We have it on authority that the
two highly respected Egba high chiefs fell out with each other and because
sworn enemies became of a cooperation deal which went sour on the 2003 Ogun
Governorship election that swept Osoba and his fellow AD South west Governors
out of power by Ex President Obasanjo led PDP.
A source close to Osoba group
told us that it was the late Alake of Egbaland Oba Oyebade Lipede
who brokered a peace truce between Osoba and OBJ few months to his second term
re-election bid in 2003 when the former president was facing some hostilities
from some northern elements of PDP who felt he was carrying out some pro Yoruba
policies to spite them despite the fact that Yorubas did not vote for him and
PDP during the 1999 election.
We gathered that it was Oba
Lipede who called Osoba and begged him profusely to support OBJ’s 2003
re-election because he did want a repeat of what happened between MKO Abiola
and Ernest Shonekan in 1993 again in Egba brothers worked against themselves
for Nigeria’s Presidency. We gathered further that Oba Lipede begged Osoba to
use his clout in the defunct AD to assure that all South western Governors of
the party work to return OBJ as President in 2003 instead of presenting a
Presidential candidate for AD and Osoba agreed to the proposal which he
eventually sold to all his Yoruba Governor Colleagues under the agreement that
OBJ will also ensure that all the Governors get their second term Victory too. Our
source added that it was only Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who was then the Governor of
Lagos State who refused to key into the Osoba brokered deal with OBJ. And he
directed Lagos voters not to vote PDP at all at the election.
Unknowingly Osoba, the Yoruba
Governors and AD leaders who agreed to support OBJ did not know that Ex
President Obasanjo and PDP had a game plan to sweep them out of power. OBJ even
went to have breakfast with Osoba at Oke Igbehin government house on the day of
the election after he had perfected plans on how his party members will win all
the elective political positions in the State contrary to the cooperation deal
he had with Osoba and the AD leaders. Our source concluded that Osoba became
highly disappointed in OBJ when he found out that OBJ tricked him through the
late Oba Lipede to use his office and clout to get support for him in South
West which was then a predominant AD zone and this seriously strained their
erstwhile bossom relationship they had cultivated for decades. Our source added
that all efforts made by several prominent people including Late Chief Mrs
Stella Obasanjo. OBJ’s wife to have Osoba forgive Obasanjo and put the matter
behind him did not yield positive results. As Osoba strongly stuck to his
position not to relate with Obasanjo again both as a politician and an Egba
brother.
Our source explained that Osoba
saw OBJ’s action as treachery and he vowed never to have anything to do with
him again in his life despite the fact that he was the person who allocated the
land he used to build his OOPL Library and Hiltop mansion in Abeokuta before
the fall apart in 2003. Our source added that the large concrete walled parcel
of land in the front of OBJ ‘s Hiltop mansion is the one reserved for himself
which he also wanted to use to build a
mansion opposite OBJ to cement their friendship after retirement from public
life if not for the 2003 event which tore them apart.
BY TOKUNBO AKINREMI
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