Mr Fayemi says Afe Babalola has remained bitter since he (Fayemi) defeated his candidate in the Ekiti governorship elections.
Kayode Fayemi, the immediate past governor of Ekiti State, has responded to a comment by Afe Babalola, the founder of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD), who, on Monday, rated the performances of all former governors of the state low, saying they failed to develop the state during their tenures.
Mr Babalola had, while speaking at the commissioning of his university's multi-system hospital in Ado Ekiti, singled out incumbent Governor Biodun Oyebanji for praise while labelling his predecessors as failures.
PREMIUM TIMES then contacted Mr Fayemi for comment on the legal luminary's response. In a back-and-forth conversation with one of our reporters, the former governor fired on all cylinders, describing Mr Babalola as a man suffering from a failing memory and driven by hate.
The former governor said ordinarily, he would have preferred to ignore the ABUAD founder's comment but that he could no longer tolerate Mr Babalola's repeated and uncharitable attack on his service record.
He said it is dangerous to continue to allow a prejudiced Mr Babalola to control the narrative about his stewardship, adding that all past governors of the state did their best and handed over to their successors who, in turn, took the state further than they met it.
Mr Fayemi said the respected Senior Advocate of Nigeria has had a long-running malicious attitude toward his person and had always been unfair to him and former Governors Niyi Adebayo and Ayo Fayose.
He said Mr Babalola's biased views concerning the tenures of former governors of the state will no longer be allowed unchallenged.
"Chief Babalola's prejudiced view can never be the final word on our time in office; certainly not on my time in office because I know, and the record is crystal clear, that I improved the state on every developmental indices than I met it. But then, Chief Babalola is an old man, and as a well-brought-up Omoluabi, one should grant him the indulgence of failing memory that comes with age," he said.
Meanwhile, the two-time governor expressed joy that Mr Babalola recognised the good in Governor Oyebanji.
"The only point to add is that if Ekiti people, whose mandate brought me to office in preference to the candidates he supported, were not happy with my performance in office, they would not have returned my party to Government House and made it possible for Governor Oyebanji to be performing the wonders he's now so enamoured of, even though everyone in Ekiti knew his preference in that election. That is the value of continuity and it is the first time it is happening in Ekiti," Mr Fayemi added.
The former Minister of Solid Minerals Development pointed out that Mr Oyebanji was yet to change anything in the philosophy that underpinned the immediate past government of the state.
He further explained that everything the incumbent is doing in office is in line with the development programme inherited from the immediate past administration, including the decision and the funding for Igirigiri Road where Mr Babalola's new hospital is located.
While stating that, like other Ekiti citizens, he would continue to applaud Mr Babalola's contribution to Ekiti, he wondered if the revered lawyer was not suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder that prevents him from seeing the good in others, just as he relishes his exaggerated sense of self.
"Chief Babalola has been relentless in his attack. But I'm sorry, I won't allow him to control the narrative about my time in office. It is important for people to know this is malicious, and not a dispassionate and objective assessment. The only thing I brought to public service is my name and I won't let people take my silence as consent as far as his opinion is concerned," he added.
Mr Fayemi urged the Afe Babalola University founder to always see himself as the father of all, and refrain from partisanship when it comes to issues of governance and development in Ekiti State.
He observed that age was supposed to imbue one with a level of circumspection in what one says, but bemoaned the fact that the same does not apply to Mr Babalola.
"This old man believes he owns Ekiti and any governor who chooses not to grovel before him and shower him with sycophantic adulation must be brought down. Unfortunately, I will not grovel before any human being. Only God is Almighty in my books.
"I was Governor for the many downtrodden people of the state, not the few who feel the state is their personal property. As long as the majority are appreciative of how I served them, that's okay with me. And they demonstrated that by re-electing my party and our candidate to office when I finished my tour of duty. What I owed every citizen of the state was a dedication to my duty and service delivery, not hero-worshipping. I will always be very respectful of Chief Babalola and I applaud him for his personal contribution to the development of the State. But that's where it ends," Mr Fayemi said.
