By Emmanuel Ado
Why are the Atiku Abubakars’ the Olagunsoye Oyinlolas’, the Kawu Barajes’ “Saraki” in politics? Margret Thatcher, the Iron Lady made it abundantly clear that she went into politics “because of the conflict between good and evil”, basically to help good to ultimately triumph over evil. To fundamentally affect positive changes in the society, which she did, by snatching milk from British school children and embarking on the privatization of public enterprises.
The other intriguing question is why do people change political party? Former United States President, Ronald Regan the cowboy changed from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party following his disaffection with the kid glove treatment of the then Soviet Union by the Democratic party. He became more conservative and left for the Republican Party. In Nigeria people change parties to win elections or to avoid prosecution. They don’t change parties over policies. Musliu Obanikoro who recently decamped to the All Progressives Congress, didn’t decamp due to the fantasy policies of the APC,but to escape Justice.
Oyinlola best known as Mr. No Bitumen first came to national attention as the military administrator of Lagos State, his abysmal performance, made Buba Marwa his successor an instant celebrity with lagosians who were clearly disgusted with Oyinlola. Marwa, somehow found in good quantity the bitumen, that the much senior Oyinlola couldn’t find and fixed the Lagos roads to the huge relief of the long suffering lagosians. Oyinlola was that useless. Lagos ought to have been the end of his public service career, but in Nigeria celebrated failures are more in demand, so he resurfaced at Osun State, as the civilian governor, which like Lagos State he successfully ran aground.
Like the soldier of fortune that Oyinlola is,and lacking in principles he jumped ship from the Peoples Democratic Party, which gave him a platform to become governor and National Secretary to the All Progressives Congress (APC) without qualms. It was as simple and effortless as changing his buba and sokoto. Winston Churchill once derogatorily said “Some men change principle for party, and some change party for principle.” Oyinlola and his band of the so called new PDP prostitutes which had long merged to form the APC didn’t change parties for any of the above reasons. They changed parties for their daily bread and butter.
Two key issues drove Reagan’s conversion, from the Democratic party – fiscal policy and anti-communism. Reagan felt that Kennedy was too liberal and could impose communism on the United States. By 1952 Reagan had stopped being a democrat. He supported the election campaigns of Eisenhower and Richard Nixon, his ideological soul mates. Condoleezza Rice though very angry that the Democrats of the Jim Crow Alabama of 1952 refused to register her father to vote, and the Republicans did, that didn’t stop her from voting for Jimmy Carter in 1976. But like Reagan she was to move over to the Republican party, due to Carter’s soft treatment of the Soviet Union and his handling of the Iran hostage crisis. By 1980 she voted for Reagan in 1980 and by 1984 became a full member of the Republican party. Any wonder she ended up the National Security Adviser to George Bush and a major proponent of the 2003 invasion of Iraq!
What are reasons the band of prostitutes gave in their threat letter to the president as to why they want to quit the APC? And why did they jump ship from the PDP to the APC in the first instance? For instance, Reagan insisted that he didn’t leave the Democratic party, that it was the Party that left him, because the party changed beyond recognition. The Democratic Party was initially against big government, at a certain point it campaigned for a 25-percent reduction in the cost of government; the return of authority and autonomy to the States and local communities that had been unjustly seized by the Federal Government; and the elimination of useless agencies, bureaus, and commissions in the Federal Government. It became liberal in every sense and naturally some people took their leave.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, like Oyinlola represents all that is wrong with our politics and politicians. Elected on the platform of PDP, he has between 1999 to date moved from the PDP to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), back to the PDP and to the APC, which he had described as the “final” bus stop. But like the journey man that he is, he has since moved back to the PDP and there are indications that he is not done yet with his “prostitutional” movement. So why is Atiku a political nomad? Is it the Fulani blood in him or the quest for power? Jacob Zuma, the former South African President, his good friend with whom he shares so much in common – from allegations of corruption to huge appetite for women, is an African National Congress (ANC) man, obedient and loyal to the party to the very end. He didn’t take a walk from the party,even when the party disowned him. Atiku like Oyinlola could be in APC in the morning and PDP by night time and the Social Democratic Party(SDP), next day because Nigerian political parties stand for absolutely nothing beyond being platforms for winning elections.
