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Here's an opinion piece from BusinessDay on the current leadership tussle in the APC:
The crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC) appears to be escalating. The signs are everywhere. Political watchers know the signs of deep falling apart in political associations. The meeting last Tuesday at the Villa, between President Muhammadu Buhari and John Odigie-Oyegun, national chairman of the APC, may have riled some members of the party, particularly those sympathy to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, national leader of the party. The interpretation is that Odigie-Oyegun is now having the ears of the president more than Tinubu who was the instrument that produced both Buhari and Oyegun in the first place.
Some observers had alleged that Tinubu has since been schemed out of the affairs of governance and that despite the picture being created to the public, a deep crack had been created in the party and that a lot of waters had already passed under the bridge.
According to some analysts, Tinubu’s appearance at the recent launch of President Buhari’s biography and his glowing eulogies were to create an impression to the public that all is still well. Tinubu, who recently let out his frustration over his dwindling influence in the decision making both in the party as well as in the country, had come heavily on Odigie-Oyegun, urging him to resign as the national chairman of the party for allegedly going contrary to the tenets of progressivism which APC professes.
BDSUNDAY gathered that although Tinubu was cautioned against the likely consequences of the ultimatum he issued to Oyegun, the party national leader was said to have stuck his guns, saying there’s no going back and that he was determined to damn any consequence.
According to those close to Tinubu, his pain is that the party he labored to put together, which cost him so much in terms of financial commitment and mapping out winning strategies, appears to be hijacked from him by even those he single-handedly put in position of power.
“Asiwaju is pained because of the treatment he is receiving today from those he put in power. All over the world, there are godfathers. Go to America, as the presidential election is coming up there, Hillary Clinton has the backing of powerful people who may be working behind the scene or are even known. You don’t tell me that if by tomorrow she gets to power, she would suddenly sideline such people. The game of politics is mutual understanding. People should be able to play fair in the game. Asiwaju is directly not in government, but courtesy demands that as the person that the Almighty God used to bring about this government, his views should be sought and those in charge of affairs, should be fair enough to accord him that respect, “said a party member who claims to be close to the national leader.
Another commentator told BDSUNDAY that it’s dangerous to allow days pass without Aso Rock addressing the feud between Tinubu and Oyegun, a delay that is beginning to create an impression that the presidency may be listening from one side of the ear.
“I read that Chief Oyegun said he had referred the matter to the President and that things would be sorted out after the gubernatorial election in Edo State, but when I saw the picture in the newspapersWednesday, it was he and President Buhari meeting, Tinubu was not there. I had expected the presidency to promptly mediate,” the observer, who craved anonymity, said.
“Initially, I thought that the President must have spoken to Tinubu and Oyegun using the opportunity of the book launch on the issue, but from Oyegun’s statements while speaking to the State House correspondents after his meeting with Buhari showed the rapprochement has not been reached. I would suggest that there should be no further delay; as delay is dangerous,” the observer further said.
Implications of unresolved crisis in APC
With the way APC rating is dipping by the day in the eyes of many Nigerians, any crisis within the party is capable of sounding a death knel on its ambition to remain in power beyond 2019.
Analysts say that it will be in the interest of the party to continue to court Tinubu if it hopes to win general election in 2019.
Titus Kolawole, a legal practitioner and public affairs analyst, said: “The APC is a party that is just being sustained by the propaganda of the Western press. Before the election, it was the same Western press, heavily sponsored by the likes of Bola Tinubu that sold Buhari to many Nigerians. At least, we read how a party chieftain in Lagos boastfully narrated how they packaged Buhari to the people of Nigeria. There was lots of propaganda that went into the emergence of APC as the ruling party today.
“If you look at all that is going on since May 2015, if not because of the propaganda machine of the South West press, people would have overrun the government. How many times have you read criticism of the Buhari administration in newspapers? But we saw what happened during the Jonathan era. So, it is in the interest of the presidency and the leadership of the APC not to sideline Tinubu. The man has paid his dues and must reap where he has sowed.”