Mr Kayode Fayemi served as governor of Ekiti State from 2018 to 2022. He previously served in that position between 2010 and 2014 before losing re-election to Ayo Fayose.
He was also the Solid Minerals Development minister in former President Muhammadu Buhari's administration from 11 November 2015 to 30 May 2018. He later resigned to contest for a second term as Ekiti state governor.
Read the full interview former Governor Kayode Fayemi granted PREMIUM TIMES below:
What is your response to the recent claim by Chief Afe Babalola that you failed to develop Ekiti State during your tenure?
Thank you for following up on the purported remarks of Chief Afe Babalola. Ordinarily, I refrain from responding to stories emanating from his stable because this is not the first time he has made such uncharitable comments.
For the benefit of readers who may not be privy to his long-running malicious intent, Chief Afe Babalola has always been unfair to me personally, and to Governors Adebayo and Fayose equally. I can say categorically without any fear of equivocation that every Governor that has occupied the exalted seat in Ekiti performed well in the circumstance they operated in. They all handed the baton to their successors who took the state further than they met it.
Chief Babalola's prejudiced view can never be the final word on their time in office; certainly not on my time in office because I know, and the record is crystal clear, that I improved the state on every developmental indices than I met it. I find it amusing that he compared his time as a Councilor in the local government system in the 60s with the tenure of State Governors and gave himself excellent performance.
Quite apart from the fact that this is comparing apples to oranges, independent reviews of that era have been out for a long time, and it is not as glowing as the picture painted.
But then, Chief Afe Babalola is an old man and as a well-brought-up Omoluabi, one should grant him the indulgence of failing memory that comes with age.
I'm however glad that he recognised the good in Governor Oyebanji. The only point to add is that if the Ekiti people, whose mandate brought me to office in preference to the candidates he supported, were not happy with my performance in office, they would not have returned my party to Government House and made it possible for Governor Oyebanji to be performing the wonders he's now so enamoured of, even though everyone in Ekiti knew his preference in that election. That is the value of continuity and it is the first time it is happening in Ekiti.
To the best of my knowledge, Governor Oyebanji has not changed one jot of the philosophy that underpinned my own government. Everything he is doing in office is completely from the development programme he inherited from my government - including the decision and the funding for Igirigiri Road where his new hospital is located. We will continue to applaud his contribution to Ekiti State but I hope Baba is not suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder that prevents him from seeing the good in others even as he relishes his exaggerated sense of self.
You said this is not the first time he has delivered this kind of verdict on your leadership of the state. Was he not one of your backers while you were governor? At what point did you both fall out?
This is not the first time he has done it, but I've restrained myself for a long time. First, he is an elder whose first child is older than me and I'm quite friendly with his children.
Second, my wife has begged me not to respond in the last one and a half years that he has been on the attack. Even now, she will not be happy with me, but Chief Babalola has been relentless in his attack. I'm sorry, I won't allow him to control the narrative about my time in office. It is important for people to know this is malicious and not a dispassionate and objective assessment. The only thing I brought to public service is my name and I won't let people take my silence as consent as far as Chief Babalola's opinion is concerned.
You asked if he was not one of my supporters for the office. No, he never supported me, he supported Segun Oni in the 2007 election. But that's fine, he has a right to support anyone. I don't begrudge him for that.
Even when I challenged the stolen mandate in 2007, he was Segun Oni's lawyer in court. So, as far as he was concerned, this little David defeated the giant Goliath of Ekiti.
In spite of that, I embraced him as Governor and asked him to chair the Airport Viability Committee, which he was keen on during my first term in office. If you ask him, he will give you a cock and bull story about how President Goodluck Jonathan wanted to build an airport in Ekiti and I stopped him, which is an untruth.
