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Efforts to outshine
one another by politicians in Oyo State, led to the abrupt ending to a
book launch organised in honour of the Olubadan of Ibadan land, Samuel
Odulana Odugade 1, in Ibadan on Thursday.

Political aides to
the Oyo State governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala, and a group of local
government chairmen in the state threw decorum to the wind as they sang
abusive songs to interrupt the address delivered by Bola Tinubu, former
governor of Lagos State, who was the chief launcher at the occasion.

The drama started when Mr Tinubu was called upon to give his address and make a formal presentation of the book to the public.

Starting with the
usual protocol, the former Lagos State governor had no problems with
his address until he got to the heart of the presentation, which was
critical of the system that produced the incumbent state governor and
the aftermath of the process.

Supporters of Mr
Alao-Akala, who were mobilized in large numbers to overwhelm the
opposition, started to boo Tinubu and sang different songs. But they
got a match from the opposition, as counter choruses echoed from the
other side.

At a stage when the
opposition seemed to be gaining the upper hand, state political office
holders and local government chairmen joined in the fray and forced Mr
Tinubu to discontinue his address.

Having waited
intermittently for the singing to subside, the former Lagos State
governor insisted he was going to finish his address, no matter how
long it takes.

He, however,
realized he would not continue since the atmosphere was already
charged. So, he stopped the address and went ahead to present the book.

Mr Tinubu thereafter left the scene with most of the opposition politicians present at the book launch.

Among those who
left with him were Lam Adesina, former Oyo State governor and leader of
the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN); Teslim Folarin, Senate Leader;
Rasidi Ladoja, a former governor of the state, and a host of other
members of the opposition.

When he rose to
give his remark as the chief host, Mr Alao-Akala admonished the
Olubadan to caution his chiefs against polluting the traditional seats
of the state with partisan politics.

Apparently
disappointed by the turn of events at the book launch, the traditional
ruler delegated his response to one of his chiefs.

Politics of supremacy

The late arrival of
invited guests delayed the commencement of the programme. The Soun of
Ogbomoso, Oyewumi Ajagungbade, left the venue before the programme
began, after waiting for hours sitting alone at the high table without
any other invited dignitaries to join him.

Also, for reasons
yet unclear, Abdul-Azeez Arisekola Alao, the Aare Musulumi of Yoruba
land, left immediately the governor’s convoy entered the premises of
the event.

The politics of
supremacy did not end in chanting and making remarks. The book launch
proper also had some colours of politicking.

Mr Tinubu launched
the book with N1 million. When it was the turn of the Oyo State
governor, he did the same with N10 million while other pledges of
millions also came from his aides and other political office holders in
the state.

Mr Tinubu, in his speech, had praised the courage of the Olubadan, whom he said had brought grit to the royal seat of Ibadan.

“When most people
in the land were playing safe, anxious and fearful not to offend the
powers-that-be, the Olubadan launched a full scale campaign on such
vile politicking, and why it dirtied the traditional institution,” he
said. “That was an act of great courage, since the Oba was not only
fighting the locals who were abusing the traditional institution, he
was also up against the all-mighty federal might, whose managers then
were benefiting from the abuse.”

The book was a biography of the Olubadan and was reviewed by Kunle Lawal, a professor.