I had once warned that if the APC in Oyo state failed to gather Its acts together, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will repeat exactly what he did with It in 2023 by 2027.
Except for those who perpetually love to deceive themselves or some incurable optimist, it has been generally admitted that president Tinubu had an agreement with Wike, Makinde and other members of the G-5 Governors of the PDP.
It has also been largely established that whatever agreement he had with the PDP Governors favored him and affected the APC in Oyo and Rivers states negatively.
In fact, the relationship between the president and the PDP Governors have continued to affect the APC in both states till this point.
The cases in Oyo and Rivers differ a bit.
The president was buoyed in his mistreatment of the APC in Oyo as a result of the internal crises orchestrated by those who felt aggrieved within the system.
The activities of this aggrieved individuals was an encouragement to the president who had no qualms in trading away Oyo state with Wike and Makinde.
I do not intend to flog the issue of how Oyo state was lost to Makinde and the PDP.
Both president Tinubu and Governor Seyi Makinde know what transpired between them.
My concerns however is about how the Oyo APC will prevent a repeat of such an unfortunate situation in 2027.
It will be suicidal for anyone within the Oyo APC to think that president Tinubu can not consider the option of barter in 2027.
It is true that some of those who helped the president from within the Oyo APC to deliver Oyo to Seyi Makinde in 2023 were actually compensated by the president while the mainstream APC in Oyo state have been completely neglected by the president.
Unfortunately for some of them, they are now nursing gubernatorial ambition towards 2027.
If any of them thought they are too close, too important to president Tinubu to be traded away in 2027, I pity them.
There is nothing in the attitudes of the president that suggests he will not engage in another horse trading in 2027.
Ordinarily, one would have expected the president to have shown remorse for what he did to Oyo APC in 2023 .
One would have also expected the president to have compensated the mainstream APC with juicy appointments but NO.
Instead, the president have continued in his deliberate spurning of the party while winning and dining with Governor Seyi Makinde.
The worst part of the story is that the president made no single attempt to reconcile the party in Oyo state.
The only reasonable inference that could be drawn from the attitude of the president is that he’s comfortable with the chaotic situation within the party in Oyo state.
After all, a chaotic situation in the party will afford him the opportunity to engage in trading away the party again in 2027 if the need arises.
Examples abound across the Country.
If you think you’re important, can you be more important than El Rufai?
Where is the man today?
It is worthy of note that Oyo APC have been trying to activate some reconciliatory steps.
The kind of unity noticed within the Leaders and stakeholders before and during the last Local Government Election is commendable.
However, to some extent, it was still a matter of the traditional Oyo man, though he lies prostrate but inside of him he’s squatting.
Oyo dobale Inu e loso.
Ambition is the foundation of the problem within the party.
There is nothing wrong in being ambitious.
However, there is everything wrong when your ambition have taken full control of your being.
I find it extremely funny when I hear people say that Tinubu did what he did to Oyo APC in 2023 because of the choice of gubernatorial candidate.
That is an illusion.
Whoever was in that shoe would have received similar treatment from the president.
I will subscribe to the notion however, if those who held them could tell me what El Rufai did wrong to merit the fate the president meted out to him.
It is clear, from both the anticidents of the president and his character that he would sacrifice whatever needed to be sacrificed for him to achieve his personal ambition.
Is it not still fresh in memory what he did to Nuhu Ribadu as presidential candidate of ACN in 2011?
The only thing that can save Oyo APC from the tendencies of the president to trade It away in 2027 is to pursue total and sincere reconciliation.
It is both a pity and a shame to those who claim to be close to the president in Oyo state that since Tinubu became president, no delegation from Oyo state have been received in Aso Rock.
The same Aso Rock where Seyi Makinde frequents at will.
It is equally a shame on those who presently considers themselves as the president’s men in Oyo state that the president kept ignoring the party in Oyo state to patronize states who brought nothing to the table during the election.
The “bamu bamu ni mo yo ” attitude is not only unfortunate, it is ungodly.
Is it that attitude that will make you Governor in 2027?
Only God Almighty crowns whoever he pleases.
Even president Tinubu can not make himself president.
Oyo APC have lost so much to unhealthy bickering and egos.
Enough is enough.
How long shall we continue to whine over the losses of Ajimobi and Akala?
Shouldn’t someone just step forward to do the needful?
We struggled to wrestle the 33 Local Governments, which ought to be ours by right now from Makinde and see how he robbed insults upon our injuries.
See how some of us who could not whether the storm are now trickling to go beg for appointments that should have been ours to share from Seyi Makinde?
The shepherd is struck. The herds are scattered.
Who will gather this herds before the plunderer come once again in 2027?
The president’s son should be another source of worries.
The young man have been moving, courting friendship across political party lines.
His friendship with the current speaker of the Oyo state House of Assembly is public knowledge.
This should worry anyone in APC considering the influence of Seyi Tinubu in the political space.
Good enough, we have a crop of highly dedicated Executives in the state.
Can’t we just rally round them with genuine intentions?
You belong to Paul. I belong to Apollo will take us nowhere.
For those who have taken delights in breaking up the party through the propagating of mushroom Groups, ain’t you tired?
This Groups you are gathering are the potential foot soldiers who will invade the party in 2027 to cause accrimonies.
There is nothing wrong in having Groups within a party.
In fact, you can not do without people forming themselves into Groups based on ideology but when such Groups metarmorphosed into factions, that is where the danger lies.
I think the party must come out strongly against the proponents of this dangerous factions.
Oyo APC can not afford another round of factionalisation.
Factions lead to fractions.
No association can survive without discipline.
Like I said, president Tinubu doesn’t care.
If you make yourself available to be traded, he will trade you for his personal ambition. Simple.
Eng. Oluwasina Adeyemi.
writes from Idere.
