Since the spate of electoral losses that befell the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, the wing of the party which considers itself as the mainstream, has been plunged into a confused state. No longer at ease is the correct portrayal of the situation with that segment of the party. Osun Defender’s NIYI OLASINDE beams a searchlight on events and situations; seeking out possible solutions to the party’s quagmire.
LIFE is an admixture of the good, the bad and the ugly. Among other considerations, the extent to which one makes a success of life’s adventure is measured by the level and extent to which one can create the best or near-perfect blend among the three components: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Politics, as a component of life and an important element in society’s organization, also has its fair share of each of the aforementioned. Politics is played to usher in, model, remodel, and strengthen governance. However, politics is not always fair to its players, and most of the time, politicians are not fair and sincere to themselves, let alone to the people they lead or to society. The concatenation of events that preceded last year’s Gubernatorial Polls in Osun and the series of elections held earlier this year showed the collapse of a political giant in the annals of the state—the party of progressives. It was a great fall!
Misadventure is not new in politics. Limiting our focus to Osun, it is misadventure that contributed to the fact that the state never had the opportunity, since its inception, to have a leader who served two straight eight-year tenures in office, except for one person. The Nigerian Constitution allows for two terms, each lasting four years, for an executive governor of a state. The first Executive Governor of the state, Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke (deceased), did not complete his first four-year mandate before military intervention sounded the knell for the Third Republic on November 17, 1993. The first Executive Governor upon the nation’s return to democratic rule in 1999, Chief Abdulkareem Adebisi Akande, could not extend his tenure beyond the first four years in office. His successor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, had his second term mandate nullified through a court ruling delivered by the appellate court of the land after a prolonged litigation instituted by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which lasted for three and a half years. At the end of it, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola took over the mantle on November 27, 2010, putting an end to the Peoples Democratic Party’s stranglehold almost six months before the completion of Oyinlola’s full two-term tenure. Aregbesola’s successor, though from the same party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), could not secure re-election for a second term.
In all of this, we found out that it has been Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola alone who has overcome all hurdles to serve two full and consecutive terms as the state’s leader to date. Aside from God’s grace, luck, and the unwavering support of the people, several other factors contributed significantly to this feat by Rauf, who is regarded in various well-recognized parlances as the architect of modern Osun. I won’t go into detail about these powerful projects here to stay focused on the main topic of this article.
Aregbesola, in addition to his initiated programs, projects, activities, and policies, made his government, politics, and party affairs all-encompassing. There is no perfect order in life, and whatever anyone may hold against his style of leadership in and out of government, he has been vindicated by the trend of events in the state, especially in government and party affairs, since he left office.
The way things turned out since Aregbesola’s exit in November 2018 has shown that political leadership, no matter how good, thrives more on tolerance than approval during its tenure. The Aregbesola era took the Action Congress through its stages of metamorphosis to the zenith it reached as the All Progressives Congress (APC), not only in Osun but throughout the entire country. During that glorious era, Osun was the only state in the entire South-West where the Action Congress of Nigeria’s presidential candidate won in the 2011 Presidential Elections, even though Aregbesola had barely spent three months in office! The tide continued to turn positively. All political adversaries and opponents aligned with Aregbesola within the span of three and a half years, and by the time he stood for re-election in 2014, he led at the polls with a resounding margin of over 120,000 votes!
It is unfortunate that events following Aregbesola’s successful handover to his successor have spelled so much doom for the party. The once-cohesive party turned sour, and marginalization and sidelining became prevalent. It assumed such a dangerous dimension that pundits reasoned that the dissension within the party was worse than that between it and all other political parties combined. Under this climate, it wasn’t hard to discern that the party could not possibly win an election.
We have seen and witnessed how events have turned out so far, especially in the 2022 Gubernatorial Polls in the state and in the rounds of General Elections held this year. The loss incurred by the APC in the state has been huge and colossal. The party could have fared better if the handlers of the succession plan left by Aregbesola had been more friendly and endearing. A segment of the party loyal to former Governor Aregbesola formed a caucus within the party to uphold standards of equity, fairness, and justice. The formation of The Osun Progressives (TOP) was in response to marginalization and sidelining. While the era of TOP lasted, efforts were made to reconcile the factions within the party, but all efforts came to naught as it turned out that the other faction was not, in the least, prepared for reunion. Even upon the deliberate dissolution of TOP sometime last year, the ILERIOLUWA camp (loyal to ex-Governor Oyetola, Aregbesola’s successor) remained committed to continued squabbles. The situation has not abated to date.
The way things stand, it has been noticed that while the Aregbesola side has been positively disposed to genuine reconciliation, the other side has maintained an adamant posture. The frantic efforts made so far include petitions to the party’s National secretariat to mediate in the crisis, the dissolution of TOP, and, above all, the recent public apology tendered to all and sundry by former Governor Aregbesola in a mature leadership gesture to end the feud. But all these have failed to yield positive results with the other camp.
Let it be stated that caucuses are not new within political parties. Every significant move within a party starts from the stage of caucuses. The ambitions of Aregbesola and Oyetola each began at the caucus stage. It became strange, therefore, that the formation of TOP could be viewed in some quarters as a sinister move aimed at capsizing the party.
With the fresh launch of the Omoluabi Caucus, tongues have again begun to wag against the initiative, which some view as having the tendency to ignite fresh disputes within the party, thus further deepening the lingering crises. But the party has not been united again! Something needs to be done to bring it together again. Part of the possible reconciliation measures is the formation of caucuses as a means to reach out to members across divides.
In all this, it is observed that the side considered mainstream is deeply entrenched in the battle, for reasons known best to them, while the other side remains calmer and more inclined towards finding a lasting resolution to the crises.
It is regrettable that despite all reconciliation efforts, the crises rocking the Osun State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are deepening. Many party members, loyalists, prominent grassroots mobilizers, and stakeholders have defected to other parties. Day by day, the party is losing strength and its capacity to win elections in the state, both in the present and the future. Unfortunately, not even the party’s victory in the Presidential Elections of February 25, 2023, has been enough to consolidate its position.
The recent series of suspensions of members, predominantly those loyal to Aregbesola, will likely do more harm than good. Initially, about 84 names were listed as expended members. As this report is being finalized, another list of 26 members has emerged for suspension.
At this stage, the National Secretariat should have recognized the need for reconciliation and followed suit. If the sustained discord continues, the electoral losses could be as severe as those witnessed last year and this year. Therefore, it is high time for all factions to set aside their differences and come together.
The highly probable negative consequence of this ongoing dissent within the Osun APC is that it will be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, for the party to win elections in the state again.
