By ABIODUN KOMOLAFE

Olajumoke Ogunkeyede is a leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State. JMK, as Ogunkeyede is popularly called, was also a chieftain of the now-rested National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). He participated actively in putting an end to military rule and the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria.

In a chance encounter with yours sincerely recently, JMK has these to say on the state of Osun APC:

“I am not a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and I try not to dabble into the running of Osun PDP. But, with the current situation of things, there’s no doubting the fact that we need to rejig the opposition APC in the state if we are going to challenge the current government. We must create structures that will help put our house in order. Politically, our house is not in order. If we are going to challenge PDP in the next Osun governorship election, we should be doing more than what we are doing presently.

“The fact that a lot of people are running after former Governor (Gboyega) Oyetola does not resolve the quagmire into which we have fallen in Osun. Charity is said to begin at home. The leadership should do its best to make sure that we are not just sitting on the fence. Whether we like it or not, (Ademola) Adeleke’s government is there and we will just keep complaining, unless we are able to get our house in order.

“With the way Osun APC is going about resolving its internal dynamics, it’s like we are feeling that, because Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is in Abuja, we will win. No! Tinubu will only do his best for the party. But his responsibility is to the whole nation and whatever he is able to do will be minuscule, compared to what he would do were he not to be the president of Nigeria. To this end, we should begin to get our people ready so that in the next election, we are fully prepared because, from the look of things, we are not yet prepared. As things stand, the falcon doesn’t seem to hear the falconer. In Osun APC, the centre is not holding. And we are complacent, thinking that it will be good. Of course, that’s the concept of miracle. We can’t fold our arms, thinking that manna will fall from heaven. We can sit down under a make-believe canopy of ‘it’s done’. The way things stand, nothing is done.

“Yes, President Tinubu is known to be a strategist. But he needs that strategy for the nation. He would have done a lot to push the nation up and that may have a positive effect on the electioneering processes in 2026 but, according to an adage, ‘it is a child that raises his hand that will be picked up’. We cannot depend on him doing it alone. It will be a huge joke if we are expecting him to do it for us at all costs. Already, he is doing it for us by being the president. Or do we expect him to move Aso Rock to Osogbo because his party is contesting an election? The more reason we must struggle hard to complement his efforts. If the election is in 2026; and this is 2023, what are we waiting for? We have not done much to reposition our people. We have not done anything in the area of empowerment. Yes, we are criticizing the ruling party, but it should be more than that. For now, we are an empty mouth, just clanging and making noise. There should be substance to the noise-making. If we focus too much on what the PDP is doing, that’s good. But that won’t help the APC. Rather, the opposition should have its strategy to counter and subdue the antics of the ruling party before, during, even after the election.

“Truth be told, Osun APC is not yet ready for the next election. Otherwise, one is never ready by word of mouth. Empowerment should begin right now to be able to face the tedious challenges of electioneering, instead of hoping that, from Ile-Ogbo to Ila-Orangun, and from Orile-Owu to Ilase-Ijesa, we would win.

“In 2022, Osun PDP caught the then party in power by surprise. Though what’s done cannot be undone again, the way out is adequate preparation. PDP had never had it so good like the 2022 governorship election. Although the enemy within made it possible for that to happen, the fear I have now is that we still have some members of the PDP who are diabolical and may still infiltrate our party. I was looking at the list of those that were suspended or expelled. Some names were still missing there. So, we should shine our eyes and make sure that we are prepared for the election.”

JMK has said it all; and a word is enough for the wise!

Surely certainly, politics as a vocation has a way of mesmerizing its adherents. While one is not attempting to be adventurous as to how Osun APC decides its destiny, that there’s an urgent need for political retooling or re-engineering is no longer news. To get the party back to the market, there should be a commitment to seeking the cause in order to prevent re-occurrence. Of course, this is no time to engage in the trappings of politics or dirge of self-pity. Instead, a moment like this calls for a reappraisal of how the party got to this pass. So, let those in need of penance establish a framework for it with penitent hearts and let those who think no one else matters in the affairs of the party pursue a critical political thinking that’s consistent with the dynamic changes in the world we live in.

