Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa: How loyalty meets capacity

By Olaniyi Ajibola

The critical evaluation of the intrinsic tenets of Loyalty as conceptualized by a great thinker, Fetty Wap, simply speaks to the character of the Acting Governor of Ondo State, His Excellency, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, and defines the whole political development in Ondo State, which culminated into the inevitability of submitting to the dictates of the extant law and Nigeria's constitution.

Fetty Wap postulated: " My whole thing is Loyalty, Loyalty over Royalty; Word is bond". In truth and indeed, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa from February 2021 had displayed high degree of Loyalty to his Principal, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, who out of his strong sense of leadership recruitment and talent hunt discovered the requisite Loyalty and Capacity in Aiyedatiwa.

Truly to Akeredolu's projection about him, the former Deputy Governor was a loyal lieutenant in words and appearance; he brought the acumen and sagacity of the private sector to bear in supporting Arakunrin in his dynamic leadership and good governance, unlike many of his colleagues, he never made any attempts to overshadow his boss or involve in power struggle.

Aiyedatiwa, exhibited the character of a complete 'Omoluabi' in all of his dealings and attitudes, even in the face of suffocating provocation, he remained calm and collected, focusing on the initial resolve between him and his boss to engender good governance and democratic deliverables to the people of Ondo State.

Loyalty compelled Aiyedatiwa to remain strong and undaunted when political merchants and jobbers went on rampage and activated propaganda machine against him, using different platforms to malign, blackmail and defame him for parochial and selfish reasons.

Contrary to the calculation of jobbers that the Acting Governor would derail and loose his balance by their hegemony and the cold war they waged against him from all fronts, conniving with critical stakeholders within and outside the government to frustrate him, Aiyedatiwa stood his ground out of conviction and never looked back.

His rare sagacity and capacity to weather the storms still remain a topic of reference in the political circle and for scholars in political philosophy and comparative politics; he has successfully redefined politics in the 21st century Nigeria.


Obviously, the degree of political maturity and capability Aiyedatiwa displayed caught the attention of critical political stakeholders in the State and across Nigeria, including the presidency, who all unanimously agreed that there must be total end to the chicanery of power mongers in the State, and the rest became history.

Without mincing words, there are lot of lessons to learn in the whole political scenario that played out in Ondo State, especially for the young generation who are aspiring to go into politics; some of the inherent lessons are the concept of loyalty and the art of political shrewdness, among others.

Strictly speaking, it is the concept of loyalty that kept Aiyedatiwa moving consistently on the path of vision and mission of their administration, despite his Principal's prolonged absence, while the art of political shrewdness insulated him against the antics of political wolves around him.

Meanwhile, as we fervently pray for Governor Rotimi Akeredolu for his quick recovery, we must remind the Acting Governor of the need to keep the flag of excellence, pragmatism and courage in power flying as exemplified by AKETI, Aiyedatiwa must not come below that standard in any way, rather, he must make Akeredolu proud by taken governance further from where the Governor stopped, knowing fully well that Government is continum.

Also, the Acting Governor must continue to live above board as usual, by exhibiting exemplary ideals of maturity and inclusivity, not minding the shenanigans of political profiteers and unrepentant fifth columnists who are genetically wired to peddle lies and blackmails as means of their livelihood.

Again, Aiyedatiwa must realise that all eyes are on him to deliver within the short period he would be holding sway as the number one citizen in Ondo State in acting capacity, having been working closely with his Principal on critical areas of governance, especially security.

He must be firm, assertive and courageous on the need to protect the lives and property of the people of Ondo State, in the face of array of challenges in the State's security architecture; all hands must be on deck to checkmate and curb criminal incursion into the State by unscrupulous elements.

Like it was done before, necessary attention and support must be given to intelligence gathering at the local level through home grown mechanism, as a way of combating criminalities in communities around the State.

In the same vein, more economic opportunities must be explored and existing resources of the State must be prudently and judiciously annexed to guarantee prosperity for the greatest number of the people and make life more abundant for all.

Finally, the Acting Governor must work in the direction suggested by the former Prime Minister of Philiphens, Gloria Aroyo,who described a good leader as," The one who is at the fore-front leading with vision; at the middle inspiring with passion and at the back defending with courage".

May Almight God continue to guide and guard His Excellency, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, as he holds fort for Aketi in acting capacity as the Governor of Ondo State.

Olaniyi Ajibola(Marcus) writes from Abeokuta