He made the declaration as he expressed gratitude to the Governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, for assisting him to remodel and rebuild Music House.

Ayefele, who runs a popular radio station, Fresh FM, in Ibadan, led top management of the station to the governor’s office on Tuesday to say thank you.

The façade of the building housing the radio station had been partially demolished by the state’s Physical and Urban Development Control in August 2018 for contravening physical planning and urban development laws.

But the governor had intervened in the matter following personal pleas by Ayefele and the expression of his preparedness to comply with the restructuring model proposed by the agency.

The agency had justified its action on the initial refusal of the management of the building to rectify the infractions and its insistence on safeguarding lives and property of residents and commuters plying the Music House area.

Aiyefele, who described Ajimobi as a listening father and good leader, said he had learnt lessons from the whole saga and had appreciated the need for mutual understanding and cooperation between the government and citizens.

He said: “I have come here with my management team to say a big `thank you’ to our father (Ajimobi), a good leader and someone who I will boldly describe as a good example to this generation for his large heart.

“I also want to thank all the people working with the governor, especially the committee that worked with our own management committee on the remodelling and reconstruction of the Music House for their exemplary conduct.

“God has wiped away my sorrow through you (governor). You have helped me personally in this matter, because I have been down emotionally since the partial demolition of the building. I have learnt lessons from the incident. Now, the building has become a better edifice.

“On behalf of my family, my staff and all the good people that expressed concern when the incident occurred, I hereby express my profound gratitude to the governor for the kind gesture.’’

As a mark of appreciation, Ayefele later presented a sketched portrait of the governor to him, while Ajimobi in turn commended the gospel musician for the bold step.

Commenting further, Ajimobi said that institutions and citizens must not forget the lessons in the whole matter.

He said: “It is the grace and mercy of God that have made it possible for us to be where we are today; to be able to contribute to the society. I must first admit that my brother, Ayefele, has contributed and he is still contributing immensely to the society.

“As government, it is our duty to promote and enhance the safety, security and socio-economic interests of the citizens. As a government, these we have been doing since 2011. We have been promoting peace, security and the rule of law.

“I am glad at your initiative to come here to express gratitude; even the initiative you took initially to come and discuss with the government when our agency insisted that the rules guiding the urban and physical development must be adhered to.

“We agreed on a damage control because laws had been broken already. It is gratifying that you came and agreed that you would comply with the laws. I must say that you played a major role as a good citizen to ensure that government’s goals and objectives were protected.

“The Music House is no longer a death trap now. Those within the neighbourhood and commuters are no longer being obstructed from the traffic situation on adjoining roads. Those cursing me then, where are they now that we have corrected the contraventions?

“Citizens should know that government is for them and will always support them. But in doing this, they should also be prepared to obey the laws of the land because nobody is above the law.’’

The governor, who prayed for the continuous success of Ayefele and any business he ventures into, promised to feature on his radio station for an interview soon.

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Also, the government said the personal appeal by Ayefele to the Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi and the appeal by well-meaning Nigerians made the government to temper justice with mercy.

It would be recalled that the building was partially demolished in August 2018, an action which was roundly condemned by many.

The explanation of government’s intervention was given on Sunday in a statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication and Strategy, Mr Bolaji Tunji.

The government explained that the preparedness of the owner of the building to rectify the contraventions, which would involve the reduction of the frontage fence line by 1.5m, among others, also informed the intervention.

Tunji added that the parking lots at the tail end of the building close to the entrance of Lagelu Estate had also been reduced by 10.9m to allow visibility.

Similarly, he said that the current frontage of the building was being remodeled to become the back of the building, while the current back of the building had been converted to the frontage.

He said in line with the recommendation of the joint committee of the state government and the Music House management, an entrance was being reconstructed from the rear of the building to the staircase housing the ram for the exclusive use of Ayefele.

“There is also the recession of the current façade on the frontage of the building by 2.9m. The new fence will be grill fence to ensure visibility, while a staircase will be built at the basement to access the studio.

“The structural elements in the building will also be strengthened, while the two projections at both ends (stair halls) of the current frontage will be retained,” he said.

Tunji said that the clarification by the government, as well as newspaper reports credited to Ayefele on Sunday where he thanked Ajimobi and stated that the governor had “through this magnanimity helped us to right our wrong and we shall be eternally grateful to him” should lay the matter to rest.

He advised those seeking to rubbish the political capital built by the governor in the past seven years through purposeful governance and unprecedented achievements to look elsewhere.

He added: “Following Mr Ayefele’s admittance of breach of procedures in the construction of the building and his subsequent apologies, as well as intervention of well-meaning members of the public, the governor agreed to temper justice with mercy.

“The governor’s approval on the reconciliation of the issue was communicated to Mr Ayefele on October 19, 2018, where His Excellency also approved the assistance on the reconciliation agreed upon on compassionate grounds, as he earlier promised publicly.

“It is necessary to put it on records that the governor or the state government was not out to witch-hunt the popular musician or anybody, but had acted to safeguard members of the public who daily ply the roads contiguous to the Music House.”

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