Fayose, a true grassroots politician

By Leke Adelere

Nobody gave the then gubernatorial aspirant of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State a chance of even scoring a vote let alone winning the gubernatorial contest.  Governor Peter Ayodele Fayose knows his mettle and the political pedigree he is made of when it comes to grassroots politics.
He is a great mobilizer, a politician with clout and one who earns the respect of his followers come rain come sun shine. His case is like that of a lizard that fell from an Iroko tree, saying, “If nobody praises me I will praise myself”.
Fayose knows his capability in grassroots mobilization and deep contact.
When it comes to mobilizing the masses at the rural level, he speaks their language; He maintains affinity and dines with them because they are reliable segment of the population he can count on when it comes to electoral participation.
The so-called elite who are supposed to be proactive in politics don’t participate in election as expected of them.
They are lukewarm and only sit tight in the comfort of their mansions and be commanding nobody and therefore, cannot win election for anybody. It is these commoners that will troop out in their thousands and cast their ballot while the big men watch and monitor the proceedings on television and radio sets.
When Fayose said he is a changed person nobody believed him. He insisted that, the Fayose of 2003 is no longer the Fayose of 2014. The eight years of his political inactivity have refined and remodelled him.
The period really prepared him for the present challenge as he braced up to claim his chance in Ekiti politics. Today, he is the winner who calls the shots in Ekiti State.
The Ekiti State governorship election result that brought him in has thrown up many challenges to the politicians, electorate and the electoral umpire.
It is a classical case that political scientists, analysts and watchers will need to examine critically. From the political scientists’ perspectives, they will need to examine what made the electorate to embrace the proponents of stomach infrastructure. Stomach infrastructure was a ‘political theory’ propounded by Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State. He studied the conditions of the people because he is very close to them and he knows their situations in-depth.
A politician should be attuned and in tune with the challenges of his people.
The experience of Ekiti State governorship election should be a lesson for every politician. It is good to provide infrastructural development, especially in the rural areas of the country, but those social amenities are not provided for animals but human beings.
If they are built for the people, the same people should be adequately catered for because if the same people die as a result of hunger while building roads, schools, medical centers and so forth, the super structures built will be a waste and therefore, the essence of the development will be defeated. It is better to cater for the people first while working on what will make life more meaningful and better for them.
Leaders don’t just emerge from oblivion or the blues but through their activities, availability and readiness to lead, meet and sharing out of their challenges not necessarily spending money, which is the major reason why leaders desert their followers. Some leaders distance themselves from the people when they are direly needed but resurface when election is around the corner; that is when you see them trying to be good and seeking for attention of the same people they disown and distanced themselves from.  Governor Fayose, in this case, is different from other politicians.
He may not necessarily spend money as much as anticipated but seeing with the commoners made voters to embrace him during and out of political season.
Despite being out of office, Fayose was readily available, attending one event or the other, irrespective of their locations within and outside Ekiti State. The electoral victory of Fayose was a pay-back time for him, considering quality time and investment he has made in the people when they were in need.
Fayose is one Nigerian politician that can throw up surprises that will leave people mouth-gapping. The array of retinues he commanded and the class of people he associates with make people and his opponents to under estimate his political deft. The class of people Nigerian politicians categorize as commoners form the largest electorate in the body polity.
The elite that politicians look up to dictate to the masses are not even politically conscious and relevant as far as grassroots politics is concern.
When you see Fayose during electioneering campaign, one will be rest assured that he is a man of the people and they demonstrated their love for him when he needed them most.
Election is a reciprocal game. When people need you, be there for them.
Identify with them regardless of their cadres and literacy level because it is not the amount of certificate one possesses that will determine the victory at the poll. Money is not all that matters as most politicians calculate.
Election time is always the period of reckoning for elusive and slippery politicians. The downtrodden that were underestimated will be the one dictating the tune and the pace of electoral success. This is where the Oshokomole of Ekiti State, Governor Ayodele Fayose, carried the day ahead of others.
Your Excellency, may your tenure bring good tidings for the people of Ekiti State as the President and the National Chairman of PDP promised the people that, with Ekiti State in the ruling party’s fold, Ekiti State will witness meaningful presence of the federal government with evidential projects.

Adelere wrote from Abuja