By Femi Ogbonnikan
Due to the limitation of time left before the forthcoming general elections, there has been an expected increase in the tempo of campaign activities by the various political parties each trying to outwit the other. In our peculiar scenario here in Ogun State, electioneering by the opposition has been an extraordinary display of hubris by some of the state actors who have wittingly or unwittingly chosen lies, deceit, and blackmail as a means of achieving their goals. Of particular note is the frenetic energy with which immediate past former Governor Ibikunle Amosun has been promoting the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Biyi Otegbeye, against Governor Dapo Abiodun with malicious gusto.
Once again, he wants to lord it over the people just as he did in the 2019 general elections when he single-handedly propped up Hon Abdulkabir Adekunle Akinlade as his anointed candidate on the platform of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), while still claiming to be a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). For the same wrong reason, he is back again in the trenches, trying to play the old trick in the same old way. This time around, he is going about it more ferociously: lying, deceit, blackmailing, and outright disinformation.
In his latest attempt to win the sympathy of the electorate for his candidate, he went beyond the call of duty, disparaging the image of incumbent Governor Abiodun for undoing some of the wrong things he had done while presiding over the affairs of the state. At the flag-off of the campaign rally of Otegbeye, he told the unsuspecting audience that the present administration renovated an abandoned Model School at Kobape built for N830m with N3b. But he did not tell them the reason he abandoned the project even having claimed that he had paid 100 percent for it. In trying to hoodwink the people, he maintained an undeserved silence on the benefits the youths had derived from converting the moribund school to a tech hub with a considerably far less amount than the false figure he quoted.
Before then, Otegbeye, in a similar deliberate mischief-making, had equally accused the Abiodun administration of expending N7 billion on building the Gateway City Centre contrary to the N350m committed to the project.
To put the records straight, however, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Kunle Somorin, in a quick rebuttal, clarified in a released statement that “the cost of converting that abandoned project is modest and not in billions despite the value it confers on the moribund school.”
He dismissed the outburst as shameful, unfounded, and unguided. His words: “It is a shame that the former governor does not know the difference between converting an abandoned project to a socially desirable Tech Hub at this age and time.
“Rather than applauding the ingenuity of Governor Abiodun for converting the moribund model school to a functional tech hub within three weeks of assuming office, Amosun is resorting to blackmail.
“It should be noted that barely 24 hours to the mark of his 100 days in office, Gov. Abiodun launched the Ogun Tech hub in Abeokuta, the State capital.
“The conversion of the model school to a Tech hub facility was in the interest of the Gateway State.
“Gov. Abiodun will want to reiterate that his administration would complete all inherited projects capable of improving the fortunes of the people.”
But for Somorin, who took it upon himself to respond appropriately to the tissues of lies being dished out to the public to confuse the electorate, on his part, Governor Abiodun doesn’t feel an inch perturbed by these ceaseless campaigns of calumny. As a man of honour and integrity, he has demonstrated immeasurable patience and forbearance in all manners of circumstances. In the face of all lies, deceit, and deliberate distortion of fact in a bid to smear his good image, he keeps an abiding faith in the social contract he entered into with the good people of Ogun State, refusing to succumb to any form of cheap blackmail or condescending to the level of engaging in a war of words with his political adversaries. Since the facts are open to the public, it is for the electorate to weigh the options available before them, and know where the truth lies.
This is even more so that the administration runs an open, inclusive, transparent, and accountable government. It only behoves on those who see politics as a dirty game to rethink and do a possible review of their strategy for power acquisition. Politics itself is not dirty. What makes it looks like a dirty game is the way and manners the players go about pursuing their ambitions without a modicum of decency and decorum.
In an election season like this, it is not unusual for politicians to do a review of strategic alliances for the mutual benefit of the parties concerned, while also remaining independent in certain spheres. With the ongoing alliance review in Ogun State, the future relevance of Senator Amosun in state and national politics is impressively on trial.
Ordinarily, no one goes into an election to lose. But it is also a known fact that only one person will win an election into an elective position at a time. So, when two partners decide to go into an alliance it is usually with a conviction that the benefits derivable from the synergy will be greater than those from individual efforts. But the question here is: What is there for Amosun to benefit from his alliance with ADC and its candidate? Nothing.
The truth of the matter is that Amosun is already at a crossroads in his political journey. He is inadvertently caught up in a delicate balance between the desire to be loyal to the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on one hand, with no less objective of promoting his preferred candidate in another party on the other hand. By so doing, he believes he can navigate through the political turbulence ahead of him to remain relevant in Ogun State politics. He got it all wrong.
