• Fayose
The governor of Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, yesterday in Ikenne, Ogun State warned against politicising the passage of the matriarch of the Awolowo family, Chief (Mrs.) HID Awolowo.
Fayose, who was in the Ikenne country home of the Awolowos in company of Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, said: “One thing I like to remind all of us politicians, it is in our ways to make politics out of people’s lives, to celebrate them for political reasons. But I want to counsel that this should not be the case with this family. We should continue to be here, we should continue to stand up.
“Physically, Awo is gone, mama is gone but they remain in our hearts and we should do everything to sustain this legacy. Not taking pictures alone; not even rushing to Ikenne for today alone. We should remember that for us, Awolowo is an eternity. Our children’s children must hear this. And to all politicians, we must celebrate these people before they die. We must give them all they need rather than come here and dance and show remorse and make politics out of this thing.
“Yes, all I’m trying to say is that it should not be a one-off visit where politicians would come around and celebrate. But they leave here, never to return. They only make politics out of this kind of life.
“That is not the spirit. The spirit is to stay with this family and keep baba’s legacy within Ikenne and beyond Ikenne and in Nigeria. He wants us to be together, he wants us to do things rightly and he wants us as a Yoruba nation to remain united.”
The governor assured that himself, the people and government of Ekiti State would fully participate in the burial of the late matriarch of the Awolowo family.
“For me, it’s a great thing to be here. I want to assure everybody that we all have roles to play and that role that I want to play, I will play and Ekiti people will play,” he stated.
The Ekiti State governor noted that Nigerians would continue to celebrate the lives of the matriarch and patriarch of the Awolowo family.