The unfolding
political tension in Osun State between the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbola
and Governor Gboyega Oyetola has caught the eye of the general public
especially with the verbal missiles thrown by the Aregbesola against APC
National Leader, Bola Tinubu.
It would also be
recalled that the Minister was said to be attacked by members of what he termed
the ‘opposing camp’.
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According to
reports, the security details in Aregbesola’s convoy were on Monday said to
have created panic in Osogbo as heavy shooting rented the air when
the minister was passing through the Old Garage Area of the state capital.
But the Osun State Police Command and the Oyetola administration said
operatives of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigeria Correctional
Service and Immigration Service in the convoy of Aregbesola shot without
provocation along the Old Garage and MDS in Osogbo metropolis, as the convoy
passed through the area but the security details also reportedly said they shot
to repel an attack on the ex-governor.
It is on the aegis
of this that the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has
called on security agents to quickly step in to halt the unfolding political
thuggery in Osun State ahead of the All Progressives Congress, APC primary
election scheduled for Saturday.
The National Coordinator of HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement said the call became urgent with the supremacist
tussle and the battleline drawn by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola;
National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and incumbent governor of the
state, Gboyega Oyetola.
Aregbesola had
in a now viral video attacked Tinubu, saying that the APC National
leader has assumed the position of God, vowing that God will bring him down.
Aregbesola, who was Osun State governor from 2010 to 2018, and his successor,
Oyetola, who is seeking reelection, have been at loggerheads for some time over
the control of the APC organ in the state.
Aregbesola had while visiting Ijebu Jesa on Monday declared support for former
Secretary to the State Government, Moshood Adeoti, in Saturday’s governorship
primary, and vowed to give Oyetola the Akinwunmi Ambode treatment.
It would be recalled that Akinwumi Ambode lost his bid to return
as Lagos State governor after just one term in 2019 due to intra-party
squabbles.
The minister also declared war against his erstwhile political mentors and
associates supporting Oyetola for reelection including APC chieftain, Bola
Tinubu; and ex-Osun governor, Bisi Akande.
Commenting on the development, HURIWA called on the Inspector General of
Police, Usman Baba, to mobilise policemen and anti-riot operatives for
Saturday’s APC primary in Osun State.
“The Monday shooting is only a
precursor to greater danger looming in the state this political season. Security
agents must be at alert and rein in on mischief-makers and political thugs no
matter whose camp they belong,” HURIWA National Coordinator,
Emmanuel Onwubiko, said in the statement.
Onwubiko added, “Political officeholders whether at the state or federal levels
must desist from using elections as a show of might and to cause a breach of
public peace.
“While HURIWA is not concerned about
the rivalry between Aregbesola and Oyetola factions within the APC, it is
important to call on the APC leaders at the centre including President
Muhammadu Buhari to call Aregbesola, Oyetola and other warring factions to
order ahead of Saturday’s governorship primary.
“Politics thrive in the absence of
tension, intimidation and threat to life. Members of the APC in Osun should go
peacefully to the ballot this Saturday and elect their candidate.
“Oyetola, Aregbesola and other factional leaders in Osun APC should be made to
sign a peace pact before February 19, 2022. Both Oyetola and Aregbesola should
be held accountable for any breach of public peace arising from the
governorship primary election this Saturday.”
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