Nearly a week after the People’s Democratic Party in Oyo State presented its candidate, former Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Hon. Folajinmi Oyekunle aka DON, for the August 16 House of Representatives re-run election in Ibadan North Federal Constituency, the opposition All Progressives Congress,APC, despite Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s deadline, is yet to pick its flag bearer, roiling only from one internal fisticuff that has intensified in size and scope from another.
As things stand, Oyo APC may end up throwing the whole contest, one it has the chance to put up a fight with, into the dustbin of history for lack of effective leadership, compromise and cohesive internal politics. For many, the simple question on their lips has persistently and stubbornly remained: How did Oyo APC find itself in this avoidable dungeon of ego clashes and conflicts of interest? The answer, it turned out, can only be understood in the context of events that played out in 2019 and 2023 gubernatorial elections.
Anyone who has observed the internal politicking within Oyo APC in the last few years would admit that the party, while projecting strength in the public, acutely suffers on the inside. A case in point has been the various appointments by the federal government. Whether it was late President Muhammadu Buhari appointing Barr. Adebayo Shittu as the Communications minister or Chief Sunday Dare as the minister of sports and youth development or President Tinubu appointing Oloye Bayo Adelabu as the minister of power against the wishes and yearnings of most party faithful, the contention has always been the same: party bigwigs locked in ego-driven war over spoils of election and sharing of political booties.
In the last ten years of the APC government at the center, all the ministers from Oyo State have emerged outside the reach and influence of the party. That is, they have all emerged outside the political establishment that controls the state structure. This contradiction has fueled the fall of APC in all the successive governorship elections. Imagine a palace with two separate kings or a car with two separate drivers. The question of the car crashing or the palace dancing on the cusp of chaos is a matter of when and not how.
For instance, all through his four years as communications minister, Adebayo Shittu was at loggerhead with late Abiola Ajimobi over who pays the piper of the party. That ego war certainly played a significant role in the defeat of the APC in 2019. A house divided against itself, as the saying goes, cannot stand. In another instance, the idea behind the Unity forum, the acclaimed group that vehemently opposed late Ajimobi within the Oyo APC in the buildup to the 2019 elections stemmed out of widespread exclusion and margination. In essence, the remnant of that division and polarization has continued to hunt and torment the APC, day and night, left, right and center.
For one thing, Chief Sunday Dare on his part played smartly in the internal rift that sent chill down the spines of the party while serving as a minister of the Federal Republic, often staying neutral when conflicts intensify. Interestingly, he only showed up politically when the 2023 Presidential elections become a matter of fire and brimstone, particularly given the stake in the ambition of his benefactor, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Despite the aloofness that greeted his appointment by the APC stalwarts, Chief Dare, unlike Barr. Shittu was careful not to step on toes and ruffle feathers within party. Rather than give in to speculations and rumors surrounding his gubernatorial ambition, Chief Dare was quick to clarify his position, asserting his focus on his assignment. I reckon that the day a minister emerges out of the power structure of the Oyo APC, a lot of its internal implosion will definitely simmer.
Sure enough, underpinning this repeated power tussle and struggle has always been predicated survival and influence. Essentially, the APC politics has always been one of winners-take-all, leaving no window of reconciliation for the aggrieved party members. Aptly, the combined factor of winners-take-all mentality was key to the failure of the party in the 2023 gubernatorial contest as well. While the command and control of the APC was held firmly by Senator Teslim Folarin, a large chunk of the party faithful led by Oloye Bayo Adelabu crossed to the Accord Party in search of redemption and platform.
That defection effectively placed them at a position where they could brutally hit back at the APC under Senator Folarin. Sure, all hands were on deck for the Presidential election won by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu but in the gubernatorial contest, all hell was let loose as governor Makinde surreptitiously rallied the aggrieved APC members and leaders around his re-election bid. In those instances, it was impossible to raise an anti-party allegation against anyone since the principles that undergird their various ideology was one of ‘dog-eat-dog’ politics.
Ahead of the man who controlled the structure of the APC in the state, Oloye Adelabu was offered the juicy position of the Minister of Power by the current government. As expected, state APC rejected the appointment outrightly. In a way, that stiff opposition to his ministerial nominee laid the groundwork for subsequent rifts that continued to threaten the fragile peace of the party. Today, what is happening in Ibadan North Federal constituency is a microcosm of the crisis rocking the party across all levels in the state and beyond. Recall that Oyo APC had a whole year to put its house in order after the demise of late Prince Musiliu Olaide Akinremi but opted to a play a wild goose chase. In other words, the pain of the APC is, to modestly put it, the gains of the PDP, especially in Oyo State and vice versa. And governor Makinde has capitalized on the internal war destroying the APC by acting proactively, decisively and assertively.
By neutralizing the venoms of those that lost out in the party ticket with appointments, Governor Makinde has again shown the stuff that made him the man to beat in any contest. While APC continues to fight dirty over who will fly the party’s flag, governor Makinde quietly handled the delicate task of fielding a popular and generally acceptable candidate as the party’s consensus with remarkable dexterity. As one popular African proverb argued: when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. In other words, when party bigwigs fight, it is the members and perhaps the people who needed alternatives to make informed choices that ultimately bear the brunt.
OYO101 is Muftau Gbadegesin’s opinion about issues affecting the Oyo state and is published every Saturday. He can be reached via @Upliftnuggets on X, muftaugbadegesin@gmail.com, and 09065176850.
