Samuel Omang
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Ekiti State governor Ayo Fayose have reopened their long-dormant hostilities, trading blistering insults barely a week after appearing to reconcile at Fayose’s 65th birthday celebration.
The renewed clash erupted on Monday after Fayose accused the 89-year-old former president of making “irresponsible comments” during the birthday ceremony in Lagos—remarks that Fayose said exposed Obasanjo as a man who “belongs in the zoo.”
The strained relationship between the two dates back more than two decades to the early days of the Fourth Republic. As president, Obasanjo had ordered the EFCC to investigate Fayose over a controversial poultry project in Ekiti State, an action Fayose insisted was politically motivated.
The tension never disappeared. At every opportunity, Fayose publicly attacked the former president, repeatedly calling his famed Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library a monument funded through coerced donations from sitting governors. He has also frequently demanded the return of his own N10m contribution to the project.
Despite their long-running feud, Fayose visited Obasanjo in Abeokuta ahead of his 65th birthday last week and personally invited him to the event. Obasanjo attended as Special Guest of Honour, alongside Vice President Kashim Shettima, Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, former Senate President Bukola Saraki and several political heavyweights.
But at the ceremony, Obasanjo delivered a lengthy speech that reopened old wounds. He catalogued years of what he described as Fayose’s “arrogance,” recalling multiple instances in which Fayose apologised for speaking ill of him, only to resume the attacks shortly after.
“People told me, ‘Have you forgotten how he abused you?’ But no matter how he behaves, he remains one of my children,” Obasanjo said, quoting a Yoruba proverb to buttress his point.
“However, you are not the best of my political children,” he added pointedly.
Read Also: “My Body Belongs to Ekiti Govt, Bury Me Within Four Weeks” – Fayose
Obasanjo went on to recount why he had once supported Fayose’s governorship bid, and narrated episodes—from a poultry farm visit to pre-election water projects—that shaped their political relationship.
He also confirmed publicly that Fayose sent money to facilitate his return from an overseas trip for the birthday event, but said he did not spend the funds because billionaire Aliko Dangote provided a private aircraft for his journey.
Stung by the public criticism, Fayose fired back on Monday in a strongly worded text message sent to the former president and later released by Obasanjo’s media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi.
In it, Fayose accused Obasanjo of displaying “the heightened stage of dementia,” calling him a “mad man” and insisting he “belongs in the zoo.”
He also asked Obasanjo to immediately refund the money he sent for the trip after the former president admitted receiving it.
“I kept quiet during the event so that the world would know the difference between a sane man and a mad man that you are,” Fayose wrote.
“Return my money since you said Dangote brought you back.”
Obasanjo reportedly responded swiftly, informing Fayose that the money had been returned “in the same bag” it came in.
“Ayo, your message shows who you truly are—unchanged and unchangeable,” the former president wrote.
Fayose’s political history has long intertwined with Obasanjo’s own. First elected in 2003 with Obasanjo’s backing, the former governor soon fell out with the president over allegations of financial misconduct.
By 2006, an EFCC panel investigating Ekiti finances had indicted Fayose, triggering his impeachment alongside his deputy. The crisis forced Obasanjo to declare a state of emergency in Ekiti State.
Fayose has maintained that the impeachment was orchestrated from Abuja; Obasanjo has repeatedly denied this.
Even after Fayose returned to power in 2014, the hostility continued, reflected in periodic public outbursts and political accusations.
The attempt at reconciliation during Fayose’s birthday now appears to have backfired spectacularly. What began as a symbolic gesture of peace quickly deteriorated into one of the most bitter exchanges between the two in recent years.
With both men once again trading insults, the long-running feud shows no sign of ending soon.