By Ademola Adegbamigbe
• From fountain of knowledge to mountain of lawlessness!
It was as if what was being organised was a main governorship election as the news occupied major headlines in Nigeria and attracted attention of Nigerians within and in the Diaspora. The venue of the Saturday 5 May 2018 All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election itself is historical. It is named after an Ekiti-born international athlete, Oluyemi Kayode.
Together with his teammates (Chidi Imoh, Olapade Adeniken and Davidson Ezinwa), Kayode won the silver medal in 4 x 100 m relay at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. A year after that, he also won a silver medal in 200 metres at the 1993 African Championships in Durban, South Africa. Not only that, he finished sixth in the 200 metres at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada. Unfortunately, Kayode died in a car accident in Northern Arizona in October 1994. His passage was so painful that the stadium in Ado-Ekiti was named to honour him.
R-L: Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, Senator Babafemi Ojudu and Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, leaving the venue of the eight-day prayer for Alhaja Saratu, the mother of Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, by helicopter in Ilesa….
However what happened at the stadium on 5 May was like a piece of drama, striving for verisimilitude. It was not drama. It was reality! It brought dishonour to Ekiti, creating an image of bolekaja politicians that APC itself preaches obstreperous sermons against. Coming with the invincibility of Aduloju , Ogbogboniaran Omokunrin Idolifin, Fabunmi of Okemesi and other Ekiti war generals, the hoodlums defied the police and other law enforcement agents and smashed the ballot boxes, scattering the papers capriciously in different directions. For that, the election was cancelled and fixed for Saturday 12 May.
Related story: https://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2018/05/disruption-of-ekiti-apc-primary-election-why-i-dont-regret-my-action-oosha/
Less than a week after that, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), a party that many consider to be made up of scoundrels, organised its own governorship primary election peacefully. The Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Prof. Kolapo Olusola-Eleka emerged the winner, defeating two other aspirants, Mr Dayo Adeyeye and Mrs Abiodun Olujimi.
Humorously, Governor Ayodele Fayose recommended Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, who presided over the election, to APC, adding, “APC is worse than the PDP in every aspect.”
There are serious implications on what happened on 5 May. As APC aspirants are busy planning mischief against one another, Fayose is busy planning ahead, strategising for the 14 July governorship election. In fact, he is busy polishing the image of his party while APC cares less about that.
Also read: https://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2018/04/photospeak-ekitis-triangular-fight-among-fayose-ojudu-fayemi/
Fayose actually described the violence that marred the APC governorship primary election in Ekiti as shameful and a clear indication that “the APC will fail woefully in the July 14 governorship election because apart from its rejection by Ekiti people, the party has become a house divided against itself that can never hold.” Fayose, who reacted through his Special Assistant on Public Communication and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said; “The whole world can now see the so-called progressives. Ordinary primary election, they can’t hold. It is shameful!” He said “if the party could be this violent during their own primary election, won’t they do worse things during the election proper?
He added: “INEC should therefore be mindful of being used to manipulate the July 14 election in favour of APC because the party has today, lost the election by the open advertisement of its anti-democratic credentials.”
Governor Fayose, who reiterated that APC was a party of hypocrites and anti-democratic elements, masquerading as progressives, added that “A party, who uses guns and machetes to settle minor political disagreements among its members as done in Ado Ekiti, in the full glare of the public, will use grenades and missiles to confront inter-party issues.”
A week before the two party primaries, Fayose told Channel TV:”With due respect to Ekiti people…Just take it from me, anyone I support in Ekiti will win. Even if he is from my house. I still fried gari with a woman yesterday. Let any of them (APC aspirants) go and try it. I am waiting for them on July 14.”
APC should realise that the real battle is not who emerges as the governorship candidate. The crux of the matter is the battle for the love of the electorate who Fayose daily tries to entice by all means. In fact, he understands the psychology of the grassroots voters and the vulgarity of those who speak high voltage English on social media but who will never come out to vote on the D-day. It is a bitter truth. APC must put its its house in order and put self interest aside to work for the people of the state. Otherwise, Fayose, standing arms at akimbo, is waiting like a patient vulture or suitor about to marry the disenchanted electorate on the rebound.
APC should realise that the real battle is not who emerges as the governorship candidate in Ekiti. The crux of the matter is the battle for the love of the electorate who Fayose daily tries to entice by all means. In fact, he understands the psychology of the grassroots voters and the vulgarity of those who speak high voltage English on social media but who will never come out to vote on D-day. It is a bitter truth. APC must put its its house in order and put self interest aside to work for the people of the state. Otherwise, Fayose, standing arms at akimbo, is waiting like a patient vulture or suitor about to marry the disenchanted electorate on the rebound
However, there seems to be a silver lining in the clouds. As reported by TheNEWS on 8 may, the All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders in the South-West met in Abuja with the 33 aspirants contending for the party’s ticket for the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti.
According to former National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, who briefed newsmen after the meeting, “We are going to talk to the party about what the aspirants have said and what we all think is best, and we know that the party will take the right decision. We are going to convey our resolution to the party and the party will be able to tell you,” he said.
He added that the meeting took a decision on what would be best for the party and the country generally. Akande said “Consensus is already in our Constitution and it is an option; also primary election is already in our Constitution. But what we want is the general happiness of the leaders of the party, the contestants and our party.”
Will APC redeem its own image as the main war is still in July? That is the big question and all Nigerians are watching.