OPINION: Your Horse Is Never Tall in the Eyes of Your Enemy
By Comrade Allen Sowore, Esq.
This morning, I read the fourth series of statements from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Publicity Secretary, Kennedy Peretei. By now, I had assumed that Peretei and his colleagues would have returned from the Radisson Blu Hotel or fully recovered from the effects of their babalaas. But I have my doubts.
This time, the PDP—through their rabid propagandist—used an old picture from before Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s assumption of office to falsely depict Akure as a filthy, almost uninhabitable city.
In his fabricated narrative, Peretei claims: “All the major roads in Akure, the Ondo State capital, as well as markets, have become eyesores, with embarrassing heaps of refuse littering every available space.”
He goes further, criticizing the governor’s banners on the medians, stating: “The overgrown weeds and Governor Aiyedatiwa’s lamp-pole banners announcing his 2024 governorship bid are competing for attention.”
At Oja Oba, one of the largest markets on Oba Adesida Road, he paints a scene where shop owners supposedly use spades to push back piles of refuse just to display their wares.
Intrigued by these claims, I decided to see for myself. I drove with Fade Ojamomi, Special Assistant on Inter-Party Affairs, from Oba-Ile through Oja Oba to the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) junction.
Politics aside, I encourage anyone in Akure to do the same. What we found were clean streets, neatly trimmed flowers in the median, and well-arranged streetlight poles, each bearing beautifully printed banners for Governor Aiyedatiwa’s 2024 campaign.
On our way back, I noticed all the bus stops had been remodeled in the state’s signature orange colour, and the concrete barricades were being removed to make way for the renovation of streetlights—soon to be fully operational once again.
After touring the entire capital city, it’s clear that Akure is more beautiful now than ever before. Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has reactivated the urban renewal projects initiated by his predecessors with fresh energy, creativity, and modernity.
Reflecting on my observations compared to the grim, negative portrayal put forth by the PDP’s propagandist, I am reminded of a Yoruba proverb: Esin Eni kì í Ga Lójú Òtá Eni. Á Ní Bí i Kẹ́tẹ́kẹ́tẹ́ Ló Rí.
Your horse is never tall in the eyes of your enemy; they will always claim it resembles a donkey.
Unfortunately, in politics, there should be no “enemies”—only opponents.
Allen Sowore, Esq.
Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Ondo State on Strategic Communication
9th October, 2024