In the light of truth, nobody is an island. No one is also blameless. Therefore, a recalibration of the party’s politics and needs is a viable option. Those who have no direction shouldn’t delight in elevating peculiar interests over and above everybody. Those who ate all the honey and have relocated to Abuja, struggling to be attached to somewhere must be made to account for the roles they played or failed to play while the honeymoon lasted.

If you ask Nigerians, heaping the loss of the 2022 governorship election solely at the doorstep of Rauf Aregbesola is a tale long stale. Yes, Aregbesola’s factor might have done a lot to July 16, 2022, but it’s time the gladiators invoked critical, self-introspection to find out why their treasured party missed the mark. For instance, was Aregbesola responsible for the party’s loss in Boluwaduro, a Local Government with only 10 Wards but having the immediate past state chairman and more than 20 other high-ranking leaders and first-rate political appointees in its kitty? Was it Aregbesola who made it lose in Ila-Orangun where Bisi Akande and other party bigwigs came from? What about the shallow and hollow fries who pretended to be big birds: those who were adequately mobilized for the election but ended up losing even their Polling Units? Should we start mentioning the names of those who were pursuing vanity and pride which eventually left the party in torments? Have they been sanctioned for their unprofitable adventure?

Let’s face the truth, to say that Aregbesola was the reason APC lost the Osun governorship election in all the three Senatorial Districts is to say that ‘Ogbeni’ was the most powerful person in the party and that, without him, nothing could be done. Unknown to Osun APC, the political strength and influence that the former governor himself may never possess have already been ascribed to him, freely.

As of July 16, 2022, Iyiola Omisore, a Prince of Ife and a celebrated political strategist and master of the game, was the party’s National Secretary. Still, APC lost very badly in Ifeland. Incidentally, that’s where Sooko Tajudeen Lawal, the party’s current State Chairman, was also born. Lawal was at the time its Vice State Chairman. Most, if not all those who pretended to be Big Boys from Ifeland who served in the Oyetola-led government lost even their polling units. Was that also caused by Aregbesola? Again, why did APC contentedly slip into its familiar routine in Oriade and Obokun Local Governments? Why did it end up soaking in the enthusiasm of defeat in Iree in Boripe Local Government, despite what the former governor planted in the ancient town?

For Osun APC to have lost 28 out of 30 Local Governments and 1 Area Office, 25 out of 26 members in the State House of Assembly, and all the National Assembly seats, that speaks volume! But, rather than address the whys and wherefores that broke its heart, among which were greed, indiscipline, uncontrolled lust for privileges and the love of pelf, blame game took over. Osun APC surrendered to the superior firepower of betrayal from the people in power, failure to connect with the people, lack of sense of purpose, lack of shared vision and lofty ideals, lack of cohesion in the party and lack of control, and it was as if the gods were angry.

Whither the roles of the opposition in democracy and why is Osun APC not delivering on its newly-acquired mandate? Take, for instance, reports have it that Adeleke has for over a year been living in his sister’s house but unfortunately, the opposition is not seen to have been hard on an issue which in Yoruba culture amounts to a taboo. Well, while it’s not unusual for governors to live in their private residences while serving (as Lateef Jakande lived in his personal house, even rode in his famous Toyota Crown car as Governor of Lagos State, which of course could be attributed to his known simplicity and frugality), Nigerians hold the notion that Adeleke opted for that path so that the real masquerades who’re behind the scene can manage him and his excesses, and shield him from those who might wish to exploit his naivety in governance.

Although the governor has his personal house in Ede, he hardly ever stays there, and it is believed that he runs Osun State with the counsel and input from her sister who has her imprimatur on every appointment in the state. She’s even believed to be the de facto Commissioner for Works, a portfolio the governor withheld to himself. So, anyone who cannot cringe in their court had better forget getting anything from the government. Is it any wonder that, in Osun, the fear of ‘Yeye’ is the beginning of wisdom?