For the latter option, the answer is predictable. Without necessarily pre-empting whatever may be the possible outcome of the governorship election coming up on March 11, it will be much easier for the proverbial camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for Otegbeye to unseat the incumbent governor.
History is there to serve as a guide to political pundits who may want to hold a contrary view. But the problem is that people don’t learn from the lesson of history. Suffice it to say, however, that no matter how much you try to ignore history, history in all its alienating necessities will not ignore you. If in 2019, Amosun as a sitting governor with all the paraphernalia of office combined with the power of incumbency could not install his anointed candidate as his successor, how will he fight from outside now and win an election for his newfound friend? He doesn’t need a soothsayer to be told the home truth about the latest alliance which is already doomed to fail from the outset because nothing has changed in the power equations to turn the tide against Governor Abiodun. For all he cares, it will be rather delusional and presumptuous to think that the same electorate that rejected Akinlade, his anointed candidate in 2019, will now decide to embrace the same old antics of the power game and abandon the mandate freely given to the incumbent governor to serve the interest of the greater number of the good people of Ogun State.
By opting for Otegbeye, Amosun has completed the full circle of his political journey. For the benefit of hindsight, this same Biyi Otegbeye was the APC House of Representatives candidate in his constituency in 2019 that Amosun fought tooth and nail to defeat his ambition. Therefore, having run a full circle in all his trysts, the only alternative left to correct the error of judgment that led him into the current political wilderness is to retrace his steps and reunite with the APC family for the overall good of the state.
Regrettably, with the gang-up and the desperation that has accounted for the sustained campaign of calumny against Governor Abiodun, it does appear that Amosun’s camp has learned nothing and forgotten nothing from the past. Because they have seen defeat stirring in the face ahead of the coming governorship election, they have continued to spin falsehood against the Abiodun administration. Such a strategy is doomed to fail as the people already know where the truth lies.
In politics, as in conventional warfare, what matters is not your strategy but the strategy of the enemies. In this case, it is quite clear that the intention of the opposition for all the lies being told about the administration of Governor Dapo Abiodun is to discredit the good work he is doing. But it is a road that leads to nowhere. It’s like building something on nothing. The strategy of concocting lies against the government cannot stand because the people’s eyes are open. In no time, every lie told about this government will come down like a pack of cards. One obvious thing is that every citizen of good conscience knows that the administration operates open, transparent, and accountable governance. That, primarily, is the essence of the government’s policy that makes the people part and parcel of the decision-making process to establish the necessary trust and confidence in the administration. And it is that confidence that forms the basis of the existing social capital between the government and the people. Social capital is a set of shared values or resources that allows individuals to work with the government to achieve a common purpose. In today’s increasingly democratizing world, evidence has shown that social cohesion is crucial for sustainable development. It is in keeping with that global trend that Governor Abiodun at the inception of his administration deliberately evolved the idea of citizen engagement through the concept of “Building of Our Future Together” which has now become a sing-song among the stakeholders in the state.
So, it doesn’t matter the intention of those who prefer the option of bare-faced lies, subtle blackmail and outright misinformation to issue-based electioneering and constructive engagement, there will be a triumph of the light over darkness. As a people’s government, the records are there for public scrutiny.
For the good people of Ogun State, a vote for Governor Abiodun is a vote for continuity. With the trust and confidence that currently exist between the administration and the people, there is no doubt that they will vote overwhelmingly for continuity because they have seen the good work Governor Abiodun is doing and will still do more with a renewed mandate. As they say, no one changes a winning team in the middle of the game.
Several times in the recent past, Amosun had been over-heard, boasting of his relevance and the power to dictate the shots in Ogun State. Without prejudice to the rights of the electorate to elect a candidate of their choice, all dynamics put together, the coming election is going to be a triumph of the truth over falsehood in the State. It doesn’t matter the gang-up, and all other forms of shenanigans exhibited by the opposition parties and their candidates, Abiodun’s victory is a sure deal, courtesy of the good people of conscience who have consistently continued to lend credence to the voice of reason and the imperative of power rotation after the second tenure of the present administration. Beyond the argument about good performance, the need to entrench the principle of justice, fairness, and equity in the system is another reason people must vote for the re-election of Governor Abiodun.
• Ogbonnikan wrote from Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
