By Comfort Obi
I have never met the Deputy Governor ofLagos state, Dr. Idiat
Adebule, either officially or unofficially. Like her colleague–Deputy Governors
across the country, she is redundant and anonymous, even though her state gives
her a little advantage over others. When you are the Governor, First
Lady, or Deputy Governor of Lagos
state, it is a plus. Every Governor of Lagos state can always lay a claim to
being the number one governor in the country – deserved or not. So is the Lagos
First Lady. And, well, so is the Deputy Governor. The reason is simple.
I have never met the Deputy Governor of
*Gov Ambode and Deputy Gov Adebule |
But I have digressed. I was talking about
the Deputy Governor of Lagos
state, Dr. Idiat Adebule. So, may be, she is a notch better than her colleagues
– not quite very anonymous, not quite very redundant. But hey, I sympathise
with her now, and for all the glamour attached to her position, I don’t pray to
be in her shoes. I would give an arm to know her inner feelings these past
three weeks, especially, after the governorship primary of October 2 which
confined her boss, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, to the unenviable basket of Nigeria ’s
second state governor to be rejected by his party, and denied a shot at a
second term in office. In this category, former Anambra state governor,
Chinwoke Mbadinuju took the first position.
Edged on by the powerful Anambra political
godfathers who installed him, his then party, the PDP, denied him a second term
ticket for alleged incompetence. He went to the AD, a party not quite
known in the South east, and ran on its ticket. He failed woefully, and till
date, Mbadinuju has not recovered from that humiliation. He
has become politically irrelevant, almost.
So, what’s in Adebule’s heart? Has she and Ambode
met face to face since that governorship primary, and especially,
the morning after? If so, was she comfortable? Or, did she feel like the
Biblical Judas Iscariot, the guy who betrayed Jesus Christ? Or, was it business
as usual?
If you have been following the story of
Ambode’s humiliation, how at the governorship primary by his subordinate, then,
you know why I’m asking these questions. But, for the purpose of this
write-up, a brief recap.
On Tuesday, October 2, the deputy governor,
like the Biblical Peter who denied his master, Jesus Christ, three times before
cock crow, Adebule publicly denied his boss. She disowned Ambode. Here is
how.
For months, the rumour had been on
that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Lagos
state’s ultimate political godfather, would deny him a second term in
office. Initially, not many people believed it. It was dismissed as
beer palour gossip. When it wouldn’t abate, some of us said: “Politicians.
Don’t mind them. They will make up.” Afterall, there is a precedence in Lagos . Former governor
Babatunde Fashola, another of Tinubu’s political godsons, had the same problem
with him when he aspired for his second term. Tinubu refused to endorse him,
initially. But after a lot of pressure, the Asiwaju caved in and endorsed
Fashola. So, we thought it would be the same. But no.
The pressure on Tinubu, to forgive and
endorse Ambode, if media reports are anything to go by, was like claps of
thunder. They thundered from Abuja
to almost all the states of the federation. Even Bolanle, Ambode’s wife,
joined. But nothing.
To put a seal on his
ambition, endorsements for his nemesis, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, came
tumbling, from everywhere, like the Victoria
water falls. The APC structure in Lagos .
The all powerful Mandate Political Group founded by the Asiwaju himself. The
Governor’s Advisory Council. National Assembly Members. ( Ah. the three Lagos state senators,
remember, had a couple of months ago, endorsed Ambode). Members of the Lagos state House of
Assembly, Chairmen of LGAs, and LCDAs, and Wards. Market Women and men led by
Asiwaju’s first daughter, Mrs Tinubu-Ojo, the Iyaloja of Nigeria. Every
stakeholder in Lagos
state. Just everybody who is anybody.
Yet, to me, the “unkindest cut” was Ambode’s
denial by his Deputy Governor, Dr. Idiat Adebule, who publicly disowned him
during a press interview.
Dr. Adebule, according to media reports,
arrived at her Ward A and D, Iba LCDA, along with some of her aides, carrying
posters of her principal’s opponent, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
As if that was not
enough to make her point, she chose to address reporters, – cheeky fellows –
who mischievously waited for her. Her words, when asked of her position: “The
party has chosen a man and it is that man that I will support and follow. I
have no doubt that anybody who emerges today as the candidate of the party will
have my support. I have no doubt as exhibited by my people today that they are
standing with the party’s position on this primary, and with that position I
stand. And I choose to stay with my party at this time. My party has spoken and
I have no doubt to state that on the position of my party. I stand. It is a
very clear election as you can see. People are voting in line with the dictates
of the party. We have voted for the person who the leaders of the party have
chosen. It is an overwhelming experience as you can see it, and we will
continue to support the party and abide by its rules.”
So, may be, Adebule had no
choice really. A lecturer at the Lagos State
University , the Lagos APC
party leadership plucked her and installed her Fashola’s SSG. From that
position, they drafted her to be Ambode’s running mate. So, perhaps, she really
had no choice. But in her shoes, God forbid, I don’t know if I would have the
courage to publicly disown my boss, unless he was thoroughly mean to me.
Even then, I would have done so in a more tidy manner than she did. Number one,
I will not go to the voting centre with the posters of his opponent. Number two:
I will not grant a press interview endorsing his opponent. It was an
over-kill. Unless, as earlier said, my boss is mean to me.