When Oyetola was to lose power in 2022, an uninformed cross-section of the public asked that power be taken away from ‘alakowe’ and given to ‘alakori’. In their opinion, if the former could not do it well, why not hand over the destiny of dear state to the latter? Not unsurprisingly, ‘Imole Osun’ has now come to town and … ‘the difference is clear.’ Amidst a litany of avoidable gaffes, the State Chief Judge would have long been removed from office and the governor’s vuvuzelas would have stood up and clapped for the king, were it not for the timely intervention of the National Judicial Council (NJC).

Again, who will help save Osun APC from Osun APC? Well, I have argued elsewhere that opposition roles are very difficult, especially in a democracy like ours. Not even in a situation where the ruling party has many advantages to its bidding: a monstrously rich dynasty, power which it knows how to effectively deploy, resources sufficient enough to play around with, and the sympathy of the electorate which, for obvious reasons, the ruling party currently enjoys.

I have also had the privilege of raising the issue of contact persons or rallying points in some of the localities in the state. For instance, I’ve cited the case of High Chief Dele Faseru, a respected PDP chieftain in Ijebu-Jesa who, for a very long time, has been the face of the PDP in Oriade Local Government and its environs; and the colourful politician has been delivering on that mandate. How many Dele Faserus are available to Osun APC and how many of them are accessible in the real sense of the word?

Like him or hate him, Oyetola is a fine gentleman and a true reflection of himself. He is not a pretender. Some Nigerians even accused the former governor of being accountable to the last penny at the expense of those who worked for him. In their view, it was accountability taken too far when he left N14 billion in Osun government coffers while the arrears of modulated salaries owed workers as well as November 2022 salaries of political functionaries in the state remained unsorted.

Back to the substance of the situation, it needs to be noted that taking Osun APC back on the path of honour demands that Oyetola rethink strategies that can open the gate of hope. To get policies right, politics has to be alive. So, he needs to increase his efforts. He also needs to dig deeper into what variance of illness is actually attacking the party. He needs to look beyond the pathetic admonitions of the swallowers, time-servers and transactional politicians whose personal interests are at variance with the party’s overall interest. In a word, unless the party is prepared to let past troubles ignite positive opportunities, things will only get worse; and that will be bad for opposition politics.

Politics isn’t a funny game; it’s just that some of its practitioners are simply heartless and exceptionally selfish. Since ages, sycophancy has also been a big problem in politics. So, the onus is on Oyetola to rise above the deceit of the men-pleasers because money may manipulate the people but it doesn’t actually deceive the enemies. Since all politics is local, it behooves the leadership to instill a sense of trust in the followership and the followership to believe in the leadership, if the battle ahead is to be won. Who even knows if God allowed July 16, 2022 to happen to Osun APC so that He can use Oyetola to change the course of progressive politics in Nigeria, beginning with Osun State? So, it is up to the current Minister of Marine and Blue Economy to see to it that this House does not fall, for this, not the office he now occupies in Abuja, will define his legacy. While current efforts in that direction are a welcome development, public opinions favour something deeper than the ongoing sensitization ritual. Most importantly, the poor reward system and selection process, which contributed significantly to the party’s dismal outings in the past, must also be reviewed with a view to righting past wrongs.

In all, just as we expect in public administration, that ‘one person cannot know it all’; and, in democracy, that ‘one party cannot be omnipotent’, let there be ‘room for admissibility of divergent opinions’. Let ideas be transformed or updated ‘in line with dispensations’. Above all, let those working with Oyetola in this task of repositioning Osun APC bear in mind that politics is not a cult and that what defines it Is not always about one geography against another but inclusive winning streaks that will help return the party to its past glory.

May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Osun State!

•ABIODUN KOMOLAFE, AMNIM, writes from Okenisa Street, Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State. He can be reached via ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk

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