In the run-up to the 2011 governorship election everybody, as it later turned out not everybody, was happy with the performance of Babatunde Fashola as governor in Lagos State. If there was any governor whose case appeared settled both on earth and in heaven for a second term, it was most certainly Fashola. But nothing was farther from the truth. We also realised that aside performance and providing democracy dividends, as they say to the people; there are still far more overriding considerations to determine if a governor can get a second term ticket or not; the satisfaction of the political godfathers.
It is not as though we were not aware that there is always a godfather somewhere whose shadow trails the governors where ever they go but it is difficult to think of any that is as intense as what we witness in Lagos. This is particularly so because Lagos has consistently remained a model for other states when it comes to good governance.
Some years back on a trip to one of the states in the South East, we met with a governor whose godfather so cowed him that it was never thought that he could survive without him. He literally told us that he was too ashamed to voice out what he went through. But, when it was time to call the bluff of his godfather, he did it without much hassle. From Enugu, to Abia, to Anambra, to Imo, Kano, Akwa Ibom and Cross River etc., it has been the same. But, this is Lagos.
Again, in most of those states where these happened, except perhaps Anambra and Akwa Ibom, there were hardly anything to show that those states ever had leaders or governors.
However, the case of Lagos is different because this state has been fortunate to have a succession of leaders that have created the right atmosphere for continuity of service to the people. Some persons have argued that given the enormity of resources available to Lagos anybody can do well if given the opportunity. For instance, during the reign of Michael Okpara in the Eastern region, most of his achievements even with far more less resources than most of the governors have today, he left an indelible impression in the whole of the East that after over 40 years, still cannot be matched by the leaders of the south east today. Is it about the quantum resources or the will to render service to the people?
The very scenario that played out during the ordeal of Fashola in Lagos as governor is here again. This time it is Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, another poster boy for performance in this dispensation. We are made to believe that merely rendering service to the larger society is not enough to earn you a second term ticket. The godfathers we are told must be pleased as well.
Love Asiwaju Bola Tinubu or hate him; there is no denying the fact that he is a master strategist and case study in political sagacity. He knows when to go for what he wants and how to get them. He also has shown a knack for picking square pegs for square holes; a trait which is not easy to come by in our polity today. If you doubt this you need not look too far to agree with me. You only need to look to states in the east to come to terms with what poor governance looks like. A particular governor from that region was proud to present a pedestrian bridge in the state as some of his achievements. Another spent a fortune celebrating the construction of a tunnel.
The story in Lagos is that Asiwaju Tinubu and other interested stakeholders in the state are not happy with Ambode’s first term in office. Some of the allegations on the streets go from the mundane to the very ridiculous.
With all attempts by the party bigwigs from President Buhari, to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to the chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, we are told nothing tangible has been achieved. The stakeholders including all chairmen of local governments and development council areas have all thrown their weights behind Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu. It was also gathered that governors elected on the platform of the party are rallying round Ambode.
However, speaking last Wednesday night at a meeting with the party’s governors, Oshiomhole said the Lagos State chapter of the party was in sound health, irrespective of the discontents against the governor.
Hear him, “Now, the attempt to say an embattled governor… there is no APC governor that is embattled and because we are democratic, the best way to measure democracy is the presence of more than one person showing interest in an office.
“That does not make any other person embattled. But, of course, the media can create this impression that there is an earthquake in Lagos; there is no earthquake. At every level, I have seen people claiming that in one or two offices there was no opposition.
“In every other office, we have more than one candidate expressing interest. Those people who are currently occupying those positions are not by reasons of those new expressions of interests embattled.”
Of course, the party chairman would do well to realise that he is alone on this. There is a very big problem in Lagos. In fact, there is an impending tsunami which if not handled well would shake the foundation of the party that even the office of the national chairman would no longer be as interesting as Oshiomhole finds it today. And it is in the interest of the party to see to the end of this avoidable set back as quickly as possible before Saturday 29; the date of the primary.
Ambode clearly has his faults, one of which is that he does not seem to appreciate the essence of communication, but be that as it may he clearly is the best option the party has in Lagos come next year, and by far too.
As these gladiators go to war, no attention is paid to the need of the masses whose votes have ensured that APC has remained the dominant force in Lagos. This is not about the people but about the interests of party bigwigs.
This crisis if not nipped in the bud might as well spell doom for the party in the state. All we can speak of for now is the genesis of this crisis; nobody can speak for sure how all of this would pan out at the end.
Asiwaju should put his house in order and call all those pretending now to have similar or equal significance in the party in the state as him to order before the structure they all laboured to build comes crumbling on them. Ambode is the clear favourite for APC in 2019.
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