'SPOTLESS' and a believing businessman who gave entrepreneurship a whole new meaning, momentum and character. Ayo Fayose has clearly re-written our people's ideology with his penetrating pedagogue, vivid illustration dynamism and grass-to-grace inspiring story. Strangely, he is a devout practising Christian of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry. His uncommon liberalism and tremendous respect for every human being irrespective of his or her religious belief stand him out. He is a full-fledged Nigerian of very humble background who now occupies high political office but whom has deliberately shunned the cloistered life of the affluent and the influential which he became through a sheer dint of hardwork and God's benevolence only to embrace the chequered life of the ordinary Nigerian with a lifelong fundamental engagement with the undying forces of misgovernance, crass misrule, social injustice, socio-political perversion and consequent retrogression in the contemporary Nigerian society. Fayose is a prodigy in enviable contradiction and a leveler to the core. He is a reformed true Awoist, a Pan-Africanist, an emerging nationalist and a chronic reformer who believes in egalitarianism and loathes academic racism. He identifies the vagaries of conspiracy theorists and finds constructive criticisms meaningful. He never hesitates to show his open disdain for economic class segregation, he resents unmerited cheating, social class sentiments, inequality, inverted bigotry, crass misrule and the political barrenness prevalent in our polity. He is a radical Politician and an obfuscatory mystery to many. I can't exhaust tributes on him but I just wish him a very happy birthday celebration as he leads Ekiti to the shore of political progress and economic recovery. Many Happy returns Mr. Governor. Ad multos annos.
By 'Tosin Ayo (The 'word bank') who hails from Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State Nigeria. He is a seasoned Author, Legal Practitioner and Researcher. He holds a LL.M (Energy Law) degree of the University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom
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