Why Tokunbo Talabi ta’ku?

I had a very long night of turbulence. The whole of my stomach hosted the crashing of Wagner Boss Prigozim’s plane. ECOWAS amasses its war machine against Niger in a corner of my intestine. Russia rumbles against Ukraine, and I belch at intervals the Sudan uprising. It was such a long and lonely night that all I prayed for was the day to just break, somehow, anyhow.

ADVERTISEMENT

I woke up feeling a bit dizzy; a sense of nausea enveloped my nostrils.

I puked Tokunbo Talabi’s relentless hanging on to office, even while using State machinery to hound down assumed, perceived, and contrived enemies in order to run away from EFCC and ICPC probe. How he gives directives to Police at Eleweran State Headquarters in Abeokuta and Force CID headquarters, Alagbon in Lagos. His sinister attempts to arm twist the Department of State Security (DSS) in Abeokuta at will. My liver protested his planned orchestration of a report on the matter about his wilful breach of code of conduct infections to the Nigerian Customs service and invite the Nigerian Immigration Service to arrest many more people. My kidney reported that the Civil defense is already mobilized and ready to go all at the promptings of untouchable “General” Tokunbo Talabi, Grand Commander of Kabiyesi Dapo Abiodun’s armed forces, the man who must be prostrated for, the man who must be appeased for peace to reign.

Such is the desperation of Nigeria men in power. In a saner clime, should a Tokunbo Talabi remain in office a day longer with the allegations pending before the anti-graft and Conduct Bureau? Once he won’t let go, it will take the voice of men and women of good conscience to remind him that he was not the one elected, he is only in office with the benevolence of the man who he assisted to steal the ballot. Let the law also have its course, if he is given a clean bill of health, he can as well resume. Talabi should step aside. He has interfered enough to undermine investigations, it’s time he let the constitutionally empowered agencies do their jobs. Let him dust his books and go before the agencies to defend himself. Enough of this Victim mentality. Enough of passing instructions and ordering security men around for personal sinister ends.

No one will miss him. Ogun State is not in want of qualified persons to fill in the gap. Party men and women don’t enjoy him, he is too proud and has taken over the functions of the Governor rendering the man who was voted for as a lame duck. He determines who gets what in government as if it is his personal estate. Except of course if there is any truth to Talabi’s boast that he knows more than enough about his boss’ secrets. That Talabi sponsored Mr. Abiodun to the office does not confer on him the right to usurp all responsibility of government and state machinery; holding secrets for the Governor does not rest the power of the multidimensional commissioner on and for everything on him.