By Patrick Obahiagbon
After muchpertinacious ballyhoo, conquistadorial rodomontade and political
saber-rattlingby the outgoing governor of Ekiti state, Mr. Ayodele Fayose
of the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) that he had his imprimatur
audaciously stamped in thesun, evidencing his allodia ownership to the
land title of Ekiti, the outcomeof the July 14, 2018 governorship election
had shattered the false claim andopened a new vista in the surefooted
political evolution that is set toredefine the state now and in futuro.
Fayose’s Goebbelianirritabilities, innuendoes and direct assaults on the
All Progressives Congress(APC), President Muhammadu Buhari and the
security agencies all in a bid topsyche himself up and manipulate public
perception about his popularity andinvincibility in the governorship
politics of Ekiti state have come to naught in the face of the facts and
election figures that were summative of theessential mandate by the people
that tilted the pendulum of victory andlegitimacy in favour of Dr. Kayode
Fayemi.
Fayemi, who wasgovernor in the state from October 16, 2010 to October 16,
2014, now has abetter title, following his victory in the weekend’s
governorship election.There is an emphatic change of ownership and with
that change comes a neworientation in terms of the sublime and pragmatic
socio-political and economicinteractions and appreciation of the place of
leadership in keeping fidelity tothe social contract that has been forged
with the elements of APC’s robustmanifestoes on which Fayemi’s
electioneering was anchored.
The era ofFayose’s peculiar political gambadoism that questions the
cosmopolitan andenlightened spirit of Ekiti and its intelligentsia is fast
approaching aeuphoric terminus. All of us in the APC are in a celebratory
mood that onOctober 16, 2018, Fayose would be hoisted in his own petard
and the process ofexorcising Ekiti of his negative politics and influence
will begin in earnest.That is one task that holds a great promise for
Ekiti under the watch of theurbane, unassuming and affable Fayemi.
But beyond thedemystification of Fayose and the dislodgement of PDP in
Ekiti is the dominoeffect of this political Risorgimento on the national
reputation andacceptability of the APC brand by Nigerians. The APC has
come underexistential attacks by the opposition elements who have hurled
all manner ofpropaganda to de-market it ahead of the 2019 general
elections. In theirdesperate and diabolical schema, they have continued
to portray the APC andPresident Buhari as incompetent in the enormous task
of cleansing the Augeanstables of corruption which they had inflicted on
the nation in their 16 yearsof clueless and rapacious government.
As Buharicontinues to put his nose to the grindstone, the PDP-led
oppositions and otherretrogressive centrifugal and centripetal forces that
are uncomfortable withthe administration’s anti-corruption war and moves
to correct the age-longappropriation of our commonwealth by a few powerful
individuals haveunconscionably and consistently sponsored killings in
parts of the country inorder to discredit the government. That has been
the original sin of Buhari:his commitment to take back our country from
the vice-like grips orstrangleholds of those that have privatized it.
Understandably,the anti-Buhari elements have committed themselves to
obfuscate the gradual butconsistent progress towards good governance and
integrity in government. Except for mischief makers, there is a national
consensus that the level of rotinherited by Buhari is monumentally
abysmal. It is such that it canoverwhelm a revolutionary approach to
governance. The necessity tosystematically deal with the contending and
problematic issues has, in fact,put a strain on a government that is eager
to deliver.
The matterbecomes more difficult in a situation where the president, as
the poster childof the anti-corruption war, appears to be the only one
that is committed to thewar in terms of his antecedents, pedigrees,
credible verbal exhortations andeven body language. This has been
globally acknowledged. Recently, he wasconferred with the honour of
anti-corruption champion on the continent ofAfrica by the African Union
(AU). On the corruption issue, Buhari is on top ofhis game with the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) under thewatch of Ibrahim
Magu doing a yeoman job.
On the othergovernance issues like the economy and security which the
oppositions takedelight to criticise, the president has entrusted
qualified individuals tosuperintend them and he is providing the requisite
leadership gravitas. He isdisposed to retool and re-kit his administrative
infrastructure as time goes onfor better efficient service delivery. That
is the essence of government andgovernance.
For close tofour years, Buhari has been working persistently and
steadfastly at rebuildinga better and greater Nigeria from the ruins of 16
years that he inherited fromthe PDP. It will be unfair to expect him to
clear the age-long mess in ajiffy. It does not work that way. He has to
conscientiously work atit. That explains the series of executive orders
he has signed to bolsteradministrative actions that would conduce to good
governance. With thedirection that he is headed clearly defined as the
president and head of theexecutive, it will be salutary to get the buy-in
of the legislature and thejudiciary, the two other arms that make up the
federal government. Once cooperationand synergy are emplaced, the federal
government will be home and dry.
Indeed, judgingby the much the Buhari administration has achieved, in so
short a time, I aminclined to believe that another four years in the
saddle will enable much moreprogress. The president will be able to build
more physical andadministrative infrastructure including institutions that
will preserveofficial mores rather than the characteristic predilection of
buildingindividuals. It is in the above context that the president’s
decision to seekre-election in 2019 is in apple-pie order: to continue the
good work.
It isheartwarming that leaders and members of our party, working in
concert withNigerians, are pushing the apt narrative that a second term in
office for Buhariis an opportunity to provide elixir for all of our
nation’s fundamentalturpitude and putrescence. To realise Buhari’s
re-election in pragmaticterms, a vast majority of Nigerians would have to
enlist in the campaign todismantle all manner of shared prejudices,
primordial sentiments and faultlines that the opposition elements and
those who are determined to truncate hisgood work have mounted on the
trajectory to 2019 victory.
Overall, theirdiabolic and odious agendas are headed for the political
seppuku. Happily, thevictory of the APC in Ekiti, under the national
chairmanship of Comrade AdamsOshiomhiole, is both a precursor and fillip
to the president’s surefooted marchto a win in the scheduled February 16,
2019 presidential election. Theoutcome of the governorship election is a
clear statement that the APC is anacceptable national political brand.
This is expected to be reconfirmed in theforthcoming Osun governorship
election. Meantime, Fayemi’s victory overFayose’s candidate, Professor
Olusola Kolapo, in the poll is a clear pointer tothe string of APC’s
successes in elections between now and in the scheduled2019 general
election.
– Honourable Obahiagbon, former member of the House of Representatives,
writes from Benin.