People often say that my friend and brother Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state and I are giving the Buhari government a run for their money more than any other duo in the country.
Though he and I come from very different backgrounds and our approach and styles, when confronting issues, are very different they say that we are both deeply committed to our cause, we are both contentious and that we both have the courage of our convictions.
They also say we are both ready to pick up the gauntlet, champion the cause of our party and people and stand our ground when confronted by our adversaries or provoked into any fight.
There is no doubt about the fact that both Fayose and I are similar in some ways. We both draw immense strength from our respective christian testimonies and the power of our faith. We also both have a similar world-view and we both have a fair idea about who the real troublers of our nation, our faith and our people are.
We are both what we are because of what we have been subjected to by the system and the powers that be over the years and because of what we have both suffered and been through in the hands of those we once revered, worked with and trusted. We are also both praying men who have loved ones and family that are strong in the faith and that pray hard and well.
I agree with the assessment of those that often compare us but there is a small caveat: I regard Fayose as being a populist a rugged, grassroots leader of the suffering masses and a radical politician whilst I see myself more as a man of letters, a historian, a deep-thinker and a politically active but cloistered intellectual.
Permit me to make a rather crude analogy and to indulge in a graphic and disturbing metaphor. In our long-drawn and protracted political battle and struggle for power he uses a thick and blunt cudgel to fight our enemies and batter them to death whilst I use a thin and sharp rapier with which I slowly carve them up, slice them to pieces and bleed them into eternity.
He crushes their bones with rage and brutal efficiency whilst I clinically cut them up with ruthless precision. Both methods are equally effective and both achieve their objectives.
Yet whatever our differences may be in terms of style, choice of weapon, method of battle, substance and approach they say that we have both courageously stood up to the Buhari government and that we have both defiantly spoken our minds about what is going on in our country today. Consequently they have described us both as ”lions and warriors”.
This is a very kind of them though, in all fairness, I believe that writers and columnists like Mr. Yinka Odumakin, Professor Femi Aribisala and Mr. Jude Ndukwe, politicians like Governor Seriake Dickson, Governor Olusegun Mimiko and Dr. Sulaiman Olanrewaju Abubakar (the former Minister of National Planning), bloggers like Mr. Deji Adeyanju and Mrs. Aziza Uko, journalists like Mr. Shaka Momodu and Mr. Yemi Adebowale and countless others fall into that “lion” category as well. They have also displayed immense courage. It is not just Ayo Fayose and yours truly.
Some of our friends have also pointed out that all that we said about President Buhari and the APC during the Presidential campaign last year has proved to be prophetic. All these kind words and this rather generous assessment and categorization of both Fayose and I is very encouraging and I appreciate them.
Unlike in other nations where vocal opposition is encouraged and regarded as an essential part of democracy and an effective way of keeping those in power on their toes, when one sticks ones neck out for their country and people and is loud in their opposition to government in this part of the world it is a thankless, unappreciated, lonely and dangerous road.
And sadly, more often than not, one is mocked, shunned, despised, hated, misunderstood, persecuted, maligned, insulted and misrepresented for taking it.
This is especially so when one is dealing with a callous and ruthless government, like we have in our country today. We are being led by a group of people who have a hidden agenda, who hate their perceived enemies and detractors, who are inherently incompetent and who are manifestly unjust.
We are burdened with a government who cannot abide criticism, who are scared of their own shadow, who have no decency or honor and who have failed in all their ways.
We are saddled with a leadership who have offended God and man, who have ruined our nation, who have impoverished our people, who are bereft of ideas and who are hell-bent on intimidating the opposition and silencing the voice of truth.
I am touched by the words of those that are encouraging those of us that have chosen to take that road of vocal and virile opposition and this is especially so because I have tremendous respect and affection for Ayo Fayose and I consider him to be one of our brightest rising stars in the south-west.
His name is Peter, like the Rock in the Holy Bible, and he cannot be shaken. He is a strong man of faith, a trusted and loyal friend and I am proud to be mentioned in the same breath as him.
Yet it is not me that says, writes and does these things that people find so amazing and courageous but rather He that is in me. It is a gift from God and that gift is known as the Holy Spirit.
He gives us foresight, insight, sensitivity, a word for the season and the ability to endure any form of persecution and hardship and still stand strong.
He gives us the ability to cultivate a firm resolve, to think things through clearly, to wait on Him and to have patience.
He also gives us immense courage, especially when under fire. As a matter of fact the more the fire burns, the more the courage rages. This is what is generally referred to as “Christian fury” and it is a deep and inexplicable mystery.
