A Fraud Called Ayo Fayose!

By Gimba Kakanda

A Fraud Called Ayo Fayose!

Even as an advocate of populism, I find the style of Ekiti State's Governor Ayo Fayose disturbing. Populist politics is meant to upgrade the standard of living of the common man, as against promotion of parasitic capitalism.


The media managers of Governor Fayose shared a photograph of their principal eating on the roadside while on a trip to a part of the State, in his own fashion of identifying with, or perhaps contributing to the welfare of, the common man whose cause he pretends to champion.

In their rush to present the image of a Governor who opposes elitist opulence, which he even condemned in his criticism of his predecessor Fayemi Kayode's grand lifestyle when he took over, they gave the man away as even worse.

How? Governor Fayose as seen here is wearing Christian Louboutin shoes known as Louis Spikes, of which a pair goes for around $1400, depending on the store contacted. I've always seen the footwear as a thing of uppity music stars who glamorize materialism in music videos. The last time I saw men's Louis Spikes here in Abuja, it was on the feet of a certain politician's teenage son, and I kept teasing if it's possible to fly in those overpriced shoes.

Unfortunately, the fraud called Fayose doesn't get that what he wears, over half a million Naira, is the accumulated salary of a Nigerian government employee for three years, based on N18,000 minimum wage. And that the pair of shoes would've overturned the commercial fortune of the food vendor whose food he's seen eating here.

We've elected too many charlatans, we are paying the price.