For the legion of members of APC in the South-West, this is certainly not the best of times for the political dynasty of the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), former Governor of Lagos State and political godfather in the southwest, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Reason:
There have been major cracks in the hitherto impenetrable fortress built around
the party which held the general view that it enjoys a formidable front. One of
such cracks were the political onslaught unleashed on Asiwaju during the
ill-fated EndSars protest which saw some of his investments fatally destroyed
and a large chunk of his political will stretched to the limits. The other is
the ongoing friction between two principal stakeholders of the party, Governor
Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State and the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola,
former Osun Governor. The ephemeral feud was at the verge of throwing the
Tinubu dynasty into disarray when the pioneer interim national chairman of the
ruling All Progressives Congress, Chief Bisi Akande, and Dr. Olapade Agoro
intervened to contain the impasse.
Albeit,
Governor Oyetola and former Governor Rauf Aregbesola have repeatedly denied
being involved in any conflict, their aides overtly were on warpath on behalf
of their principals and political blocs with minimal restraints. This
precipitated the request for the intervention of elder statesmen in the
southwest to mend the broken fences and re-unite the two political principals
engaged in seeming cold war and their loyalists who dominated the battlefield.
Loyalists
of the two principals engaged in acrimonious altercations in prosecuting the
war on behalf of their principals. There was the insinuation that loyalists of
Aregbesola were shut out of the state government under the leadership of Gov.
Oyetola. It was alleged that supporters of Oyetola before the 2018 governorship
election dominated the Osun government. Thus, there has been latent acrimony
over the composition of the state government.
The
acrimony, however, became manifest in rancorous special media alterations
between the Special Adviser on Education to Governor Oyetola, Jamiu Olawumi,
and Bola Ilori, an aide to the Interior Minister, Aregbesola; both warriors
engaged each other on their Facebook
walls. A source revealed to City People that the sudden outburst of hostility
was not allowed to deepen and was nipped in the bud by political elders in the
state.
But,
how did this cold but dangerous friction between Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and the
incumbent governor begin? Political observers trace it all back to the very
beginning when the jostle for the governorship ticket of the APC began. It is
no secret that former governor Aregbesola had his own preferred candidate whom
he wanted to succeed him. But the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola
Tinubu had other ideas. His preferred choice was his cousin, who was also his
former accountant, Gboyega Oyetola. And hard as Aregbe tried to force his
anointed candidate on the party, he had to give in to the wish of his leader,
Asiwaju, who understandably wields enormous influence within the party
hierarchy. Those who know insist that the Jagaban Borgu knew exactly what he
was doing from the very start. It was clear that he knew Aregbe would want to
retain a firm grip on the political structure of the party in Osun even after
he has left office and that was something Asiwaju didn’t want to see happen.
He, Asiwaju, wanted to have his firm grip on the political structure in Osun
and the only way to guarantee that is ensuring his own candidate, his cousin
and Accountant of many years, Gboyega Oyetola, became governor. Naturally, this
did not go down well with Rauf Aregesola. He had made it clear to everyone that
he did not want Oyetola, who incidentally was his Chief of Staff, to succeed
him. But he could not raise single dust over the matter. He felt that, by
right, he should’ve been given the privilege to pick his own successor, but he
also knew he couldn’t dare bite the fingers that fed him. This man, Asiwaju,
was the one who single-handedly reclaimed Aregbesola’s mandate at the tribunal
when INEC had first declared Iyiola Omisore of the PDP winner of the
gubernatorial election. At the time, even Aregbesola had long given up hope of
ever becoming Osun governor. He had to let Asiuwaju have his way, but from that
moment on, the seed of discord had been sowed.
There
was also the innuendo that Governor Oyetola purportedly declined to support the
nomination of Aregbesola for ministerial appointment. It was alleged that
Governor Oyetola had nominated Senator Iyiola Omisore as representative of Osun
State for ministerial appointment. This was identified to be a source of
friction between the two blocs in Osun State. However, the governor was
perceived to have taken that step to compensate Omisore for mobilizing the
Social Democratic Party (SDP) to support him in September 27, 2018
governorship runoff election that upturned the APC loss to Senator Ademola
Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the initial governorship
election that was declared inconclusive by the INEC.
Thirdly,
both political principals were said to be engulfed in the cold war over control of
APC in the state. It was disclosed that Aregbesola firmly controlled the party
structure while he was governor. He presided over the allocation of party tickets
for the various elections into the state House of Assembly, the local
governments and the party leadership. He was said to have the ambition to continue
to control the state party from Abuja but there is resistance.
Governor
Oyetola was said to have, however, lured the APC State Chairman, Gboyega
Famodun, to his side.
Again,
the tenure of Famodun was said to have ended in October 2018 but Governor
Oyetola, inheriting the state chairman from Aregbesola, has continued to retain
him and ignoring conducting state congress to elect new leaders of the party in
the state.
