Mimiko’s Victory and Future of Yoruba Politics: A Rejoinder Seyi Oduyela/Washington, DC

I took time to read Allwell Okpi's article; at first I didn't know if it was an opinion or a feature article but I eventually regard it as feature article. All the same, I think some areas of his article need clarification and some  needs for record to be set straight. Governor Mimiko was not the first Governor to be re-elected in Ondo State. Pa Adekunle won his re-election at the Election Tribunal. The idea of who becomes the political Yoruba leader, in the manner that late Chief Obafemi Awolowo was is an ACN narrative not that of Yoruba people. It is a mistake to think or conclude that ACN is a Yoruba Party. The party and its leaders have been selling the idea but the truth is that the ACN leader created a narrative they do not understand and cannot articulate. Afenifere had been polarized even before Pa Adesanya died in in 2008. The demise of Afenifere was planned and executed by Chief Bola Ige. This was a result of long standing feud within the Awo camp even before e Pa Awolowo died. In 1978 after General Olusegun Obasanjo lifted ban on politics and the political parties were formed, The Unity Party of Nigeria leader – Pa Awolowo preferred Pa Emmanuel Alayande as the governorship candidate of the Party in Oyo state. He did not want any primary election but Chief Bola Ige insisted on primary elections. Pa Awolowo agreed and Bola Ige defeated Alayande, his former principal at Ibadan Grammar School. To some in the Party, Pa Awolowo handles Bola Ige with kid gloves, because Papa allows him (Ige) to get away with a lot of things. After the 1979 elections and with Obasanjo’s role in aiding National Party of Nigeria to win the presidency, Pa Awolowo declared that no member of the UPN must deal with Obasanjo. Chief Bola Ige was the only one who defied the Sage. He visited and fraternized with Obasanjo. Bola Ige, Wole Soyinka and Obasanjo have been 3 Musketeers for a long time. At the Yola convention of the UPN in 1983, Bola Ige was accused of anti-party activities but he got away with it. This angered many member of the party. The party, UPN only recongises elected officers and this marginalizes. The likes of Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Ajayi Laniwun do not really carry much weight as much as Bola Ige, Jakande and Bisi Onabanjo because they were not only elected but Chief executives of different states. After Awolowo’s death, Jakande could not step into the leadership position because some members of the Awo group believe that the leadership should come from Ijebu while other members do not think Ijebu should be the only one leading. Jakande lost for supporting Yomi Edu against Awolowo’s daughter in Lagos for the Governorship election. Some Awoists saw that as disloyal to Awolowo and the allegation that Jakande used proxies to buy shares from Tribune with the aim of controlling the Newspaper deprived LKJ the leadership. Bola Ige became the most possible non-Ijebu to lead the Awo group but Ayo Adebanjo; Ajayi Laniwun will not allow that. It was part of Laniwun’s testimony at the Buhari/Idiagbon government tribunal that sent Bisi Onabanjo to jail and eventually led to his death. Afenifere came up and Pa Adesanya led the group until 1998. In 1998 when parties were formed; Bola Ige moved the group to PDP, he wrote the PDP constitution, when he saw he could not become the presidential candidate, they moved to APP and later formed Alliance for Democracy. He had thought that he would get the AD ticket on a platter of gold but he was shocked when the underdog Olu Falae defeated him at the D’Rovans Hotel election. The battle line was drawn. At the Primary election held in Bola Ige’s absence, Bola Tinubu, who rode on the back of Pa Adesanya to upturn Funsho Williams’s ambition to become AD’s candidate for Lagos governorship, voted against Bola Ige at the Ibadan night of the long knife. Chief Segun Osoba who almost lost the Ogun State ticket but for Bola Ige voted for Ige. At the general election, Osoba did not support Falae, he gave Abeokuta to Obasanjo in protest and Bola Ige was alleged to have supported Obasanjo’s legal team against Falae in the lawsuit challenging Obasanjo’s victory; though Chief Bola Ige denied it and cursed whoever said so “to die in perdition.” The event that happened after Obasanjo took office put a crack in AD and eventually broke Afenifere to two. Bola Ige accepted offer to serve Obasanjo as Power Minister and later Justice Minister. He then went ahead to found Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) with the same function as Afenifere. The founding of YCE led to the fractionalization of AD. In 2002, AD had two national conventions. The Bola Ige group now with Tinubu and others were held at the Eagle Square apparently supported by Obasanjo and Pa Adesanya’s group held theirs close to the National Hospital because they were denied venue in Abuja. While Segun Osoba was with Adesanyas, all his men were with Bola Ige. Why did Tinubu switch side? What happened between him and the Adesanyas? After the demise of