Benue APC: The bitter edge of godfatherism

One in all the supreme problems of partisan politics in Nigeria is the recurrence of vitality mongering, compelled godfatherism and the poverty of restraints wielded by some so-known as occasion strongmen. The tendency for these strongmen to impose candidates, trample as soon as in a whereas structures and contain themselves into establishments has been the bane of occasion supremacy. From the days of Lamidi Adedibu, the strongman of Ibadan politics, to the failed strive by Adams Oshiomhole to play god over Edo politics, so-known as occasion solid men own viewed blended fortunes. Nevertheless, this has now not stopped other would-be stalwarts from touring this thorny route. The swift fallout between the instant-previous governor Nyesome Wike (now minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT) and his political godson, Governor Simi Fubera, of Rivers dispute, can own to aloof be a ready example of the fruitlessness of solid-arm politics. But if there could be any disease amongst Nigerian politicians that has no cure, it’s selective amnesia.

The topic in Benue dispute, where the governor, Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia, is dealing with, possibly, the supreme trial of his faith and politics typifies the typical Nigerian occasion politics. The insinuation in Makurdi, the Benue dispute capital, and all the scheme in which by scheme of the dispute’s All Progressives Congress (APC) circle is that George Akume, Secretary to Govt of the Federation (SGF), a particular person monumental in the art of politics Nigeriana, having served as governor of Benue dispute on the platform of Nigeria’s main opposition Peoples Democratic Celebration (PDP), is on the heart of Governor Alia’s political troubles.

It’s rumoured that Governor Alia fell out of favour with the SGF over the emergence of Hyacinth Dajoh as Speaker of the Benue Instruct Home of Meeting by scheme of a totally democratic job. This, eventuality, used to be acknowledged now to not own gone down well with Akume, whose anointed candidate used to be his aged media aide, Backy Orpin. The pollused to be so keenly contested that Dajoh acquired with simplest two votes. Indication that effort used to be brewing for the APC used to be the depth of animosity that performed out without extend after the election fair exact on the flooring of the assembly as occasion stalwarts went conclude to fisticuffs.

Things acquired to a head when Governor Alia made up our minds, like many other governors, to exchange 21 out of the 23 fraudulently elected native govt chairmen with caretaker chairmen. To the unpracticed witness, the flee abet registered by the 23 APC native govt chairmen, accusing the governor of abandoning stakeholders to strike out alone, also can seem like a accurate call for occasion supremacy. But, undoubtedly, the resolution by the APC native govt chairmen used to be a well-rehearsed space to discredit the governor.

The deceptive articulate of righteous indignation, when the native govt chairmen appear to feign anguish over the vogue by scheme of which the governor is working the dispute without carrying them along despite being elected on the platform of the APC fair exact from the inception of his administration, used to be merely a smokescreen. It used to be a calculated strive to initiate plugging away at Governor Alia’s point of curiosity on governance. As subsequent attacks on the actual person of the governor would articulate, plenty of these so-known as APC leaders were performing a script, the director, an finished flesh presser, pulling the leash from the nation’s capital.

What’s going down in Benue dispute is vitality mongering in its most used form. The governor of the dispute is legally the leader of the occasion. That is the tradition of Nigeria’s politics. Yet, many expected Governor Alia to enable himself to be steamrolled into submission by political thugs right to you already know who. It used to be, because of the this truth, now not only exact-looking when plenty of schemes were subsidized to give the APC in Benue dispute the semblance of a occasion in crisis fair exact to separate into factions, following the removal of Austin Agada as the occasion chairman in line along with his suspension from the occasion by his Ehaje ward.

When Austin Agada used to be restrained from parading himself as APC chairman by a court docket of competent jurisdiction, one would own understanding the actual person will admire the judiciary and take his remedy without grievance. But that used to be now not the case. Backed by Abuja cover, Agada persevered to parade himself as chairman long after the occasion’s executive committee had appointed Benjamin Omakolo as performing occasion chairman.

Governor Alia demonstrated astute leadership when he outlawed political rallies in the dispute in the face of what used to be poised to be a bloody clash between the Agada led faction of the occasion and the Omakolo leadership. It must always be acknowledged that Agada has shown that he’s completely exact a puppet nodding along to the ludicrous machinations of the Abuja big man. The manner by scheme of which Agada allowed himself to be used against the progress of Benue dispute betrays whatever claims he thinks he has over the occasion that introduced Governor Alia to vitality.

Alia is the goose laying APC’s golden egg in Benue dispute. And it’s fair exact fair exact-looking that as a change of Agada following him to make certain his occasion stays with a direct in the typical scheme of issues, he’s burning bridges, and we all know who comes out on top. On this admire, Edo dispute readily involves mind. Now not even Adams Oshiomhole’s national leadership of the APC used to be ample muscle to oust Governor Godwin Obaseki when he inferior-carpeted to the PDP.

I imagine it bears reminding the Abuja godfather that it used to be Alia’s personality and now not necessarily the APC’s that took the polls far from aged Governor Samuel Ortom and the PDP. I surprise what would turn out to be of APC if Alia were to take a dignified poke away of the occasion. Agada and his co-vacationers have to ponder this and other potentialities forward of staying on his puppeteer state to nowhere. I be half of the legion of Benue of us calling for a terminate of hostilities. It’s time to enable our governor point of curiosity on governance.

Mubarak, a public affairs analyst, writes from Abuja.