Between party loyalty and good governance

THE current political show in Lagos State began as a mere speculation and one instance of fake news being campaigned against by the federal government. The tug of war between the Lagos State governor Akinwumi Ambode and his godfather who is also a national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is beyond what political analysts could have predicted. This is because a cordial relationship and trust are expected to be between the political father and son. Lagos State cannot be considered to be one with a political lockdown among the stalwarts involved. The speculation was becoming a matter of fact when none of the parties involved could neither confirm nor deny the existence of the alleged rift between Tinubu and Ambode. The National Working Committee (NWC) of the party chose to be silent on the matter: it’s a crisis meant for a higher authority of the party, which, surprisingly though, couldn’t but bow to the interest of the national leader, who has vehemently insisted that his 2014 anointed candidate, Ambode, will never get a second term ticket to occupy the coveted seat for four more years. For Ambode’ssympathizers, there’s a puzzle in the political issue. Why must it be Ambode?

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It’s often easier for sitting governors to get a second term ticket of their respective parties even if they underperformed during their first term. The party “structure” is usually in their hands. To show how strong the governors are, they run unopposed or with an opponent strategically allowed to run. But Lagos State’s case seems totally different. The former governor, Tinubu, controls the party in the state. And it’s an Herculean task to slug it out with him. Ambode is considered as a governor who has provided good governance to the people of the state at a time good governance is an illusion in the country. He is being applauded within and outside the state for many jaw-dropping projects his administration has built. Those who thought that Lagos State had had its best governor in Mr. Raji Fashola are changing their minds.

He was commended for not owing state workers’ salaries, constructing a network of roads, revamping the economy of the state through infrastructural projects that attracted investors, stability in the educational sectors notably in the state owned institutions. His administration has drastically reduced traffic congestion that has hitherto been defining the commercial hub of Nigeria. As events become clearer, it’s no longer a rumour that Ambode will never get the much needed ticket. Truth be told, winning the APC ticket in Lagos State means winning the elective post and vice versa.

All interventions to settle the quarrel and allow normalcy to return hit the rock as the political leader insisted that Ambode must go. Tinubu broke his silence when he released a damning statement condemning Ambode of abandoning the blueprints for Lagos and replacing them with “with ad-hoc schemes of a materially inferior quality contravenes the spirit of progressive governance and of our party”. That’s the genesis of his sins. But in his speech Tinubu didn’t hit the nail on its head: his message wasn’t overt enough to totally nail the embattled governor who appears pariah now. However, the national leader has sealed Ambode’s fate. In a more unequivocal term, Tinubu declared “ This is an elixir for the declare election. Ambode Akin , he’s doing well ; he hasn’t been a good party man ; not only the glamour , not only about brick and mortal.

The implications of the most recent missile launched on Ambode include the fact that party loyalty prevails when in clash with good governance. It’s the first of the many requirements to win a party ticket. Though such a candidate (a sitting governor in this case) may perform poorly or has no good records, getting the ticket is guaranteed in as much as the aspirant puts the party first in every thing. This is a time Nigerians yearn for good governance that alleviates poverty and provides dividend of democracy. The need for good and credible governance is being sacrificed on the altar of politics for party loyalty. Ambode was accused of shunning those who made him; they are now aggrieved. Their unanimous decision is being voiced by the political bigwig. Democracy, it’s said, is for the people, the masses who determine who leads them. It’s now being redefined as the one meant for party shown through (unflinching) loyalty.

In the current political climate now, the interest of the party members, therefore, supersedes the general interest of the electorate. The rule of the few within the political party or caucus tend to be the new political order. This is dangerous for the democracy of the country that is still in its infancy. Democracy should benefit the people for whom it’s designed, not for the party men and women who have often had more than enough at the expense of the people. If good governance isn’t a yardstick to consider to return a political office holder, party loyalty shouldn’t be. A candidate becomes marketable not by their Loyalty, but by what they have offered or will offer the people. A message is being passed to the new crop of political office holders that in the race of supremacy between party loyalty and good governance, faraway is the former.

• Faboade, a youth corps member, writes in from Ogbagi Akoko, Ondo State.