By SKC Ogbonnia
\nMarch 18, 2020<\/p>\n
It did not come as a surprise that Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole would survive
\nthe latest move to sack him as the National Chairman of the All
\nProgressives Congress (APC). His opponents have been hitting the tail
\ninstead of the head. The gist is that Oshiomhole\u2019s tenure of crisis
\ncannot be divorced from the overbearing ambition of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu
\nto rule Nigeria at all costs. Therefore, instead of chasing shadows, it
\nhas become imperative to muster the courage and go all out to tame the
\nformer Lagos State governor.<\/p>\n
Make no mistake: Tinubu, the National Leader of APC, has every right to
\nseek the presidency. More essentially, his role in the Nigerian
\ndemocracy can never be belittled. This informs why I had to admonish
\nPresident Muhammadu Buhari earlier in his first tenure for alienating
\nthe Asiwaju. I asserted then (and still believe) that, \u201cif dynamic
\nopposition is the life-wire of a democracy, it is very fitting then to
\nname him (Tinubu) the saviour of Nigeria\u2019s current democratic
\njourney.\u201d\u00a0 Regrettably, the manner Tinubu has been pursuing his
\npresidential ambition is not only becoming an existential threat to APC
\nas a party but also to the same democracy he helped to save.<\/p>\n
The problem is rooted in Tinubu\u2019s naked godfatherism. The canker began
\nto grow when the Asiwaju was made to believe that he solely influenced
\nthe nomination of Buhari. Further, after his failed bid to grab the
\nvice-presidential ticket, Tinubu was allowed to handpick his longtime
\nally for the position, so that peace could reign. Worst still, the
\nformer Lagos State governor would retain the titular title of National
\nLeader, thereby creating an impression of two captains in one ship. As
\nif that was not enough, he attempted to also dictate the leadership of
\nthe Legislature but failed. This failure, remember, led to the first
\nmajor crisis in the party and the mass decampment that followed before
\nthe 2019 general elections.<\/p>\n
The most mystifying, however, is that, despite the fact that his primary
\nfiefdom, Lagos, is constantly ranked as one of the worst estates on
\nearth, it has not deterred Tinubu from the morbid desperation to rule
\nother Nigerian states by proxy. The more troubling is his do-or-die
\napproach. For instance, the next major crisis after the National
\nAssembly debacle was his plot to hijack the 2016 Ondo State governorship
\nprimary election against the rightful winner, the current governor,
\nRotimi Akeredolu.\u00a0 The outcome was a nasty fallout between the Asiwaju
\non one side and both the then National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun and
\nPresident Buhari on the other side. In attempt to restore a sense of
\nnormalcy before 2019 elections, Buhari had to go out of his way to
\nappease Tinubu by easing out Oyegun.<\/p>\n
Enter Adams Oshiomhole. President Buhari misread him as a simplistic
\nkhaki-wearing independent-minded party man who could contain Tinubu. But
\nOshiomhole was understandably desperate for attention after leaving
\noffice as Edo State governor and did not want to end the Oyegun way. The
\nnew chairman quickly accepted to function as a mere lackey.
\nOshiomhole\u2019s main function, therefore, has been to perfect Tinubu\u2019s
\nplot to install his cronies across the country towards a presidential
\nbid.<\/p>\n
Not surprisingly, the APC would go on to suffer the most crisis-ridden
\nparty primary exercise in the national history. Every APC structure,
\nfrom the states to the federal, including the Legislature, and President
\nBuhari and his cabinet, had a bitter taste of the crisis. Only
\nCoronavirus could have been as toxic and widespread. The saving grace
\nfor the APC in the 2019 electoral cycle was that the Peoples\u2019
\nDemocratic Party (PDP), the main opposition party, fielded a deeply
\nflawed presidential candidate in Atiku Abubakar.<\/p>\n
Tinubu\u2019s style of godfatherism is a threat to national unity and has
\nworsened since Buhari won a second term. Recall how the Asiwaju
\nshamelessly cornered all the important positions zoned to the South to
\nhimself or his cronies from Western Nigeria, as if somehow the APC in
\nthe South is a one-man show. Lest we forget, the APC came into being as
\nan amalgamation of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) led by
\nBuhari; the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) led by Tinubu; the All
\nNigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) led by Ogbonnaya Onu; a faction of the All
\nProgressives Grand Alliance (APGA) led by Rochas Okorocha, and the new
\nPDP led by Alhaji Kawu Baraje.\u00a0 Needless to mention the powerful roles
\nof Southern Igbo, such as Pat Utomi, Chibuike Amaechi, Osita Okechukwu,
\nChris Ngige, Annie Okonkwo, Joe Igbokwe, among others.<\/p>\n
Yet, today, there is no meaningful office holder within the APC as a
\nparty or its government from the entire Eastern Region besides statutory
\nministerial appointments, thanks to Tinubu\u2019s southern strategy of
\ndivide and conquer. In short, at no time in post war Nigeria has a
\nregion suffered this type of political blackmail. The height of the
\nhypocrisy is that Bola Ahmed Tinubu\u2014in terms of shrewd godfatherism
\nand shadiness\u2014is even far worse than his targets in the East, Rochas
\nOkorocha not excluded.<\/p>\n
Now, consider that Tinubu now believes that he has successfully humbled
\nthe East with a montage of opportunistic politics. Combine that notion
\nwith the assumption that the North is now under his palm, especially
\ngiven the fact that the Asiwaju dictated the content and the character
\nof the current government\u2014from the leadership of the ruling party to
\nboth the executive and the legislative arms of power. Visualize such
\npolitical oddity with the reality that the former Lagos governor is now
\nzeroing in on his potential 2023 opponents in the West, as can be
\ngleaned from the current crisis blazing through Edo and already rearing
\nits ugly head into Ondo. There and then emerges the danger inherent in
\nTinubu\u2019s role within APC and beyond. Even Vladimir Putin of Russia
\nRepublic has not shown this type of pestilent appetite for power. O to
\nge!<\/p>\n
This is a perfect time for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to step aside. He no
\nlonger has the credibility to grandstand as the face of the APC. His
\nexit as a National Leader will solve two fundamental problems. First, it
\nwill effortlessly sweep off Oshiomhole\u2019s tenure of un-ending crisis.
\nSecond, it will not only reposition the party leadership with men and
\nwomen of impeccable character, but also in line with true democratic
\nideals, particularly a level playing ground for electoral offices,
\nincluding the presidency.<\/p>\n
Dr. SKC Ogbonnia, an APC member, writes from Ugbo, Enugu State, Nigeria
\nTwitter @ SKCOgbonnia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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