Sani Abacha, Tinubu and all those who fled to exile came back to Nigeria. Tinubu’s plan was to go back to the Senate. Mr. Onanuga and Babafemi Ojudu advised him to gun for the governorship. Their argument was that because Tinubu fought and financially contributed to the fight against Military and more so he bankrolled The News during the Abacha era. Ganiyu Dawodu had prepared Funsho Williams for the race and Tinubu made a 360 turn. This step created feud between Tinubu and Dawodu and old ally and comrade of Adesanya from their UPN days. There were allegations that Tinubu rigged the primaries in Lagos to beat Funsho Williams but not substantiated. Tinubu’s success in 2003 was not because he was able to wade off PDP’s might in Lagos State. He was a beneficiary of an in-fighting within the PDP. After the primaries in Lagos, Funsho Williams emerged as winner and Dapo Sarunmi and others protested. Bode George; the leader of the party in Lagos State favored Funsho Williams while Atiku favored Sarunmi. Sarunmi belongs to the Yar’Adua movement of the PDP, in which Atiku was the leader. Sarunmi left PDP to run under another party. Atiku did not like that, he had planned to overturn Funsho William’s victory just as he sing-handedly nominated Iyiola Omisore as Senatorial Candidate of PDP while Omisore was still in detention and being charged for the murder of Chief Bola Ige. The decision by AD governors to support Obasanjo’s re-election in 2003 made the party not to field any presidential candidate. Tinubu too fell for it. Obasanjo had called the Afenifere elders and made a deal with them. Part of the deal was to allow the arrest of Iyiola Omisore for Ige’s murder. Omisore who had been enjoying federal protection was eventually impeached thereby losing his immunity and withdrawal of his security details. After his impeachment, Omisore was summoned to Aso Rock, but was directed to Tafa Balogun the then Police Chief. It was Tafa who arrested Omisore for Chief Ige’s death. Little did the Afenifere’s know that the deal they had with Obasanjo was a Greek gift. Obasanjo had planned to rip the AD of all the states Lagos inclusive but Atiku did not allow money meant for the governorship elections released to Lagos State in time. Lagos PDP was starved of fund, Ademola Adeniji Adele complained then. Atiku did it to punish the Bode George camp. While Tinubu had the Lagos State resources, PDP was starved of funds in Lagos to execute their plans. Since Tinubu was the only survivor of the PDP tsunami on 2003, he began to emerge as the leader because he has the resources. So in 2007, Tinubu decided to align with Atiku and they formed ACN. The party died just as it was about to take off. Tinubu, who wanted to go back to the Senate, was asked to be Atiku’s vice. He gave his seat to someone else and was preparing for the VP position until he was suddenly dumped by Atiku. This angered Tinubu and he worked against Atiku. Tinubu would have lost Lagos in 2007 to PDP if he had not had a deal with Tokunbo Afikuyomi. Tokunbo who broke up with Tinubu wanted to run for Lagos governorship under APP until Tinubu begged him to step down for Fashola. In 2007 ACN lost Ogun State and Oyo State to PDP. It was not Tinubu that helped Ibikunle Amosun in Ogun State, Amosun worked for his victory. Amosun while in ANPP had Action Congress of Nigeria’s executives in Ogun State on his pay roll. Tinubu did not and cannot be said to have been responsible for the ACN victory in Ogun State. PDP was in disarray and Amosun capitalized on this to hit a home run in the 2011 election. Tinubu’s image was blown by the media. It was propaganda through pro-Tinubu media championed by the Thews/PM News organization and some of the editors on Tinubu’s pay roll on other media that shot him into limelight as “Yoruba leader.” When people talk about ACN’s accomplishments, why do they only refer to Lagos State? If the party is a Yoruba party, who don’t they mention Ogun State in their equation? How about Ekiti State? What has been the achievement of the Party in those states? It is not about winning but what you do with the victory. Tinubu is a man driven by personal ambition disguising it as Yoruba agenda. What is the Yoruba Agenda or what is the ACN’s agenda for the Yoruba? In 2011, Action Congress of Nigeria fielded Nuhu Ribadu a Hausa man as its Presidential candidate, at the middle of election negotiated with CDC another Hausa-led party. Under the leadership of Tinubu, ACN negotiated to cede presidency to Muhammadu Buhari, while Tinubu becomes the Vice asking Tunde Bakare, Buhari’s running mate to step down for him. Did the Yoruba agenda for ACN start after losing the 2011 or before? Who is deceiving who? Presently, Kano State with the same population as Lagos has more representatives in the Federal House of Representatives than Lagos State. The Federal constitution provides for Concurrent list that allows States to provide their own security and criminal justice system. Going back to regionalism will start by Yoruba states leading in implementing this part of the constitution. What does Yoruba integration means?