Nigeria: Abiola Ajimobi's Widow and the Politics of Death

9 July 2020
opinion

Ibadan — It would be unnecessary to dwell on the circumstances surrounding the demise of the immediate-past Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi. I would be reflecting on the way his death has been dragged into the circus of politics by some persons who should be respectfully mourning him. Unfortunately, the senator's widow, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi, was at the centre of the media storm that disturbed the sensibility of the public during the funeral of her husband in Ibadan on June 28.

The other actors in the melodrama were Governor Seyi Makinde and his deputy, Rauf Olaniyan, and Oyo State politics was the stage of the show. When I saw the online video and reports that portrayed Mrs. Ajimobi's tantrum at the funeral, I was disappointed but not surprised. I understand Mrs. Ajimobi's loss, but that does not authorise her to berate the governor and his deputy, especially on camera. There are other appropriate ways of expressing these emotions. Not on her husband's funeral.

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