Atiku can make the case that he has been forced to change parties like he changes his turbans due to lack of internal party democracy- a level playing field. But he like others have reaped in bountiful folds the seeds that at the height of their power they had sowed. Atiku instigated the removal from office of Solomon Lar ,the first elected National Chairman of the PDP, long before his tenure ended and installed Barnabas Gemade. That became the way of life for PDP chairmen- tenure uncertainty. In less than 20 years the party has had more than 12 National Chairmen- Ezekwesilieze Nwodo, Vincent Ogbulafor, Bamanga Tukur, Ahmadu Ali, Bello Mohammed etc”
The grievances of the Oyinlola group is that their new PDP block of the APC has been “generally sidelined as virtually no position was conceded to it” in the Federal Executive Council. That Rotimi Amaechi that was appointed a minister from the block “comes from Rivers State which contributed virtually no vote to the APC in the 2015 presidential elections.” The amazing thing is that the Oyinlola group has the audacity to complain that Muhammadu Buhari had not treated them justly, fairly and equitably. But have they treated Nigerians any better? No where in their Charter of Demand, did the plight of the common man feature, because the poor man doesn’t matter, he is never part of the equation. And there was no suggestion whatsoever on how to move Nigeria forward, because it doesn’t matter and maybe because they don’t have the necessary skills. For instance Nigeria needs to create 50 million jobs to address the critical unemployment crisis, but that doesn’t worry them. Their demand is all about sharing, patronage and appointments to executive positions. Nigerian politicians are a sickening lot. Pure bread and butter politicians – mercantilists.
The truth is that Oyinlola didn’t join the APC to build an egalitarian society, where the orphan can become whatever he wants, where the poor can have justice, a society that works. He joined the APC to feather his nest, out of anger that the PDP didn’t meet his needs and has now taken his leave from the APC, out of frustration that the party hasn’t also met his basic needs. The pity is that Nigerians are at the receiving end of crisis ridden parties, that lack ideological inclinations. The modest demands of Nigerians – infrastructure, security, good schools etc will always take a well “deserved” back seat, while the political merchants sort out the more important issues of platforms to contest the next election that will give them access to the treasury.
Others like Musliu Obanikoro, ex-commissioner, ex-ambassador,ex- senator and ex – minister, like Atiku has moved from Alliance for Democracy to the PDP and now a saintly member of the APC. Two things have shaped his politics – power, fame and survival- and he has gotten the three. As Minister of State for Defence, he allegedly received N4.8 billion – part of which he allegedly gave to Ayo Fayose to facilitate his election as governor of Ekiti. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has tantalized Nigerians with his stealing exploits,but being street wise, he saw the light and decamped to the APC. Hopefully case closed, until there will be another selfish motive to decamp.
Like Socrates the greatest teacher in the history of the Western world asserted “unexamined life is not worth living.” I urge Oyinlola and his band of bread and butter politicians to reexamine their life – their lack of vision. The country is We the people and not We the government. Col Olagunsoye Oyinlola one of the two signatories to the letter is an apt example of all that is wrong with our polity. He has left the APC for the African Democratic Party (ADP) after going on AWOL to the Obasanjo Coalition for Nigeria. Yet he shamelessly wrote asking to meet the APC leadership to address grievances. Where is honour and integrity?
Being experienced hostage takers the Oyinlola and Baraje group know that this is the prostitution season, when their services are in hot demand. So they have provided “stubborn facts” to negotiate with Buhari, failing which they will destabilize the party in the same manner that they destabilized the PDP. The difference this time is that they are dealing with the Buhari group that understands power and the uses to which it can be put. Let the Oyinlolas’ and the Sarakis’ know that this is not President Goodluck Jonathan. The president is Muhammadu Buhari and he can be vicious, and ruthless so the negotiations will most likely be with the Economic and Financial Crime Commission(EFCC) and not with the president. The lessons of Bukola Saraki is there for them. He who has ears, let him hear that Buhari will not tolerate their political rascality.
