I have heard political godfathers demand 100% loyalty from their political godsons for such godsons to gain the benefit of son-ship. I have also seen godsons profess to have more than a 100% loyalty to reemphasis their allegiance to their godfathers, especially when there are other contending godsons for the few benefits from the godfather. But only recently did I hear a godson openly commit to waste his life at the pleasure of a godfather.
Call it sycophancy if you want, but even political neophytes understand that Nigeria’s political alleyway is strewn with so much banana peels that you need the steadying hand of a godfather to make substantial political progress. But still, I was amazed when desperation to show allegiance led a governor of a state to offer to die at the pleasure of a godfather even for no reason at all. I mean to make an offer to die, just for the plain pleasure of a godfather, is a new height in seeking political progress.
Of course, that is different from being ready to lay down one’s life for the same ideology that the godfather stands for. In that sense, it is a corollary to ideological interest between a godfather and a godson. But recently, something akin to an offer of morbid happiness for a godfather happened in Abuja and Nigerians appear not to have taken notice. Last week, without any prompting the governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, in a fit of political exuberance openly pledged that he will be ready to jump into fire if President Muhammadu Buhari asks him to do so.
I am sure the people of Kogi State who had Bello entrusted on them as their governor by circumstances beyond their control would be green with envy, when their governor pledged his allegiance to the president, instead of the people of Kogi State. I doubt whether the governor would put his life on the line in the service of Kogi citizens, but there in Abuja, he was pledging without prompting to jump into fire if the president as much as ask him to do so.
Fortunately for Governor Bello, President Buhari does not appear to relish the morbid theatre like one of his predecessors, who was reported to have kept kicking down the state house staircase, his aide who was making a show of obedience by going down on all fours to gain a favour. Were Buhari to have such morbid sense of humour, he could just say to Bello, ‘go jump into a fire’ and pronto the young man would order his aides to make a bonfire befitting of His Excellency, as a final resting place.
As part of Kogi’s comedy of errors, ace musician Majek Fashek, reportedly prayed that that the enemies of his colleague entertainer and notorious senator, Dino Melaye would suffer hardship; and pronto some of Dino’s archenemies started suffering one form of misfortune or another? I ask, has the famed ‘rain maker’ turned into a hawker of spiritual punishment for those who oppose his patrons? Perhaps Governor Bello’s recent misfortune was a mere coincidence and Majek Fashek does not possess any capacity to make his curses come true.
Or could it be that Governor Bello who recently appeared in a military fatigue to inspect a military guard of honour within his state, mistakenly wanted to show off the briskness of a military officer, leading to the sad incident of last week? According to report, Governor Bello, perhaps acting a military brass, tried to alight from his SUV while the car was still moving, but being unable to beat it, the car dragged him a few feet, before the driver stopped. Ordinarily, in the ordinary course of executive languidness, the governor would await his assistant to open his door, before he alights, but for unknown reasons, the governor chose to do that chore last week, resulting in the accident.
Even as his number one political enemy, Dino, may yet release a new song to celebrate his misfortune, I earnestly wish the governor urgent recuperation. After all, he still has an outstanding pledge to fulfil, should the president call him to action. Well, perhaps the governor was speaking metaphorically, and was actually referring to political fire which would include fighting the president’s political enemies, regardless of any consequence.
The governor showed such proclivity the way he dumped the APC party chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun at the first sign of trouble. He told the chief that even though he had supported him to work for an unconstitutional extension in office, he was abandoning him since the president balked against such unlawful conduct. It was while justifying his recoil from the conspiracy to foist an unconstitutional extension for the party chiefs that he made his famous statement that he will jump into fire if the president asks him to.
As I write this piece on Sunday, there is still the rumour that despite the president’s counsel for return to constitutionalism, some party apparatchik are still plotting to torpedo the process. But I don’t see how that can happen, unless the president changes his mind, or emits a double signal as a decoy. Again with the report that the vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, marshalled succinct legal arguments in support of the president’s position, it is strange that some governors were still urging for a position that could jeopardise the ruling party’s chances at the polls.
But some have argued that Bello’s desperation is because he is hoping to ride on the back of the president for a second term. Having not participated in the 2015 general election under which he became governor, many doubt if Bello can win a free and fair election in Kogi State. The argument is that coming from a minority tribe, if the majority tribe can have a working plan with other minority tribes, it will be a tall order for Bello to win in 2019.
With such scenario, Bello is hoping to ride on presidential sweepstake if he is able to convince the president that he can die for him, for a good or no reason at all. While that may be his only strategy in the face of threats, I think he should rather concentrate on giving the state quality governance as the panacea for his minority status. Again, instead of picking fights at every corner, Bello should give his best in the current term and leave Kogi indigenes to determine what happens to his political carrier.
But even if Bello believes that militant allegiance to the president is the only route to re-election in 2019, he should learn to be subtle in expressing it. To pledge openly to jump into fire, if President Buhari asks him to, ridicules him and exposes the president and the state he governs to embarrassment.