By Samson Odeaga, Abuja.
The recent victory of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State appears to have caused a lot of ripples. To say that the All Progressive Congress (APC) was jolted by the gargantuan upset would be an understatement. But the victory leaves much to be desired. First, an incumbent governor, against all odds has just been defeated—a rare occurrence in Nigeria’s political circles. The defeat sends a strong message in the sense that the defeated governor is no other person than a cousin to the reigning APC Presidential flagbearer.
Viewed from whatever angle, the defeat can be regarded as much a warning to APC stalwarts to be careful in their subsequent permutations ahead 2023 elections and to be watchful of their over confidence. The All Progressive Congress until this victory had displayed extreme measure of bravado and carelessness. Impunity is a word that has refused to go away in their syllabus. Now the result is not only manifesting but sending shivers down the spines of administrators both in Alausa and the APC headquarters in Abuja. In Alausa, the belief is that if Gboyega Oyetola, cousin to the Jagaban could be so roundly thrashed, anything can happen in Lagos.
Lagosians have long expressed dislike for the decades old stranglehold of the Jagaban on their affairs. Investigations show that Babajide Sanwo-Olu who is a stooge to Jagaban, is much hated in Lagos for his lack of ideas for governance. Studies reveal that Lagosians are strenuously looking for an opportunity to end his reign and that of the Jagaban in a free and fair election. All over the coastal State, there are prodigious efforts at consolidating to form a formidable alliance that will flush out the incumbent governor. They believe that his second term ticket was not only stolen, but a reward for his loyalty to the Jagaban much less his efforts to improve their welfare.
This is why from the signals coming out from the Alausa, there are fears that a credible candidate would easily flush them out should the trend continue. The Jagaban himself has come under crossfire for his Muslim-Muslim ticket and seem set for downfall. The indications are all over signaling his imminent defeat even before elections. On his part, senator Adamu Abdullahi as the APC chairman appears to be a bad choice after all. His emergence has sent the fortunes of the party spiraling downwards. The tragic loss of Osun State is a direct fallout from his ill-advised attempt to impose a northern candidate on the party, ditto his veiled attempts to enforce an anti-south agenda on the party. Senator Adamu ought to be better advised.
It would appear as though his vast experience as a two-time governor and member of the red chambers has not helped his rabid thinking. His negative administrative bias, after only two hundred days in office has left the party more fractured than otherwise. This, if anything is more of a damning report than expected. At the rate he is going, it is anybody’s guess what will happen in 2023. The APC is already a party regarded as the biggest headache of Nigeria and should be shown the door in the next available election. Not only has Adamu frustrated genuine reconciliation he has exacerbated the rivalry that exist leading to mass decamping.
Nigerians desire change and from the utterances and attitude of Adamu it is unlikely that the nation will have their wish come true. The President has said he would leave a lasting legacy, but with associates like senator Adamu, that dream seems a distant possibility. Worst, there are no indications that the APC would change before the general elections, a development which would certainly end their stay in power. They have not only left Nigerians petrified, they have displayed rude and brash behaviours all over. They behave as though they are imperialists without end. The APC rode to power on the crest of massive popularity; it is incredible that less than 7 years they have frittered that away. And now for the first time, Nigerians talk openly of being separated.
They never came with that “our brother’s keepers” feelings. Right now the PDP is not an alternative because the wish of Nigerians is for power to shift to the south. For Atiku Abubakar, another Muslim coming so soon after the disastrous outing of President Buhari –a Muslim and a northerner –is a bitter pill for southerners to swallow. Even in a circular state like Nigeria, there are policies that can be binding and embraced by all religious divide. Without arrogance and stiff necked official’s such decisions could have been made available. This is why a third force is strongly in contemplation to halt the drift.
Only good policies can suppress dissent and prolong agitation. In this day and times, bad policies like the type engineered by the APC regime this past 7 years can only lead to restlessness. Alausa has witnessed stagnation in the last 4 years and no true blood Lagosian would want that to continue. The same applies at the Federal level where insecurity has escalated beyond expectations. With food prices and the Dollars soaring it is now left to the voters to stop the drift towards “Mozambique”-a euphemism for anarchy and chaos.