Now, I don’t know if that was the case, but
believe me, many state governors are mean to their deputies. They have no
respect for them. A number of commissioners are more influential than them.
They hardly consult them on any major issue. They are just there because
the Constitution says so. It is because of such treatment that most governors
hardly allow their deputies to succeed them just so they are not paid back in
kind. Those who did, or forced to do so, have sad stories to tell. Ask former Kano state governor,
Rabiu Kwankwaso. His then deputy, now Governor Ganduje, has barred him, almost,
from entering the state. Not even the Police can help him. Also ask former Ebonyi State
governor Martin Elechi. He has since abandoned the PDP for his former
deputy, Governor Dave Umahi. Elechi is now an APC chieftain. But, how
relevant is he there?
We never heard, or read anywhere that
Adebule was having any misunderstanding with her boss and/or his elegant wife,
Bolanle. Yet, the story everywhere, now, is that the man runs a one-man show,
and has allegedly, forcefully removed the feeding bottle from adults – you
know, the usual patronage and other fringe benefits, even from the DG, SSG, and
his Commissioners. If true, he is the architect of his downfall. Good
politicians know better than that. They oil the political machine.
For the records, Ambode is on a long, lonely
journey to his village. If he doesn’t manage the situation well, and package
himself better than he is doing now, he may become politically irrelevant.
Even, now, he has become a lame-duck governor. His friends, if he still has
any, may start disappearing. He is no longer the centre of attraction.
Sanwo-Olu is.
A thorough-bred civil servant, I understand,
who was brought out of retirement and enthroned as the governor of Nigeria ’s
number one state, how did Ambode fall out of favour everywhere – to the extent
that neither President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the
National Working Committee of his party, nor several VVIPs could save
him?
As confirmed by Tinubu, it is not that he
has not performed well as a governor. The problem, as has been more than
hinted, is that he “may have been eating alone.” He was not free with
patronages. He became swollen-headed. He deviated from the norm. He may not
have remembered to oil the party machinery, nor those who helped him to the
exalted position. Tinubu put it nicely. Ambode deviated from the Lagos development
blueprint and, is not a good party man. But where is this
blueprint? Can it be publicised so others can copy. Or, does it have a
patent?
Ambode’s rejection by about everybody is
unprecedented. It was total. Never in the history of politics has any rejection
been this overwhelming. It is like a bad dream.
His fall should be a lesson for people who
forget those who made them in life, or helped make them, once they find their
feet. They not only forget, they run the person down behind, even publicly.
Fact is: such attitude is a sin before God and man.
It beats me that Ambode could attempt to
tango with Tinubu. For now, Tinubu is the most powerful, the most
influential politician, not only in Lagos ,
but in the South west. He commands followership. And loyalty. But that’s
because Tinubu, on the average, has a forgiving heart, and rewards
loyalty. When he sneezes, Lagos
shakes.
But, here is the implication of his
power, influence and, hold on Lagos
politics. Any APC member, who rejects his opinion, goes nowhere. If Sanwo-Olu
wins, his main job has been made simple. It is: Look unto the Asiwaju,
hang unto his every word, or you get the Ambode treatment. Even the APC NWC
cowered before him in the Lagos
matter. From publicly saying no election took place in the state, Clement Ebri,
the Chairman of the Electoral panel, made an about-turn within 12 hours. Many
people were embarrassed for him. He learnt late that “power pass power!”
Yet, Ambode can still redeem himself. He
already started with his broadcast to Lagosians on Wednesday, October 3,
accepting the fate that befell him and, pledging to cooperate with Sanwo-Olu.
Not that he had any choice. He knows the implication of fighting on. Who are
his backers? He is standing alone.
When some people advised him to dump his
party for the PDP, I laughed. He knows better than that. In Lagos ? That would
be committing suicide. He wouldn’t have lasted two weeks more in
office. He would have been impeached. So sad he learnt his lesson very
late, and in a hard way. A political novice? Yes. For, even when the chicken
was coming home to roost, he hardly noticed.
His earlier outburst against Sanwo-Olu was
ill-advised. He called him a criminal who is unworthy to occupy the office of a
governor, yet, the guy was a high profile LASG official appointed by him.
He alleged that Sanwo-Olu went for rehabilitation at the Gbagada General Hospital
– meaning he was a drug addict – and asked anybody in doubt to go check the
records in the hospital. That was beneath the office of a governor. Where were
his media managers when he committed this blunder?
The question is: How did Ambode access the
medical records? Such things are confidential. Even though Sanwo-Olu has denied
both allegations, I suspect that heads will roll at the Gbagada General Hospital ,
particularly at the Records department, if he finally wins the
governorship election.
But back to Deputy Governor Adebule. Not a
few people will keep referring to her as the woman who abandoned her boss. The
choice before her, excuse this cliché, was like one between the devil
and the deep blue sea. On the one hand, she is a product of the party. On the
other hand, Ambode is her boss. It is a no-win situation. Either way, many will
look at her with suspicion. Situations like this are some of the reasons many
people, especially women, don’t have the liver to join politics.
*Obi is the
Editor-in-Chief/CEO of The Source Magazine.
(comfortobisource@gmail.com
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