Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State in Nigeria was a member of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) now turned All Progressives Congress (APC). Between 2003 and 2007, he was also a senator for the Ogun Central Senatorial District on the platform of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). In 2007, then Senator Amosun dumped the PDP in an unceremoniously acrimonious and rancorous manner to run for Ogun State governorship election under the now defunct All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) against then incumbent Governor Gbenga Daniel of the PDP. That campaign was characterized by violence and bloodletting across the state. Amosun lost that race to Daniel.
Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State in Nigeria was a member of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) now turned All Progressives Congress (APC). Between 2003 and 2007, he was also a senator for the Ogun Central Senatorial District on the platform of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). In 2007, then Senator Amosun dumped the PDP in an unceremoniously acrimonious and rancorous manner to run for Ogun State governorship election under the now defunct All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) against then incumbent Governor Gbenga Daniel of the PDP. That campaign was characterized by violence and bloodletting across the state. Amosun lost that race to Daniel.
After the election, Amosun tried unsuccessfully in court to challenge the results of Daniel's re-election. However, in 2011, he got the ACN gubernatorial ticket without any primary election, just as the ACN’s supposed "elders and leaders" did in all other races across Nigeria.
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Some people suggest Amosun "bought" the ACN ticket because the corrupt "elders and leaders" of the party took lots of money from him. And that is responsible for the governor's "politics of exclusion" against those he rightly or wrongly perceives as belonging in the "camp" or "group" that sold him the gubernatorial ticket.
The other opinion is that the then ACN decision makers - apparently the same APC decision makers of today - had resolved to "give" Amosun the gubernatorial ticket in 2011 perhaps to forestall potentially inevitable violent encounters with Amosun's people known for their violence merchandising, mass-mobilization and use of political thugs to harass, intimidate, or even allegedly murder those who dare to oppose him.
Whether the defunct ACN’s so-called "elders and leaders" made a bad judgment in Ogun State back in 2011 or not is something to ponder. But a more relevant question today is: Does Amosun, judging by his political antecedents in Ogun State, have the temperament, sensitivity or maturity to tackle or eschew political violence in Ogun State? This is a relevant question especially now that he wields the executive powers of an incumbent governor.
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Governor Amosun’s recent letter to Senator Gbenga Obadara, who is currently representing the governor's old senatorial district, is unbelievably deceptive, disingenuous and disgusting. African Outlook Report, an online medium that published the letter wrote: "...Governor Amosun has described the recent political crisis in the state as a premeditated attempt by members of the National Assembly elected on the platform of the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to destabilise the party and cause tension in the state."
Further, the governor was quoted as saying: "...The second objective is the desire of all the National Assembly members from our state and some members of the House of Assembly to secure automatic second-term tickets for the general elections in 2015, without regard to the opinions of the generality of members of our great party in Ogun State...." I am stunned that a governor who never went through primary election in the state would make such reckless statements.
There are 38 legislators in Ogun State: 26 representing the 26 state constituencies in the State House of Assembly, nine representing the nine federal constituencies in the Federal House of Representatives and three representing the three senatorial districts.
Even though none of the current 38 legislators, like the governor, went through any primary election in 2011, they and the governor nonetheless represent Ogun State; at least so, according to Nigeria's current democratic order. And, under normal circumstances, this supposed democratic order ought to suggest that all the legislators, both state and federal, as well as the executive governor and the deputy governor (whom nobody ever hears anything about) must be relevant political actors. This is not the case.
Ogun State legislators are not accountable to the governor, and neither should legislators in any other state be accountable to any governor or president in Nigeria for that matter. To assume otherwise can only border on sheer ignorance of the Nigerian constitution and is a blatant disrespect for the people the legislators ought to be ultimately accountable to.
But under the same Nigerian laws, just as it is in other civilized democracies, executives are to some degree accountable to the legislature simply because of the powers of the 'Articles of Impeachment' that lawmakers have and which governors or presidents don’t have.
So, a governor who decides to engage in acrimonious relationship with the grassroots senators, representatives and assembly members simply because of some habitual problems of arrogance and self-glorification is only putting good governance and the best interests of the people at risk in a most reckless manner.
Amosun's predecessor, Daniel, was also decidedly arrogant while in office. Citizens of Ogun State certainly remember how much their badly-needed socioeconomic developments stagnated in Ogun State as a result of Daniel’s arrogance. Amosun is right now also slowly but steadily marching in the same direction.
But do Amosun and Daniel have anything in common? Well, without any doubts they have a lot in common; from the standpoint of the kettle and the pot being both black. They have both been on top of a smoking and broken kerosene stove! No matter how much Governor Amosun tries to feign piety and deny his involvement in ongoing Ogun political fracas in his letter to Senator Obadara, the fact is, when it comes to political violence in Ogun State, the people can see through this governor and they know he is not credible, let alone believable.
Instead of Governor Amosun to humble himself and endeavor to bring together the aggrieved members of his party who are unhappy with his exclusionary leadership style, he's writing letters as if he's some kind of emperor who's just trying hard to accommodate detractors. This sort of strategy, if that's what his advisers are encouraging him to adopt, is ill-advised and counterproductive.
Going by the governor's violent antecedents, it may be foolish to assume that somebody advised the governor to write such an arrogant letter in which he blatantly berated, in a blanket manner, all the federal legislators from his state. And just in case the governor does not fully understand the implication of his letter, let him be advised that it discredits him. The letter shows a lot about Amosun’s state of mind and the negative attitude towards his fellow APC members. It equally vindicates those who don't know a lot about him but hold the view, rightly or wrongly, that the man is a wolf in sheep's make-up. But for those who really know Amosun over the years, they can see through his contradictions and his ridiculousness in that letter.
I have never met Senator Obadara and have had no dealings with him whatsoever. However, Obadara is Amosun's fellow Egba kinsman and it is from their fellow Egba kinsfolks that the political thugs are being mobilized to perpetrate unhealthful political violence across Ogun State. Suffice it to say that it is only in Nigeria that crooked politicians always find thugs to employ for nefarious activities.
But let not Senator Obadara or any other legislator or Governor Amosun or the entire APC “elders and leaders” in Ogun State think for a split second that their political shenanigans either in Ogun State or elsewhere across Nigeria are tolerable. They all should recognize that political office is not about the politicians but about the suffering masses of Nigeria.
If the late sage Obafemi Awolowo were alive, he would be thoroughly embarrassed with the behaviour of all the jackasses parading themselves as 'social progressives.' Governor Amosun and all the politicians who are behaving as if Ogun State is their family inheritance need to let peace reign in Ogun State.
It is not compulsory that any particular group of politicians must rule Ogun State. If it was acceptable for a Senator Amosun to contest against a Governor Daniel in 2007, what exactly is the governor now insinuating in his letter when he talked of "...a well-oiled smear campaign in the media that will evoke memory of the immediate past..." and "...joining forces with the opposition who are known Masters of Violence in an unholy alliance to help re-enact the immediate inglorious past...," as alluded to in the letter?
The Governor has to clarify his incendiary comments, and he must avoid writing any such letters in the future. It's usually much harder to do damage control. He will further heat-up the polity if he continues to release such letters. If that is not his aim, then it is time for him to begin to lead as an executive governor of a state who is accountable to the people. He cannot act like a Roman emperor of the middle ages. Let a word be enough for the wise.
Ayoola Ighodalo Abimbola is a U.S. military veteran and defense analyst. In 2011, he contested for the Federal House of Representatives from the Remo Federal Constituency of Ogun State.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of SaharaReporters
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