Power is alluring. Public office at whatever level is captivating. At any gathering, the presence of men of power and influence is usually electrifying. Power opens doors; power is the key to the doors. Indeed, power is the door.
But the exercise of power could also entrap. It could become risky for those who allow power to corrupt them and draw the wool across their eyes. The first casualty of power is humility. It takes wisdom for those in authority to appreciate that power is ultimately transient and that no condition is permanent. Even kingdoms and empires have expiry dates.
When a man falls from the Olympian heights of power, discerning mortals take caution; they heed the mute echoes of precaution. The lessons are plenty for those willing to learn. Learning, as it is said, implies a change in behaviour due to experience or exposure.
Also important are the psychological tools of realistic self-assessment and public perception of those who exercise power and authority. Wise leaders always avoid getting themselves used by power instead of using it for all good.
Lagos State has produced five Speakers – Olorunnimbe Mamora, Joko Pelumi, Yemi Ikuforiji, Mudashiru Obasa and Lasba Meranda. If Obasa had learnt useful lessons from the fate of two of his predecessors, perhaps, he would have been wiser. Pelumi, a lawyer, was kicked out after two years. Ikuforiji spent 10 years as a Speaker only to spend the next 10 years answering charges in court. Up to now, there seems to be no respite in sight.
Those who survive in politics are rated as assets, but those who fall are perceived as liabilities. In some settings, it is always difficult to rise after a fall from power. This is the reason those wielding the power of incumbency should tread softly because theirs is a more slippery ground than that of the people they lead.
Perhaps, Obasa now understands the meaning of reality. He had jetted to the United States, obviously with pomp, as Speaker. Disrobed in absentia, he will now be returning to the hallowed chamber, not as the presiding officer, but as a floor member, having been rejected by his colleagues and majority of party leaders.
A month ago, a vote of confidence was passed in him by all the lawmakers, but the same lawmakers have drawn the curtains on his tenure as Speaker through an impeachment. He had his eyes on the Governor’s Office in 2027, so it was said. In the first month of 2025, the ambition collapsed like a pack of cards. His flame of ambition suddenly flickered into a nightmare.
The handwriting was boldly on the wall; perhaps, the former Speaker chose to ignore it. Obasa’s sins include the delay in passing the budget and screening of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) members. Open confrontations with colleagues who are members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and his disdain for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu have never gone well with key party leaders. The media report on the feud between Obasa, who wielded the big stick, and his four colleagues – who were made to crawl before him – drew negative attention to the Lagos Assembly.
Obasa had suddenly announced the removal of two principal officers of the Assembly: Chief Whip Rotimi Abiru (Somolu II) and Deputy Majority Leader Olumiyiwa Jimoh (Apapa II) and pronounced indefinite suspension on two other members – Moshood Oshun, now a federal legislator, and Raheem Olawale. The offices of two of the lawmakers were sealed on the order of the erstwhile Speaker.
The Governance Advisory Council (GAC) leader, Prince Oluyole Olusi, was inundated with multiple complaints about the cracks in the House. He reasoned that the timing was bad, as it coincided with the period some party stalwarts were plotting to remove the then National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole, in bad faith.
Olusi felt that insinuations might be made that the Lagos APC had also been seized by internal contradictions and a self-inflicted crisis. He berated the lawmakers for their insensitivity. In his view, if the crisis persisted, it would be illogically interpreted as an implosion in Tinubu’s Lagos political base by “frenemies” who deliberately planned to blow the matter out of proportion. Also, the former state chairman of the party, Tunde Balogun, reiterated that the punishment was too harsh because the lawmakers were loyal party members. Nevertheless suspended lawmakers were not allowed to return to their principal offices.
In the last five years, evidence of friction between Sanwo-Olu and Obasa abounds. This is known to the party leadership and other stakeholders. The former Speaker had always shunned most state functions, fueling the feeling of ruptured Executive/Legislative relations. The governor has been absorbent and reticent about the brickbats the erstwhile Speaker had been hurling at him in the public glare. The public was not unmindful of the governor’s uncommon maturity and philosophical calmness. Sanwo-Olu never allowed the direct parliamentary onslaught to cause any distraction in his focused style of governance. He demonstrated top-notch leadership traits.