I am sure that I can speak for Fayose on that too because the same applies to him. It is not he that says and does the things that he says and does but the Holy Spirit of the Living God that is in him.
My brother Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo state, the Iroko of the Western Region, has the same gift even though he is a little more restrained, tempered and gentle.
He is also a devout and practicing Christian and his sense of maturity, wisdom and civility does not make him any less effective. A consummate and experienced politician and leader: he is truly formidable in all his ways.
If any discerning politician sits with Mimiko for ten minutes or more he will know that the Holy Spirit flows through him like water flows through an estuary or a stream.
He is a profoundly good man: a man of power and strength but he couples it with deep compassion and a sense of equity, decency and fairness that is rarely seen in our shores.
Back to Ayo Fayose and yours truly. In all our adventures there is one difference between the Governor of Ekiti state and I which many fail to appreciate. Under our laws, because he is a serving Governor, he has immunity from arrest and prosecution but I do not.
He has the people of Ekiti state solidly behind him to applaud and support his every word and move but I do not. He has the machinery and power of a whole state government and a State House of Assembly to fight for him but I do not.
He has the friendship and support of all his fellow PDP Governors and the party leadership but I do not. Unlike him my defence is purely spiritual yet that is more than enough to guarantee my safety and well-being. That is more than enough to comfort me and give me strength and victory.
I do not have all the physical and constitutional protection that he has and I don’t need it. I only have God yet He is more than enough for me. I only have my faith yet that faith continues to move mountains for me.
I only have the Lord’s sure word and promise yet that sure word and promise is worth more than a thousand armies and all the gold, silver and power in the world because it never fails. I only have His love, His grace, His blessing and His mercy yet it never falters. I am bold, confident and strong because the Lord is with me.
One thing I should add is this- if Ayo Fayose were not Governor of Ekiti state nothing would change and he would still be the lion that he is. It is not the office that makes the man but the man that makes the office. If he were not Governor he would still be as virulent and courageous in his attacks against injustice and this unjust government as he is today. That is what makes the difference between him and others. He is Ayo Fayose and, like Peter the Rock, nothing moves him.
As unworthy as I am, I am what I am. As unlikely as I am, I am who I am. As unprepared as I am, I am as I am. As unfit as I am, I am how I am.
I am David, Oluwafemi, ”the beloved of the Lord”: I fear no evil that man can do to me.
I am Abdul Latif, ”the Servant of the Merciful God”: I fear no devil, no demon, no mortal, no liar, no beast and no tyrant.
If only they knew my testimony they would understand why this is so. I died many years ago but the Lord raised me up.
He restored me and anointed me to honor Him and to serve my nation. The story has only just started. The journey has just begun. The book has just been open. I live for Him alone. I thrive at His pleasure and I flourish for His leisure.
He guides my steps and makes every crooked path straight before me. He makes a way for me where there seems to be no way.
I belong to Him and to none other. I am His battle ax in times of war. I am His tool of judgement in the season of conflict, vengeance and retribution. I am His vessel for perfection: He displays His glory and power in and through me.
I am His messenger of joy and peace and through my words and actions He brings inspiration, encouragement, hope, solace, strength and comfort to the afflicted in spirit, the blind, the weak, the captive, the wounded, the broken, the poor, the hopeless, the persecuted, the sick, the wrongly accused and the oppressed.
Like David the slayer of Goliath and the greatest King of Israel, I am imperfect and flawed in so many ways yet He loves me all the same because He sees my heart.
I ask myself, why me? Why should I be the object of such love, grace, favor and mercy? Why should I be the suppository of a such a great gift and such a wonderful privilege.
He answers by saying it is because He knew me before I was formed in my mother’s womb. He tells me that it is because He proves His word and He uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wisdom of the wise.
So many wrote me off in the past and yet they came back and bowed before me because of God’s resurrection power.
So many tried to hurt and destroy me for no just cause and yet they came back to confess their sins and evil deeds against me because of God’s intervention and His divine vindication.
So many spoke ill of me and bore false witness against me over the years and yet they were forced to eat their words. So many broke my heart and left me to die yet the Lord healed me and replaced them and He gave me joy in abundance.
Of the nine that tried to jail me for seven long years with malicious and false allegations and baseless criminal charges some lost their lives, some lost their liberty, some lost their health, some lost their children, some lost their dreams and aspirations and some lost their profession, reputations, fortunes, careers and minds.
I was amazed as these things unfolded because it was not by the hand of any man but by the finger of God. They all fell one after the other and they are still falling up until today.
