𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮 𝗡𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗢𝗿 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮? 𝗕𝘆 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗺 𝗔𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘆𝗼

Ismail Omipidan’s so-called Persona Non Grata is nothing more than a political pamphlet dressed up as history. Far from offering fresh insights, the book reeks of desperation to whitewash Adegboyega Oyetola while throwing cheap shots at his predecessor, Rauf Aregbesola.

Omipidan shamelessly claims that if Oyetola were vindictive, Aregbesola “would have been prosecuted and behind bars” for financial mismanagement. But this narrative collapses under the weight of its own hypocrisy. For eight full years, Adegboyega Oyetola served as Aregbesola’s Chief of Staff the same government Omipidan now describes as a financial wreck. Was Oyetola blind to the mess then, or was he complicit in it? You cannot suddenly wash your hands clean after enjoying the benefits of the same government.

The attempt to cast Oyetola as some saint who chose “restraint over retaliation” is laughable. If there was genuine evidence of corruption or criminality, why didn’t Oyetola use the full weight of the law when he was governor? The truth is simple: nothing happened because there was nothing to prosecute. Omipidan’s suggestion of a phantom prosecution is a desperate smokescreen to mask Oyetola’s own mediocrity and failed leadership.

Osun people have not forgotten the reality: a governor who could not connect with the grassroots, a party that became a house divided under his watch, and a bitter electoral defeat that exposed his political weakness. Instead of sober reflection, Omipidan serves us propaganda, seeking to launder the image of his former boss while scapegoating Aregbesola.

History cannot be rewritten by press secretaries turned authors. The real verdict has already been delivered by the people of Osun at the ballot box. And no amount of propaganda however glossy can turn electoral failure into political sainthood.