The miniature gap in the list of commissioner-nominees was capitalised upon due to the fugacious uproar it initially generated in some local governments. To observers, the sensitive issues could have been ironed out indoors in an atmosphere of brotherhood. But the list was thrown out in mockery and an unnecessary tension was created between the community of politicians and comity of technocrats. The former Speaker, in a derisive manner, created a scene in social media where he made unguarded statements against the governor.
The drama in the House during the budget presentation was an eyesore. That day, cordiality was thrown overboard the ship of camaraderie. It was as if Sanwo-Olu and Obasa came from different political parties. The governor’s advance party was dazed when it discovered that the parliament was not welcoming. When the lawmakers arrived, the usual conviviality was absent. Although they are not cultists, the honourable members appeared in customised dark goggles. They did not accord the state Chief Executive the conviviality he deserved on such an auspicious occasion. It was a raw deal he got instead, something akin to what is called in parliamentary parlance the treatment of a “stranger”.
Sanwo-Olu walked in, like an ordinary figure, while a lawmaker was making a speech. The lawmaker tried to pause; the Speaker beckoned on him to continue. The ‘Budget of Sustainability’ was delivered in an atmosphere of obvious discord.
After the House had passed an imaginary vote of confidence in the Speaker, he made a fairly long speech, which implied the arrogance of power and parliamentary recklessness.
It was one moment of intimidation, ignorance, rascality and failure. The former Speaker likened the Lagos House of Assembly to “a sanctuary and temple.” Obasa said no one would violate any temple and expect the gods to accept his or her sacrifice. He added: “If such happens, there must be an appeasement to the gods to accept such atonement. This institution remains resolute. We will never be disgraced, abused, or ridiculed in the name of creating a seamless working ambiance.”
Then, discarding any kind of pretensions or diplomacy, the ex-Speaker retorted: “Those who live in glass houses must not throw stones, as the saying goes. This also brings to my mind, according to our people: eni ba yara l’oogun ngbe – meaning: the god of iron aids the swift).”
The interpretation any observer would give the statement is: “Attack is the best form of defence.
Then, Obasa spoke on his governorship aspiration, which he said he had not given serious thought to, despite the complaints by “blackmailers”, “detractors” and “naysayers,” who he claimed had distorted facts and “misconstrued” his intention. He said the focus of his mobilisation was to build support for the Lagos APC on the platform of Mandate Caucus, a rival to the older and influential “Justice Forum”.
Obasa boasted that “nevertheless, that does not mean I am too young or lack the experience to run,” adding that after all, “those who have been before me are not better off”.
Many were taken aback because those who have been elected governors of Lagos are: Lateef Jakande, Michael Otedola, President Bola Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode, and Sanwo-Olu. Past military governors are: Brig-Gen. Mobolaji Johnson, Col. Adekunle Lawal, Admiral Ndubusi Kanu, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, Group Captain Gbolahan Mudashiru, Admiral Mike Akhigbe, Brig-Gen. Raji Rasaki, Brig-Gen. Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and Brig-Gen. Buba Marwa.
To critics, who alleged that Obasa was trying to rent a family through bribery, he said: “I do not need local validity to contest or run. If eventually I am contesting, I will do so from Agege.”
The outburst was the last straw. The Party Leader reportedly lamented that an emperor had emerged in the Lagos Assembly. Also, the GAC suddenly realised that the privilege of a long tenure as head of the legislature had been abused. On that note, Obasa’s days were numbered as Speaker.
But the impeachment is not the end of the matter. The burden of labelling and indirect ostracism is real. It may lead to adjustment difficulties due to the sudden status change and loss of treasured privilege as a power broker. Already, there is a predictable threat to his structure, and it is unlikely Obasa would be relied upon by the party as their Agege pointsman.
The erstwhile Speaker would need to be reconciled with the governor, who has said he has no hands in the removal of the embattled lawmaker. Obasa also needs to appease the party elders who felt that he had disrespected them by disrespecting the governor.
His colleagues have said he was sacked due to alleged gross misconduct: misappropriation of funds, high-handedness, and lack of transparency in the management of the Assembly’s affairs. Therefore, the former Speaker also needs to mend fences with his colleagues whose support and forgiveness would facilitate his adaptation to his new role as a floor member of the House.