Yet despite numerous challenges I am still standing, going from strength to strength and waxing stronger and stronger in the battle of life.
They say destiny speaks at the end. My destiny will speak for me. It will be manifest at the end and that is all I wait for. That is what I was born for: to achieve God’s purpose and for that purpose to be made manifest and to be established in my life.
Till then let the mockers mock. Let the skeptics be skeptical. Let the traitors betray. Let the schemers scheme. Let the liars lie.
Let the conspirators conspire. Let the demons rage. Let the dullards be dull. Let the heathens plot. Let the vultures gather. Let the pagans plan. Let the powers that be threaten and let them do their very worse.
For God has spoken through His holy word that “when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will raise a standard against him”.
The Lord is with me and mine and He has raised his standard against our enemies. I make my boast in Him and none other. I am nothing without Him. Yet I am all things and everything through Him and with Him.
If my adversaries knew the kind of things that I have been through in my life, the kind of challenges that I have faced, the kind of battles that I have fought, the kind of trials and tribulations that I have been subjected to, the kind of betrayals that I have experienced, the kind of pain that I have suffered and the kind of beasts and demons that I have fought they would think twice about coming against me.
This is because God always pulls me through and in the end I always win. The Lord gives kings as ransom for my sake and he pulls down evil rulers and governments for the sake of his anointed.
When you fight against me you fight against all the elemental forces: the wind, the fire, the water and the earth.
When you come against me you come against all the forces of the universe and the cosmos: the stars, the moon, the sun, the galaxy and all of creation because the Creator Himself sent me and I am His servant.
When you come against me you come against the awesome power of the Most High God and the fury of the Hosts of Heaven. When you fight against me you fight against the consuming fire of the Holy Spirit and the crushing power of the Most God.
When you seek to destroy me you cannot win because I am hidden in the arms of the Resurrected Lord. When you seek to trouble me you cannot survive it because you seek to trouble our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity and the Son of the Living God.
The Lord has given me victory and power in all things and all those that hate me shall bow before me or perish. Like the Viking Warrior-King the great Beowulf, I cannot be brought down, defeated or destroyed by any force on earth or from hell: not because I am anything or anyone special but because I am in the Lord and the Lord is in me.
Not because I am well-educated and well-bred but because, like the David the son of Jesse, He is my strength, my shield, my glory and the lifter of my head. I cannot be cut short or defeated and I cannot die before my time.
I cannot and will not leave the earthly plane and realm until my work on earth is done because I have a covenant with the Ancient of Days and because I have a promise from the El Shaddai. I am a son of He that is high and lifted up and whose train fills the temple.
I am a son of the Man of War, the Prince of Peace, the Lord God of Hosts, the Comforter, the Alpha and the Omega, the Great Physician, the God of All Flesh and the I Am, That I Am. My father the universe and all that is in it.
I will never bow before the heathen and I will never tremble before the rulers of this world, their pagan gods or their earthly powers. I am FFK, the Servant of Truth, the Adorer of the Living God.
He is more real to me and more important to me than anything that I can see with my physical eyes. He is my everything. God made me hard and tough for a purpose. God made me courageous and true for a purpose.
God made me have a burning passion for my people and my nation for a purpose. God made me hate injustice, wickedness, the uncircumcised Philistine, the pagan and those that shed innocent blood for a purpose.
God made me hate bullies, tyrants, evil rulers and all wicked and heartless men in power for a purpose. Like the great Achilles, King of the Myrmidons, champion of the Greeks and conqueror of Troy, God gave me the spirit of the warrior and the lion for a purpose.
Like Jehu the son of Nimshi, Joshua the son of Nun and Gideon the son of Joash, God gave me vision, passion, knowledge, wisdom, understanding, courage and strength for a purpose.
God made me who and what I am, with all my flaws, weaknesses, shortcomings, anger and rage for a purpose. God gave me a longing, a burden and a passion for Him, His love, His counsel, His guidance and His word for a purpose.
God made me hate Satan, the Lord of the Flies and the Accuser of the Brethren for a purpose. God made me hate Lucifer, the Son of the Dawn and his servants, agents, idols, cults and works for a purpose. That purpose will soon be made manifest in the affairs of our country. Nothing can stop it and nothing can thwart it.
As long as Jesus sits on the throne and the heavens rule in the affairs of men, I shall achieve my purpose and fulfill my destiny. I shall be what the Lord created me to be. I shall do what the Lord has sent me to do.
I shall bring glory and honor to His name and all men will know that Jehova El Elyon, the God of the Armies of Israel, the Elohim, the Adonai, that He alone is God.
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