Omisore in His Anonymous Cocoon

Omisore in His Anonymous Cocoon

Several hats off to John Acton on the wisdom behind the ageless words that great men are almost always bad men. Humbly, we dare to add that great men are always smart men. A great man may not be he who scales the ne plus ultra of intellectual drudgery or the piano master who can chime notes with a henpecking chicken. Sometimes, a great man is the one who stares from under a hood, a cocoon or the silence that is easily mistaken for timidity or defeat.

Iyiola Ajani ‘Otunba’ Omisore. One of those names that are astride the backs of Osun State political clime and continue to resonate with pure notes of gallantry and mystery. Which is not much of a surprise as the man himself has had – and persists in having – an interesting run.

The man himself is a building services engineer, a 62-year-old machine of political virtuosity who is a royal heir from Ile Ife, Osogbo. He enjoys a riveting educational, business and political background: diplomas and degrees from institutions home and abroad, business relationships with food processing firms and even the Nigerian army. But that is not why he is so popular.

Iyiola Omisore served as deputy governor of Osun state from 1999 to 2003 and straightaway retired from that seat to run for the senate in 2003. Of course, he won, which is a testament to raw political strength, and there he remained until 2007.

Unfortunately, what’s so fun about greatness if there aren’t a few tumbles on the way? As well as these tumbles can be transformed into elegant back and front and side flips which merit martial belts. Tumble down the hill like a brown sack of rotten mangoes, and you better stay down. So his political journey hasn’t been without quick trots and sprawls, most obvious of which are the times he contested the governorship and lost.

Regardless, quiet waves are being felt as the old Shark may be stirring again. Apparently, his ambition remains hungry. Even though he appears to recuperate in his cocoon, God help his next opponent in whatever endeavour he chooses to dive into.

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