It
was gathered that the Aregbesola bloc recommended power shift of the State
Chairman to Osun West Senatorial District as the Speaker of the State House of
Assembly, Hon. Timothy Owoeye, is from Osun East Senatorial District while
Governor Oyetola is from Osun Central Senatorial District. But the governor
insisted on Famodun, who is also from Osun Central, to remain in office.
Subsequently,
at the turban of Aregbesola as the Amirul Wazirul-Mumin of Osun State league of
Imams and Alfas, the Interior Minister, was gathered to have expressed
perturbation and suspicion of silent dispute over the absence of Governor
Oyetola from the event. However, the governor was said to have explained that
he notified Aregbesola of planned pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on lesser
hajj.
Governor
Oyetola, represented by the Deputy Governor, Benedict Alabi, at the Iwude Day
Celebration in Ilesa, refuted reports on conflicts between him and the minister.
He was of the view that the reports were figment of the imaginations of the
detractors, saying that his administration is consolidating on the legacy of
Aregbesola. “It’s only the agents of distractions and the antagonists of peace
that will carry unreasonable rumours to disintegrate the current administration
and its predecessor. We’re consolidating on what the previous administration
has done and Ogbeni Aregbesola is our leader. We are following his good Steps,”
he had declared.
Several
months ago, Governor Oyetola and the minister, Aregbesola, at a special prayer
session at the Government House in Osogbo in commemoration of Aregbesola’s 62nd
birthday insisted they maintain cordial relations and have no rift.
Governor
Oyetola had declared: “People have said a lot of unprintable things about us
and our relationship, but as true leaders, we don’t allow such to separate us.
“Our
relationship is age-long to the extent that we have become a family; we are
fond of each other and no one can intrude.
“One
thing that those peddling rumours do not know is that Aregbesola will share in
the praises when we succeed.” And in return, Aregbesola had also declared
support for the Oyetola administration.
But
all of these have since turned out to be sheer political gyration. With recent
happenings in Osun, it has become crystal clear for everyone to see that all is
far from being well between the two strong men of Osun politics. First, a lot
of former governor Aregbesola’s policies have been reversed while others have simply
been thrown out of the window, especially in the area of education. Incumbent
governor Oyetola has since returned all missionary schools back to their
owners, a move that has been hailed and applauded by many indigenes of Osun
state. It was during Aregbesola’s tenure that the government took over the
running of the schools. Not so long ago, the Osun State Government has ordered
all principals and headteachers of public schools to revert to the old names
of their various schools ahead of resumption from coronavirus lockdown.
This
is as a result of the approval of the reversal of the single school uniform,
‘reclassification’ of the public school system, and the abolition of single-sex
schools introduced in 2013 by former governor, Rauf Aregbesola. The current
governor, Gboyega Oyetola, said then that the review of some policies became
important following the clamour for change by educationists, school
administrators, missionaries and school owners. Oyetola also reversed the
school education system to 6-3-3-4 from 4-5-3-4 which was introduced by
former governor Aregbesola.
This,
more than anything else was said to have upset the former governor who saw
this as direct ridicule of his legacies in Osun State. It was, to him, a
clear case of the battle line being drawn between him and Oyetola. It was a big
move by Oyetola to cement his hold on the political structure in Osun and
Aregbe got the message loud and clear. For this and other aforementioned
reasons, it is unlikely that Aregbe will ever forgive Oyetola. For someone who
was his Chief of Staff, now upturning his policies like they were utter
nonsense was a punch too hard for him to take. As far as he was concerned,
Oyetola had stabbed him in the back and by so doing, had drawn the battle line.
And he, Aregbe appears ready for that battle, regardless of the powers of the
Lion behind Oyetola.
These
days, these two Osun political powerhouses no longer conceal the fact that all
is not well between them and that they are both poised for a showdown as to who
would finally take hold of the political structure in Osun state. This is even
more evident in the 10 years anniversary of uninterrupted democracy in Osun
State. The incumbent governor had his own ceremony planned separately from that
former governor Aregbesola. They both now harbor such strong resentments
towards each other that they could not even tolerate each other enough to come
together and plan a befitting anniversary for the state
There
is rising apprehension that the friction touches on the foundation of the
Tinubu dynasty. Aregbesola is the strongest loyalist Tinubu has; and is
perceived as the lieutenant of Tinubu in the political dynasty in the
southwest. Oyetola is known as blood
relation of Tinubu. But as things stand, none of these matter anymore to
Aregbesola. He is willing to fight tooth and nail and give everything he has to
reclaim his hold on Osun, the state for which he fought so relentlessly against
Omisore to govern and nurture to the path of economic growth. Many have also wondered
why it has been increasingly difficult for Tinubu to resolve the cold war
between his 2 loyalists. Many feel he could easily have called them to order.
City People can reveal that it is because both are a force to reckon with in
Osun State. Both Aregbe & the Governor both have strong political
structures in the state. Politically, Tinubu cannot put one down, for the
other. He sees both of them as relevant in the scheme of things and
strategically they can be used to checkmate each other.
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