Gani Adams, the leader of a faction of the Odua People's Congress (OPC), has described as a wolf in sheep's skin the septuagenarian leader of the other faction, Mr. Fredrick Fasheun over the latter's controversial solidarity with recently acquitted Major Hamza Al-Mustapha.
The criticism is contained in a statement released by the organization and signed by the General Secretary, Mr. Tanimowo Babajide, and the Publicity Secretary, Akeem Ologunro
Referring to Fasheun's threat to name Adam's sponsors, he challenged Fasehun to come out and name them or cover his face in shame and keep quiet.
"Unlike Fasheun, whose antecedents have proved beyond any doubt that he has always had a price tag that can be paid for anytime by the highest bidder, Otunba Gani Adams has remained consistent with the dream behind the formation of the OPC, which was to fight for the rights of the Yoruba race and the right for self-determination," the statement said.
It noted that "the same people who are paying [Fasheun's] bills" tried several times to enlist the support of Otunba Adams to support their cry for the release of their man, Al-Mustapha, but he rebuffed them on each occasion, remaining steadfast to upholding the Yoruba's age-long logic of 'Oruko rere san j'owo lo'.
Mr. Adams described Mr. Fasheun as a flip-flopper who has over time reneged on collective objectives and values to pursue personal political interests in the company of oppressors of the masses. In doing so, Adams said that Fasehun's greed has manifested from the time of General Sanni Abacha, who callously attempted to elongate his stay in power.
The fraudulent scheme, according to Gani, attracted Fasehun who had fallen in with the military dictator, even though he also publicly claimed a stance again the gruesome murder of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola.
The statement further said that the OPC, which was said to have formed to collectively demand justice and restore the mandate of the June 12, 1993 presidential election to the winner, late Chief MKO Abiola, broke into factions from the greed of Mr. Fasehun which most members of the group felt was antithetical to the objective that created OPC.
The statement is reproduced below:
FASEHUN A WOLF IN SHEEP'S SKIN
With the comments credited to the Dr. Fredrick Fasheun's group in Sunday Punch, casting aspersion on the person of Otunba Gani Adams, it is now very clear to us that Fasehun has chosen to thread the path of perfidy and self-destruct, with all the dire consequences.
Ordinarily, we would have dismissed the comments as coming from a drowning man seeking to hold onto anything for survival, having realized his grievous and damning miscalculation, but we have realized that there is need for us to answer him and put the records straight.
While trying to justify his support for Major Al-Mustapha, Fasehun, in the story, entitled 'Gani Adams sponsored to criticize me, claimed
that Otunba Adams was sponsored to criticize him, and that the sponsors were afraid of his (Fasehun's) acceptance in the North.
Laughable as this accusation may seem, we would, however, want him and his cohorts to stick to the subject matter rather than beat around
it. Let him be reminded that Otunba Adams' criticism was based on Fasehun's unholy romance with Al-Mustapha, who was fingered in the killing of late
Kudirat Abiola, a Yoruba woman and wife of late MKO Abiola, the martyr of our democracy.
He also claimed that his visit to Kano had given his political party a political mileage in the North, and that Otunba Adams is losing members in drove.
With his threat to name the alleged sponsors of Otunba Adams, Fasehun would do well to come out and name the sponsors now or better still cover his face in shame and keep quiet. Unlike Fasehun, whose antecedents have proved beyond any doubt that he has always had a price tag that can be paid for anytime by the highest bidder, Otunba Gani Adams has remained consistent with the dream behind the formation of the OPC, which was to fight for the rights of the Yoruba race and the right for self-determination.
At this juncture, let us inform Fasehun that the same people who are paying his bills tried several times to enlist the support of Otunba Adams to support their cry for the release of their man, Al-Mustapha, but he rebuffed them on each occasion, remaining steadfast to upholding the Yoruba's age-long logic of 'Oruko rere san j'owo lo'. But it is now very clear that Fasehun knows little or nothing about this age-long practice.
Recent happenings have also confirmed our suspicions over the role played by Fasehun in the crisis that engulfed the OPC in the past.
While professing to fight for the rights of the Yoruba race, Fasehun had always been a mole eating from both sides of the mouth. For the benefits of those who do not know the genesis of the crisis, it started after a large portion of our members realized that Fasehun was trying to use the group as a platform to join the Abacha's five political arrangements in 1998.
In those dark days of the battle for the restoration of the June 12 mandate, most of us were always surprised that Abacha and his men always seemed to know much about our strategies and plans. But we are now convinced that the source of those leaks was no other person but Fasehun. What this means is that Fasehun's unholy alliance with Al-Musapha predates his trial for the murder of Kudirat. No wonder then, that in 2008, after visiting the Abachas, Fasehun came out to say the late dictator was the best president for Nigeria.
In trying to deceive the Yoruba race, Fasehun decided to choose the UPN as the name for his political party. He also claimed that his visit to Kano has given his party a political mileage. But nothing can be further from the truth than this claim. Fasehun's party lacks any base in any part of the country. His case is like a builder who starts construction from the roof rather than the foundation. All popular political parties have their strong base and followers in the base of the founder. This perhaps informed the decision of political parties like APGA, AD (later ACN) and the CPC to first build a base in their strongholds before seeking further acceptance outside of their bases. But where can we say is the strong base of Fasehun's UPN? Fasehun is like the ostrich that covers its head in sand, and forgetting that its anus is open to everybody.
There is no gain repeating the fact that Fasehun is misrepresenting the OPC and the Yoruba race in general. His claim that we are losing members in dove is indeed laughable. Let us state here that the truth of the matter is that true members of the OPC who are still loyal to the original cause of the group have left the Fasehun group to join our group, and many more have shown interest in joining us having realized Fasehun's deceit and warped
sense of leadership.
I hereby throw an open challenge to Fasehun to join me on a walk on the street of any town in Yorubaland for a popularity test if he is
truly sure of his acceptance.
Barrister Tanimowo
Babajide, comrade. Akeem Ologunro,
General Secretary, OPC Publicity secretary*
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