Osun APC: Still a house divided?

The recent inauguration of the Osun State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 reelection bid has once again shown that all is not well within the party in the state.

A camp was of the belief that the Executive Governor of Osun State and State Coordinator of the cross-party coalition, Ademola Adeleke, failed to adopt the right approach. What some analysts expected was for Adeleke to have convened a pre-inauguration meeting - a Steering Committee of sorts - that would include representatives from the three main political platforms, namely Accord Party, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and APC. It was this Committee, including remnants of the now-decapitated PDP, that would have worked out a comprehensive plan and carried the leaders of their respective parties along.

Even if the governor did not emerge from the president’s party, he must understand that APC in Osun still carries significant weight. After all, the 444,815 votes polled by the party during the last governorship election were no small feat. A Coordinator worth his designation should have set up an inclusive structure to bridge the divide.

Barring any extraterrestrial interference, all the caucuses, or groups, in the project are presumed to be working towards one goal. Unfortunately, there are strong indications that they are employing divergent approaches. It is believed that former Governor Gboyega Oyetola is reluctant to work with Adeleke because of age-long political rivalry. Adeleke, on his part, wanted to flag off the reelection bid in the state, but, whether out of ignorance or arrogance - he opted not to involve the state chapter of the APC.

For the governor, being named Coordinator was all he needed. As long as that held, other things could go out of fashion; and once he called a meeting, everybody was expected to fall in line. Well, that’s a critical aspect of the tempers of politics which the president himself must address before water enters the snail’s mouth from its back. For the APC in Osun to become cohesive, have a powerful surname, and regain the state - without prejudice, of course, to the outcomes of the forthcoming National and State Assembly elections - genuine reconciliation is essential.

To get it right, provocative assertions like the one made by Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru at the inauguration should be avoided. Dismissing internal divisions, the APC National Secretary declared: “Whoever writes anything wrote it for himself. All members of the APC are here. I am the most senior political office holder of the APC here.” How so, and what could have prompted that statement in the first place?

As the APC national scribe, Basiru should know that a cabinet minister wields more influence and patronage than a party secretary who only comes into reckoning when party meetings are convened or when primaries are held. As secretary, he has no largesse to dispense and holds no direct executive authority. Therefore, what ought to matter most to him now is how disgruntled and alienated, aggrieved and bereaved members - the rich and the rest, even the prodigal - can reclaim their place within the whole. The focus should be on transforming past ruptures into a deeper, wiser unity; otherwise, Osun APC may tarry long in the desert of the world, and that would be too bad!

From findings, APC’s Constitution doesn't actually name a “Party Leader” at the state level. The state chairman is the one in charge of its day-to-day affairs. Out in the real world, though, a sitting governor leads the party. In a state like Osun where the party’s fortunes currently finds succour in the opposition, that leadership naturally falls to Oyetola as the top figure. Even if APC wants to go by normal tradition, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO), being its gubernatorial candidate, is currently the APC leader in Osun. Still, Oyebamiji defers to Oyetola. So, where is Basiru in the equation?

There is an adage in Ijesaland where I come from, and I believe it extends beyond Ijebu-Jesa, my Native Nazareth: “Bí iṣu ẹni bá ta, a máa ń f’ọwọ́ bò ó jẹ ní” (When one’s yam yields well, one covers it with the hand while eating). If Basiru is truly “the most senior political office holder of the APC” in Osun, as he now wants Nigerians to believe, then he needs to “change the mood of his look, create beautiful proportions, and add character and poise.” A true leader works towards rapprochement. He does not pour petrol on a raging fire when he is expected to be putting it out. He should remember how the party got to this sorry pass and do all within his power to rebuke a repeat performance. That is the core of good leadership.

A cross-section of Nigerians held the notion that Osun APC lost the last election because it failed woefully to sit like a king on the throne of opportunities presented to it at the time; and Satan smiled! However, Basiru’s body language seems to be altering this position. For instance, Adeleke visited the former Senate Spokesperson following the death of his mother at the peak of electioneering, only for Basiru to return the visit long after the ‘PDAccord’ governor had won the election.

Indeed, this sent the wrong signal that the scribe had gone there to congratulate the governor while a large section of the APC was still aggrieved over “the tempest of August 15”, which diluted the party’s essence. While this might have been purely circumstantial, it carried deeper and far-reaching political implications. Granted, no one is saying Basiru is unfit to lead, but he needs to be circumspect about public posturing or ambitions that may be perceived as premature or contaminating party unity.

Meanwhile, within the Adeleke camp, Teslim Igbalaye, the current Secretary to the State Government, is being touted as the governor's successor. So, let Basiru not think that the Dancing Governor will abandon those who have danced Kpanlogo, irresistibly, with him through thick and thin to succumb to Skelewu, uncontrollably, in another direction. Our brother should perish that thought and focus instead on mobilizing his own supporters to secure his ambition. If Adeleke ever had an agreement with him, it ended the moment the last Osun guber went the way it went. C’est fini!

Lest we forget, it is because Tinubu is in power that Osun APC is still making merry. If God gives him January 16, the song may be sonorously long-lasting. God forbid, should he lose, it will be “To your tents, O Israel.” If the president is also re-elected, Oyetola is most likely to return as a minister; even if he doesn’t, he remains the most influential figure to nominate the minister from the state.

Through it all, Minister Oyetola has remained calm amid the provocations, possibly so as not to be seen as competing for party leadership. He has deliberately refrained from public commentary to prioritize his relationship with the president. His quiet actions show that he is focused on his assignment as the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, and on helping Tinubu secure a second term.

When all is said, let him who owns today be careful, because yesterday belonged to somebody. He should also be watchful, because tomorrow is someone else’s property. When a man trades away tomorrow, he spends what isn’t his yet to satisfy immediate desires. When he acts as though tomorrow doesn’t matter, he treats time like a consumable commodity rather than a shared trust.

My position is clear, but this is a topic we will undoubtedly return to!

May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Nigeria!

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