The truth is that Tunde Omotoba, an Ekiti man, was Aviation Minister under President Umaru Yar'adua. He seized that opportunity to put in the Aviation Ministry budget about N300m for exploratory work on Ekiti airport. That money was in the budget but it was never released. Do I control the Federal budget? How unfair can a person be?
In spite of the fact that the federal government did not do anything, no government before mine took any concrete steps on the airport apart from acquiring the land. No compensation was even paid for the land until my government paid those land owners. In spite of our limited resources, we went on to build the airport. His main problem with me was that he offered to construct a terminal building for the Ekiti airport, and I explained to him that the funding we had for the airport included the construction of a terminal building and we had to fulfil the obligation of the bond.
I then appealed to him to take on other items in the airport since an airport has many components to it. He was very unhappy about that and there is nobody he has not reported me to for this. After we finished the runway, taxiway, apron, all the internal roads and the terminal building and had a test flight before I left office, he now returned to my original suggestion of supporting another project at the airport and helped with the procurement of navigational aids and the construction of the car park for the airport.
I'm glad he did, but it is so difficult for him to appreciate the good in others and he wants to give the credit for the airport to Oni who did not put up a single brick at the airport, and take every opportunity to demonise Fayemi, who according to him did not do anything for his university and the state.
Well, that's for posterity to judge, not for him to say with an air of finality. What hatred? He carried his hatred to the point where he even approached King's College London if indeed it was true that they made me a Visiting Professor. Haba. How can an old man behave this way? My counsel to him has always been that he should see himself as the father of all and refrain from partisanship when it comes to issues of governance and development in Ekiti.
Age is supposed to imbue one with a level of circumspection in what one says, but not this old man who believes he owns Ekiti and any Governor who chooses not to grovel before him and shower him with sycophantic adulation of the Almighty Afe Babalola must be brought down. Unfortunately, I will not grovel before any human being. Only God is the Almighty in my books.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
From your narrative, he appears not to be fond of you. Could you let me know what you did wrong? Did you try to court him?
Of course, he's not fond of me, and the feeling is mutual. He has his preferences and I defeated all his preferences in politics.
I was Governor for the many downtrodden people of the state, not the few who feel the state is their personal property. As long as the majority are appreciative of how I served them, that's okay with me. And they demonstrated that by re-electing my party and our candidate to office when I finished my tour of duty. What I owed every citizen of the state was dedication to my duty and service delivery, not hero-worshipping. I will always be very respectful of Chief Babalola and I applaud him for his personal contribution to the development of the State. But that's where it ends.
Did he ask that anything be done for his university that you failed to oblige while you were governor?
He's running a private university. He spoke about the road to his university. It is a federal road and former Governor Babatunde Fashola, while he was Works minister, promised to do something about it.
Since the road to his university also leads to the airport and the Ekiti Knowledge Zone, I explained to him that we will do a ring road in addition to the federal road. That ring road is under construction and I'm aware that Governor Oyebanji is piling pressure on the FG to fulfil their promise on the Ado - Ijan - Ikare road.
We are a small state with limited resources, and we have two state universities and several other tertiary institutions that we are responsible for. His is a fee-paying private university and the state government supported the university with funds for scholarships and also gave the school a bus and a Hilux while I was in office. Other governors must have done other things.
So, if you have done all of these, why is he still critical of you?
Well, I don't know. I guess, in the first place, he never thought my David could defeat his Goliath in 2007, in spite of his closeness to the powers that be in Abuja at that time.
Two, I minded my business when I was governor and never really pandered to his idiosyncrasies.
Three, he believed it was a deliberate act on my part not to allow him the honour of constructing the terminal building for the airport and he was wrong.
Finally, he is just being his usual self. He wants to be the tallest tree in the forest, and all other trees must bow before him. And me and my other brother Governors did that in deference to his age and contributions to the state. He felt I was not obsequious enough. There are many consequential elders in Ekiti and they don't behave like him. It's so unfortunate.
