By Elempe Dele
Some days ago, some highly rated Yoruba monarchs led by Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, met to beg Aare Afe Babalola to withdraw the criminal charges against Dele Farotimi so he wont be sent to prison for criminal defamation if found guilty as charged. Babalola, being a Yoruba Aare, which translate to mean Leader or Commander, agreed to withdraw the charges( you can find the details in my article; My Take on Babalola’s Withdrawal of Criminal Defamation Case Against Farotimi, published in several online dailies)
I consider this appeal by the these top traditional rulers as a sort of humiliation under the context it was carried it. First, it was made public, not in secret. Why did the traditional rulers decided to make ‘begging’ Babalola a public issue where several newspaper were present to cover the event if not to humiliate publicly the obstreperous Dele, who from the ongoing, even as a lawyer, seemed not to know the margins between fiction and defamation?
Secondly, Babalola was bold in his response to the traditional rulers: “There is nothing I am going to gain from his imprisonment. There is nothing I am going to gain from the so-called damages…” He was certain Dele was going to prison.
Balalola continued to narrate how the likes of Obasanjo and Kukah came to beg on Dele’s behalf but refused their appeals.
Thirdly, in a subtle way, the traditional rulers chastice Dele for his actions in public and called him a stubborn child even when he is 56 years old. What can be more humiliating! “Nobody can tarnish your name. Your name is more than silver and gold and you have stood for your name with the message that nobody can joke with your name.
“We(monarchs) came here to discuss the matter with him and he gave full respect to the obas and agreed.
“Baba, we want to appeal and also use our race to instruct you. Dele Farotimi is your son, you may not know him, we give birth to different children in this world, some are tough, some are hard. Why we are here is our ethos as a race.”
The Ooni of Ife also said Babalola must forgive Farotimi when discussing how Babalola forgave Farotimi, “We’ve all come together as traditional rulers to discuss with you on this issue and this gentleman Dele Farotimi is your son and you must forgive him and withdraw the criminal charges against him…” As a matter of fact, Babalola went on to withdraw the case as instructed and as promised. “I hereby withdraw the criminal charges against Farotimi,” Babalola declared he has also forgiven him because of the honour for the Ooni and other Obas.
While Babalola spoke with confidence during the much publicized meeting where the Ooni of Ife acted as the mouthpiece of the group, nothing was heard of the outspoken Farotimi after then even when we anticipated his rejection of the appeal on his behalf.
After the mediation, PREMIUM TIMES contacted Mr. Farotimi via a WhatsApp message on Tuesday and his response confirmed that he has been deliberately silent on the report of forgiveness granted him by Mr. Babalola, which was unusual from the man who easily grant interviews and press conferences on this case. “I have no comment on the news,” Mr. Farotimi said, in response to the paper’s request for comments. Feyisayo Olatunde, Dele’s personal assistance, earlier confirmed his principal’s position when the same paper reached him. “He has no plans of holding a press conference on the subject and he is currently not available for interviews.”
As laughable as Farotimi’s ‘not currently available for interviews’ seem, someone who romanced the media and even got an award as Titan of the Year, I wish to dispassionately deduct the logic behind his new found fortress under silence without duress.
My first logical deduction is that Mr. Dele Farotimi has no proof that Aare Afe Babalola won all his cases through bribery, nor bribed the Supreme Court judges on the matter in question, which happened 13 years ago to which he was not even a legal counsel.
My second deduction is that it is possible Dele was the one who secretly appealed to the Yoruba traditional rulers to help beg Babalola to remove the criminal charges from the court knowing fully well he wont be able to prove his case in court, and he might end up in prison.
Another of my deduction is that Farotimi has proof(I know it is rare but I just want to balance the narrative) but was bribed, just like the judges he accused, from presenting his evidence in court. How be it that Dele, who is known as a human right activist fell from that height to being an ethnic champion when he was appointed the Organizing Secretary of one of the factions of Afenifere the same time? What a coincidence! Could this be an act of compensation(bribery) to go silent on the matter he wrote a damaging palmphet that is still in circulation?
In my summation, Dele has failed integrity text; he is not more than those he accused in his palmphlet – those he usually dismiss and condemn in his righteous indignation. Why will he leave thousands of his supporters high and dry when they thought he will be revelatory, with facts, during the court process exposing the rot in the judiciary? Just like those he has been condemning, has he been bribed or given an appointment in Afenifere, an ethnic social cultural groups to go silent? Why would Dele deny the people the truth- the fact of this matter after all the national anticipations? Will he ever be believed next time when such a fire is on him?
