Former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has staked his claim as the third most successful politician in Yorubaland after late Obafemi Awolowo and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Fondly called Ogbeni, the former Lagos Commissioner for Works, served as a two-term governor in Osun State from 2010 to 2018 before handing over to his anointed candidate former governor Adeboyega Oyetola, with whom he later clashed.
Speaking uncensored in a recent video uploaded on YouTube, Aregbesola flayed his successor, Oyetola, claiming that his failure to win his reelection in 2022 was because of betrayal.
“It’s different from when we started in 2005 when we started then, there was none of us without long necks. After serving two terms, it appears my neck adjusted a bit, we’re not running around too much. Though the one God asked us to support (his successor Oyetola) to serve at first; many people didn’t know what happened in Osun. God spoke a lot in Osun but many people didn’t see what God was doing in Osun.
“There are only three god-given successful politicians in Yoruba land since the time politics started. Awolowo started it, he finished his term and handed it over to his anointed candidate who did as he pleased and lost power. He lost power because he didn’t do the wishes of the party and Awolowo. President Bola Tinube served two terms(as Lagos State governor) and handed over to his preferred candidate. Thank God these successors did his wish, the power is still with them to date. He’s the second.
“The third person in Yorubaland is Rauf Aregbesola. Whether they like it or not, I’m the one God-made success. We’re three and not four yet, God may permit a fourth powerhouse tomorrow. We governed for eight years and with God, we handed over to the successor we felt would make our wishes and that of the party. He betrayed us and the party, see his end.
“For those impatient sympathisers who aren’t in Osun to know the root of the matter, they’re speaking gibberish… If you don’t think of yourself, think of your followers. What did we drag with you? Which of them did I have issues with before, before they betrayed me, none. I didn’t ask for position, money, or obedience. What we demanded was that the party, the one they met us, shouldn’t be destabilised. We did that for three years. There was no private misunderstanding before they came public to say all sorts of things. I told some people, I’ve done my term, support my successor the way you supported me. I won’t reveal his response to them, but I will when the time comes. They left his place in tears over the response… I’m saying this so you can know.”