Although BDSUNDAY could not confirm the veracity of the claim in some quarters that there are some moves by some aggrieved members to pull out from the APC, the style of governance and the alleged sidelining of those who brought the government into being may not produce any worthy fruit but the disintegration of the party ahead of 2019.
Rufus Onos, a psychologist told BDSUNDAY that any behaviour that tends towards disrespect for Tinubu by Odigie-Oyegun and some other beneficiaries of his political process would be tantamount to “a tail wagging the dog and not the other way round”.
“Politics in Nigeria is a funny game; those who climb on others to exalted positions hardly remember their benefactors, otherwise why would a person like Oyegun be joining issues with Tinubu? It was Tinubu that single-handedly put Oyegun there. Everyone knew the role Tinubu played to bring about this government and it is in the interest of both the presidency and APC to carry the man along. He is not directly in government, but he is the kingmaker in this case and must be treated as such,” Onos said.
Was Oyegun invited to APC to ‘come and chop’
There was a time in the life of Olusegun Obasanjo administration, when there was a verbal exchange between the late Sunday Afolabi and Bola Ige. Ige was invited to serve first as the minister of Power and Steel and thereafter minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation by President. Ige criticised some aspects of government policy and particularly the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Afolabi, who was a member of the Obasanjo cabinet as minister of Internal Affairs, was so annoyed and infuriated, and publicly reprimanded Bola Ige and in doing so, he said Ige was asked to come and ‘chop’ by the PDP but as an ungrateful guest, he was abusing his host.
John Odigie-Oyegun was not one of those that signed the resolution for the formation of the APC in February 2013. But he was invited by the powers that be to “come and chop”.
Today, some aides of Tinubu appear uncomfortable with the seemingly cold war going on between their principal and Odigie-Oyegun. Some of them described it as an attempt to bite the finger that fed one.
Zebulon Agomuo
The crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC) appears to be escalating. The signs are everywhere. Political watchers know the signs of deep falling apart in political associations. The meeting last Tuesday at the Villa, between President Muhammadu Buhari and John Odigie-Oyegun, national chairman of the APC, may have riled some members of the party, particularly those sympathy to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, national leader of the party. The interpretation is that Odigie-Oyegun is now having the ears of the president more than Tinubu who was the instrument that produced both Buhari and Oyegun in the first place.
Some observers had alleged that Tinubu has since been schemed out of the affairs of governance and that despite the picture being created to the public, a deep crack had been created in the party and that a lot of waters had already passed under the bridge.
According to some analysts, Tinubu’s appearance at the recent launch of President Buhari’s biography and his glowing eulogies were to create an impression to the public that all is still well. Tinubu, who recently let out his frustration over his dwindling influence in the decision making both in the party as well as in the country, had come heavily on Odigie-Oyegun, urging him to resign as the national chairman of the party for allegedly going contrary to the tenets of progressivism which APC professes.
BDSUNDAY gathered that although Tinubu was cautioned against the likely consequences of the ultimatum he issued to Oyegun, the party national leader was said to have stuck his guns, saying there’s no going back and that he was determined to damn any consequence.
According to those close to Tinubu, his pain is that the party he labored to put together, which cost him so much in terms of financial commitment and mapping out winning strategies, appears to be hijacked from him by even those he single-handedly put in position of power.
“Asiwaju is pained because of the treatment he is receiving today from those he put in power. All over the world, there are godfathers. Go to America, as the presidential election is coming up there, Hillary Clinton has the backing of powerful people who may be working behind the scene or are even known. You don’t tell me that if by tomorrow she gets to power, she would suddenly sideline such people. The game of politics is mutual understanding. People should be able to play fair in the game. Asiwaju is directly not in government, but courtesy demands that as the person that the Almighty God used to bring about this government, his views should be sought and those in charge of affairs, should be fair enough to accord him that respect, “said a party member who claims to be close to the national leader.
