Mario Puzo’s 1969 thriller, The Godfather, is one of the most culturally significant books that demystified the less-reported ruthlessness and cruelty that permeated the politics of the underworld.
Puzo’s masterpiece tells the story of Don Vito Corleone, an Italian-American from Sicily who rose from the backseat stage of power and influence to become the godfather.
Don Vito’s story, portrayed in the book as a caring, calculating, devoted but also silent, resilient, and intense man, mirrors most of Nigerian politicians dare-greatly in an endeavor notorious for chewing people up while spitting them out with mirthful abandon. To friends, family, and lay strangers, Don was a god and father, but to his foes, he was the devil incarnate: brutal, cruel, and cold-blooded. After adapting The Godfather into a trilogy, American Cinema ranked it the second-greatest film (behind Citizen Kane).
‘The dog-eat-dog politics’
The year was 2010. The sitting governor was desperate to retain his seat, like others before and after him. He had the means. The money was there, in billions. Behind him were hundred of thousands of people cheering him. What about power? Think of immunity. But he needed more than people, power and money to break the second-term jinx in Oyo politics.
Like the godfather, that governor was ready to fight till the end. But there was a wrinkle: despite his godlike power, he had issues with some influential people in the state. He couldn’t stop the raging political conflagration threatening to thwart his dream. Vilfredo Pareto described those powerful people as the governing elites. Elite theory, according to the Italian sociologist, claims that a select few individuals hold a majority of power and control over society.
In the heat of that political crisis, many prayed for the tension to simmer, but it didn’t. To survive his enemies’ tricks, the governor had to fight multiple battles, sometimes at the same time. He was fighting real and imaginary wars, both internally and externally. But he also had foot soldiers led by the late Lateef Salako, aka (Eleweomo), chairman, Oyo NURTW, in his kitty. Then Eleweomo was butchered. December 30, 2010, Ibadan boils, and panic spreads like wildfire. The intra-party affairs that had rocked the PDP quickly exploded into a spectacle of tragedy. The state was almost going up in smoke, with all stakeholders determined to have their way.
However, rumors circulated that the transport unionist had organized two significant events: a housewarming and a naming ceremony. Preparations were in top gear, but so was death running after its prey. Then, the two ceremonies were hurriedly called off. A gory picture of a bullet-ricochet body covered the pages of national dailies, with his white lace drenched and soaked in cold blood. Breaking: The Oyo State Killing Fields Claim NURTW Chairman, Eleweomo. That period was one of Oyo’s most harrowing political experiences. Then the election came, Mr. Governor lost, and the rest became history.
‘Feeding the dogs of death’
In his last interview, Mukaila Lamidi, also known as Auxiliary, revealed to Ajibola Akinyefa that Mr. Makinde’s emissaries had consulted him to help talk sense to Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Igboho. However, many people are unaware of the common bond that unites them. Here is a background brief on the story: politicians don’t joke with physical protection and spiritual fortification.
Keep in mind that neither the physical protection nor the spiritual fortification is exclusive to the official security retinue. This is why politicians will have spiritual fathers across all faiths. In physical protection, the police, DSS, and army can only engage in officially sanctioned tasks. But life is more than formality. Formal security operatives in underworld politics often take a backseat, allowing men like ‘Oslari’ and ‘Igboho’ to step out from the shadows and into the spotlight. One thing led to the other: both the governor and Igboho fell out of love with each other. Here comes the auxiliary. His efforts quickly neutralized the aggression of Igboho, who was not the typical Ibadan man, raised and groomed by the Garrison Commander of Ibadan politics, Lamidi Adedibu.
Auxiliary 2.0
For the first time in his career, Mukaila Lamidi had a taste of real and raw power. That was after the 2019 elections. After Governor Makinde won the polls in 2023, then the crisis between the two exploded: Auxiliary was thrown into history’s dustbin. In 2024, Governor Makinde forced him to have a taste of another side of power. This time, it was bitter for ‘Aare Kiriji Ajagunla’. On May, 16th, 2024, the police charged Auxiliary on multiple counts of murder and robbery. He will be in their custody until July 11. Have we seen the end? Absolutely not.
MUKAILA LAMIDI: LIFE AND CAREER
Following the trajectory of Musiliu Akinsanya, aka MC Oluomo, Auxiliary also decided to put his story in print. He hired two writers, Biola Layonu and Freeman Okosun, to document his life from scratch to the peak of PMS leadership. A book reviewer, Ebika Anthony, titled his review as: MUKAILA LAMIDI AUXILIARY: LIFE AND CAREER, “From Rascality to Heroism.” “Mukaila Lamidi Auxiliary: Life and Career is a biographical account of a rascally boy who wobbled through the undulating paths and snaky roads of existence to assume the heights of a folk hero,” Ebuka began in his review.
But you may want to reflect on what was heroic about Auxiliary. Think of Chinua Achebe’s proverb: Until the lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter. A recurrent criticism that often trailed most of Auxiliary’s pampering by the state government was that kids in the neighborhood might want to model him and his likes, after all, here comes a man who lives an opulent, flamboyant and fabulous lifestyle. The bitter truth in this Makinde and Auxiliary’s public fiasco is that the same system that threw up political thugs and hooligans like Auxiliary will not go away until we have leaders who think more of the people than they think of consolidating their power bases through forces of the underworld. Until then, there will always be willing hands ready to act with brazen ferocity than the Auxiliaries of this world.
OYO101 is Muftau Gbadegesin’s opinion about issues affecting the Oyo state and is published every Saturday. He can be reached via @muftaugbade on X, muftaugbadegesin@gmail.com, and 09065176850.
