BY YINKA FABOWALE
Despite having premonition of what may likely happen as he spared with the Oyo State Government over the approval or otherwise of his Music House and radio station, Fresh FM, popular gospel music artiste, Yinka Ayefele, is shell-shocked about the demolition of the property early Sunday morning.
Since the bulldozers rumbled and brought down the property, Sunday, the Ekiti State-born artiste has withdrawn to his shell, possibly pondering his next line of action.
Our Editor-at-Large, Yinka Fabowale, sought to speak with the artiste on Sunday, chasing him virtually all over Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, but his chase was futile.
Ayefele didn’t answer calls put through to his phone, neither was any of his staff members ready to disclose his whereabouts.
However, his publicist and another top aide, Mayor Isaac Brown, told The Crest that their boss was too traumatised to talk to journalists.
The aide, however, informed that the legal tussle over the demolished property continues on Monday and advised The Crest Editor to be there. “You may try the court tomorrow,” the top aide said, “he may talk to you there.”
The Crest recalls that bulldozers of the Oyo State Government roared around 5.a.m. on Sunday and brought down Music House, the musician’s property which also houses his radio station, Fresh F.M.
THE government cited contravention of extant building and urban planning laws as reason for its action.
The musician, on the other hand, maintained that he contravened no law.
The building and the radio station, located at the Challenge area of the capital, were estimated to value about N800 million.
Now that the battle has shifted to the courts, nobody can predict where the pendulum, would swing.
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists rose, Sunday, in stout condemnation of the government’s action, which they said disregarded a subsisting action in court over the matter.
In the statement jointly signed by the council’s chairman, Adewunmi Faniran, and secretary, Bola Ogunlayi, the union lamented the fate that might befall journalists and other workers of Fresh F.M., and urged Governor Isiaka Ajimobi to relocate the station to a new site with minimal disruption to its services.
“As the fourth estate of the realm and believer in the rule of law,” said the statement, “the Oyo State NUJ expects that the court would have been left to take a definite decision on the issue of demolition before it was carried out.
“The state government should ensure that it comes to the aid of Fresh FM which has been a pride of Ibadan in particular and Oyo State in general.”