Another commentator told BDSUNDAY that it’s dangerous to allow days pass without Aso Rock addressing the feud between Tinubu and Oyegun, a delay that is beginning to create an impression that the presidency may be listening from one side of the ear.
“I read that Chief Oyegun said he had referred the matter to the President and that things would be sorted out after the gubernatorial election in Edo State, but when I saw the picture in the newspapersWednesday, it was he and President Buhari meeting, Tinubu was not there. I had expected the presidency to promptly mediate,” the observer, who craved anonymity, said.
“Initially, I thought that the President must have spoken to Tinubu and Oyegun using the opportunity of the book launch on the issue, but from Oyegun’s statements while speaking to the State House correspondents after his meeting with Buhari showed the rapprochement has not been reached. I would suggest that there should be no further delay; as delay is dangerous,” the observer further said.
Implications of unresolved crisis in APC
With the way APC rating is dipping by the day in the eyes of many Nigerians, any crisis within the party is capable of sounding a death knel on its ambition to remain in power beyond 2019.
Analysts say that it will be in the interest of the party to continue to court Tinubu if it hopes to win general election in 2019.
Titus Kolawole, a legal practitioner and public affairs analyst, said: “The APC is a party that is just being sustained by the propaganda of the Western press. Before the election, it was the same Western press, heavily sponsored by the likes of Bola Tinubu that sold Buhari to many Nigerians. At least, we read how a party chieftain in Lagos boastfully narrated how they packaged Buhari to the people of Nigeria. There was lots of propaganda that went into the emergence of APC as the ruling party today.
“If you look at all that is going on since May 2015, if not because of the propaganda machine of the South West press, people would have overrun the government. How many times have you read criticism of the Buhari administration in newspapers? But we saw what happened during the Jonathan era. So, it is in the interest of the presidency and the leadership of the APC not to sideline Tinubu. The man has paid his dues and must reap where he has sowed.”
Although BDSUNDAY could not confirm the veracity of the claim in some quarters that there are some moves by some aggrieved members to pull out from the APC, the style of governance and the alleged sidelining of those who brought the government into being may not produce any worthy fruit but the disintegration of the party ahead of 2019.
Rufus Onos, a psychologist told BDSUNDAY that any behaviour that tends towards disrespect for Tinubu by Odigie-Oyegun and some other beneficiaries of his political process would be tantamount to “a tail wagging the dog and not the other way round”.
“Politics in Nigeria is a funny game; those who climb on others to exalted positions hardly remember their benefactors, otherwise why would a person like Oyegun be joining issues with Tinubu? It was Tinubu that single-handedly put Oyegun there. Everyone knew the role Tinubu played to bring about this government and it is in the interest of both the presidency and APC to carry the man along. He is not directly in government, but he is the kingmaker in this case and must be treated as such,” Onos said.
Was Oyegun invited to APC to ‘come and chop’
There was a time in the life of Olusegun Obasanjo administration, when there was a verbal exchange between the late Sunday Afolabi and Bola Ige. Ige was invited to serve first as the minister of Power and Steel and thereafter minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation by President. Ige criticised some aspects of government policy and particularly the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Afolabi, who was a member of the Obasanjo cabinet as minister of Internal Affairs, was so annoyed and infuriated, and publicly reprimanded Bola Ige and in doing so, he said Ige was asked to come and ‘chop’ by the PDP but as an ungrateful guest, he was abusing his host.
John Odigie-Oyegun was not one of those that signed the resolution for the formation of the APC in February 2013. But he was invited by the powers that be to “come and chop”.
Today, some aides of Tinubu appear uncomfortable with the seemingly cold war going on between their principal and Odigie-Oyegun. Some of them described it as an attempt to bite the finger that fed one.
Zebulon Agomuo
