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Between South-West APC Accord And Tacit Moves For Another Mega Party

Published by Leadership on Sun, 22 Jan 2017


not only portend that the political structure of the zone has been altered, it also shows that the political unity of the region is threatened. In this report, GEORGE OKOJIE, appraises the deft political moves in the region and implication of the recent convergence of All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains in Ibadan,the political capital of the region.In a country where every election has played up ethnic, regional cards and peculiar challenges, it is not surprising that the recent convergence of All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, triggered a national discourse.Giving the dynamics of the Yoruba political character and its situation within the complexity of Nigeria, political pundits felt that the meeting that preceded the recrudescence of supremacist contention within the APC was aimed at mending fences and re-strategize for political gains.Interestingly, observers say the present political scenario being experienced in the South-West played out in the first republic when it was engulfed in turbulence otherwise known as AwolowoAkintola feud which degenerated to protracted crisis that snowballed from year to year until it climaxed in the termination of that republic by the military coup of January 1966.It is an open secret that one of the remote factors that caused the military intervention was the South-West crisis.In the Second Republic in 1979, the South-West again, under the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo played the opposition role to the Alhaji Shehu Shagari ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN).Like it happened during the First Republic, all the Yoruba politicians who played key roles in the NPN were branded traitors for going for thevjugular in Oyo and Ondo States polls where it had landslide victory in 1983 general election.The ensuing crisis continued with vilification amongst fellow Yoruba until the civil rule collapsed and give way to the militarys might headed by President Muhammadu Buhari, who was then a Major General in the army.The recurrence witnessed a slight deviation in 1999, when Nigeria embraced democratic government, the regions Alliance for Democracy (AD), another party dominated by Yoruba and influenced by the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere played the opposition to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).Although, there was a slight difference in 1999 in the sense that former President Olusegun Obasanjo, a Yoruba man emerged under the platform of the PDP, which was dominated by the North, Obasanjo, like previous Yoruba politicians also suffered similar fate and was labeled accordingly.Though the Yoruba nation is known and revered for its sagacious, matured politics baked with the principle of omoluabi which valorizes virtues such as honesty, sound character, diligence, loyalty, decorum, wisdom, and self-restraint it remained majorly in opposition until 2015 when the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which has a balanced representation of the North, South-West and elements of South-South and South-East and others came to the center.This handiwork of former governor of Lagos state and national leader of APC, Bola Tinubu; former governor of Osun state, Chief Bisi Akande; former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Segun Osoba; and the incumbent, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun; Ministers of Power, Housing and Works, Babatunde Fashola and his counterpart in the Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; among others, brought the South-West into the APC merger in 2014, and for the first time saw the Yoruba being part of the government at the centre.Amid this laudable feat some form of political incontinence started to manifest itself in recent developments within the Yoruba APC family preceding the November 26 ,2016 governorship election in Ondo State.There are insinuations in some quarters that the body language and recent convergence of APC chieftains including Tinubu is to herald formation of another party that may eventually pull the South-West out of the APC-led Federal Government.As it were, the Ondo APC governorship primary, won by the Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu sharply divided the leadership of the APC, which forced Tinubu to call for the removal of the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun after making serious allegations of corruption against Oyegun.As the controversies degenerated, one of the Ondo APC governorship aspirants, Chief Olusola Oke defected to the AD to contest against Akeredolu.As the political battle raged, the partys national leader Tinubu, Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbosola and several others were accused of supporting Oke financially and logistically, while Fashola, Fayemi, Amosun others who were branded Abuja boys backed Akeredolu allegedly at the prodding of the presidency.In some quarters, the so-called Abuja boys were branded the Akintola of present dispensation.Wagging tongues claimed it was after the Ondo drama that the planned formation of a mega party cropped up pointing accusing fingers at at former president Atiku Abubakar and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who had since said he will not leave the party he labored to build for any mega party as those planning to float the mega party.As inter-alia stated though, the former governor of Lagos has picked holes in the claim, some prominent Yoruba people have warned the region against dragging itself back into playing the opposition game because of one mans travails.Amongst prominent Yoruba sons who kicked against such idea is the founder of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr. Fredrick Fasehun, who said Yoruba should not get themselves into playing opposition politics self aggrandizement.To him, in the Nigeria democracy, opposition parties are like endangered species if the personal ambition of someone has brought us to where we are today, should we also blindly rush out based on the persons personal ambition or because of the challenges such one is facing within the party.What we need to do is form a vibrant unity under a socio-cultural organisation, it doesnt matter whatever name we give the body. Thats the best way to achieve our desire under the present ruling party. The non-political group should control all Yoruba. It doesnt matter the name. We must not at this point blindly follow an assuming leader because of his selfish interest.A former lawmaker, who represented Epe Federal Constituency, Mr. Lanre Odubote, also kicked against the proposal for a new party saying it would not help the people or the democracy.Still another chieftain of the APC from the South-West maintained that the way to go is for the zone to remain within the APC and continue to negotiate for its rights otherwise if it makes the error of pulling out that would mean another fiasco.At the Ibadan meeting, it was reliably learnt that former interim National chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande specifically rejected the idea of Yoruba pulling out and listing the implications.For Human Rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) the idea of going to a new party is not brilliant, saying such motives for now, is selfish and not in the interest of the majority of the Yoruba people.An Afenifere leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo also affirmed that the APC arrangement was done based on personal purposes, saying when Tinubu and his political apostles wanted to form APC, we knew the foundation was not right. We complained about their compatibility. We said they were not compatible. They did not agree but continued. On the surface, they appeared compatible but the truth remains they were strange bed fellows.As far as former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba is concerned the meeting was held to discuss several issues affecting the political situation in the South-West.Osoba explained that, We met principally to discuss issues affecting the South-West and we have come out with a resolution to show that in the South-West of the APC, there is unity of purpose.We are together on all issues concerning the governance of this country. We have also discussed on what should be the role and influence to exercise as a group for the interest and progress of the country.We have examined the government and have reviewed all issues. All those to be taken to Abuja will be done by those concerned. We have related with our representatives at the National Assembly, party leaders and governors.Osoba also assured stakeholders that total unity and consultation among the governors would be encouraged for the development of the South-West.Whether the much insinuated hidden agenda for a mega party was been jettisoned or not, the APC chieftains and leaders at the end of the meeting resolved among other things to unite and press for more dividends of democracy for the region.They also resolved to defend the legacies of the zone as the centerpiece of the progressive political ideology, which gave birth to a new Federal Government during the 2015 general elections.
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