Wale Oyewale, Ibadan
Chief Florence Ajimobi, wife of the late former Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has expressed her displeasure at the attitude of the Governor Seyi Makinde-led administration to her family since the passage of her husband, saying the body language of the government was uncomplimentary.
She spoke during the visit of the Oyo State Deputy Governor, Rauf Olaniyan; Kano State Governor, Umar Ganduje; and his Ekiti State counterpart, Kayode Fayemi, to the Oluyole Estate residence of the Ajimobis.
Florence noted that since her husband’s death was announced last week, she had not received any call or message from the state government to commiserate with the family.
She said, “Governor (Seyi) Makinde never called me; I don’t know I have to send an official letter to the government to announce that my husband was ill. I never sent to Governor (Kayode) Fayemi, Governor (Umar) Ganduje or others.
“Even you, the Deputy Governor, sir; I am sorry to say this. My husband has died; what anybody can do, as a God-fearing person, is to, at least, send me words of encouragement. Even after he died, not even you, Mr Deputy Governor, could call me.
“You could have sent me a text message. I don’t have your number. I cannot just pick calls. I am a wife of a politician; I don’t pick calls that I do not know. You can send a message sir.
“Everybody is going to die; my husband is dead. He served this state for eight years; eight good years.”
Meanwhile, Ajimobi was on Sunday buried privately in his Oluyole, Ibadan residence.
The remains of the former governor, who died in a Lagos hospital as a result of multiple organ failure, was laid to rest at 10.05am on Sunday amid tight security. The three gates leading to the 6th Avenue, Yemoja Street, Oluyole Estate residence of the deceased were manned by the police and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps.
Among the other personalities that paid condolence visit to the Ajimobi family were the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Obafemi Hamzat; Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa; Chief Moses Adeyemo, Chief Bayo Adelabu, and Senator Teslim Folarin; Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Dawud Akinola; and Alhaji Muyideen Bello.
The Chief Imam of Ibadanland, Sheik Ajigbotomokekere, led prayers for the repose of Ajimobi’s soul. Later, a public prayer session was held at the Ishaq Abiola Ajimobi Mosque, Oke-Ado where a renowned Islamic cleric, Alhaji Muyideen Bello, delivered a brief sermon.
Bello said, “Ajimobi lived well. He also promoted Islam. In fact, I can pray God to help all of the living to also live well like him. At the inception of his governorship position, we had an argument over the mosque located behind his office. We agreed that government does not usually fulfill its promises on mosques.
“Then, he said he wished to build a mosque. Thank God we are in that mosque which he built today.”
The cleric made reference to a particular occasion when Ajimobi invited him to chair an Islamic lecture, saying, “When I asked him to address the audience that day, what he said was instructive.
“He said he desired long life because his father died shortly before age 70. He added that though long life is desirable, once one is blessed with the ability to achieve one’s dreams in life, it is a thing of joy. He expressed his desire to live till age 90.
“This death that every human runs away from, a day is coming when we shall all encounter it where we can not escape. What are we going to be remembered for?”
Obasa, in an interview with journalists, said, “He (Ajimobi)was a loyalist who never forgot his benefactor. That is why the Lagos political family will continue to identify with his family and legacies. The kind of development he introduced in Oyo State fetched him the sobriquet ‘Koseleri.’ He served the party wholeheartedly.”
The Aare Musulumi expressed sadness over the late politician’s death, saying it was a huge loss to Islam, the people of Oyo State and Nigeria at large.
He extolled the deceased for his “wonderful” contributions to the development of Oyo State and expressed the conviction that the former governor’s personal efforts in bequeathing a befitting mosque to the Muslim community in Ibadan would “earn him the pleasure of Allah.”
Copyright PUNCH.
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