Oshiomhole: What shall tomorrow bring?

The next 24 hours hold the key to the quest for stability in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Top notch members of the party are expected to converge on Abuja for the NEC meeting of the party, though with some forces strongly opposed to the meeting. There is general suspense about what might happen as a court had counselled against likely disruption of the meeting. Both the camp of the national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and that of the acting national secretary, Victor Giadom  have disputed the convoking of the meeting without recourse to the constitution of the party.

Almost two years ago, the party was upbeat in actions as the former Edo State governor took over the leadership of the party. Whereas many believed he held a lot of promise for the party in the buildup to the 2019 general election, his traducers claimed he was too abrasive and aggressive like a typical labour leader he was.

ALSO READ: Oshiomhole: The final battle of a forsaken General?

The scenario that surrounded his emergence as APC helmsman was full of excitement at the Eagles Square in Abuja, on June 24, 2018. The atmosphere was upbeat when Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, was sworn in as the new national chairman of the APC. A vociferous and charismatic personality, Oshiomhole came with an enviable record of brilliance, charisma and pedigree of a former number one labour leader in the country and successful two terms of four years each as governor of Edo. He subsequently paved the way for a worthy successor, incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki

Having been sworn in as the national chairman, Oshiomhole moved briskly to consolidate his agenda and grip on the machinery of the APC. Relying on his wealth of experience as a labour leader, he tried to reign every party faithful into a new order based on the supremacy of the party, the rule of collective bargaining process. However, his leadership style did not go down with a few in the system, who decided to fight back stoically in order to protect their own interest and checkmate the apostle of paradigm shift from the status quo. The new helmsman was resolute and focused. So, one month after assuming office, he engaged a minister in a war of words over party discipline. He specifically threatened to suspend the Labour and Employment Minister, Dr Chris Ngige over his ambivalence to inaugurate the board of some parastatals under his ministry. Oshiomhole was unequivocal in interpreting that the action of the minister bordered on the issue of discipline. “If the minister refuses, we will suspend him from the party. We must return to internal discipline. For me, it is the height of mischief for any Minister, you cannot purport to be an Honourable Minister and you act dishonourably. Nobody is greater than the party. If the President condones disrespect for his office, I will not condone disrespect for the party.” He talked tough and his style often created ripples. His ascendancy meant a paradigm shift in leadership style.

Obviously, the message Oshiomhole was trying to pass across was that it will no longer be business as usual; no more room for impunity; that no erring member, no matter how highly placed, will be treated with a kid’s glove. Within a couple of months, his leadership came face to face with the albatross of major political parties and their leadership over the years in Nigeria. He had the herculean task of leading the APC to conduct primary elections to determine its standard-bearers for 2019 general election. The exercise became a storm in the tea cup for the party in a number of places. About five months later, it was time for the primaries of the APC across the country. Much of this selection process for the party’s candidates in the 2019 national election became immersed in disputes, rancours and controversies. In fact, at a stage, Oshiomhole became the issue because at one time, he was reportedly detained by the Department of the State Services (DSS) on allegations made by certain governors that he was compromised to manipulate the conduct of party primaries. Therefore, the conduct of a hitch-free primary became Oshiomhole’s biggest headache partly because of what his admirers and observers perceived as the insistence of state governors to play a critical role. During the intense power struggle and intrigues, Oshiomhole was openly challenged by such former governors as Rochas Okorocha, Ibikunle Amusu and Abdulaziz Yari of Imo, Ogun and Zamfara states respectively where the battle for succession became sour grape for the APC.

Nonetheless, Oshiomhole solder on as the alter ego of the APC, counting his success and reflecting on his most critical challenges, especially the way he was able to triumph over political titans at the polls. “We the executive members of the party were sworn in on June 3, 2018, at about 6 p.m. Two weeks later, we went to Ekiti to contest election against a PDP incumbent Governor Fayose and we won. Kayode Fayemi today is the governor of that state. Few months later, we went to Osun State, we contested a by-election. We won and we had the Osun State governor elected for his first term. Then we went for the national elections. You know all the tensions in the country at the time. The gap between President Buhari and the former candidate of the PDP Abubakar Atiku was about four million voters. The one between President Buhari and former President Jonathan in 2015 was about three million. Under my leadership, this President has more votes than the first runner-up. We would like to claim credit for that because if it went the other way; we would be crucified,’’ he said.

Often times, Oshiomhole also talks with relish, how he led the APC to crush the formidable political machinery of established politicians in a few states. He boasts about the battle he led to the defeat of the immediate past President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki in Kwara State. “We went to Kwara, we did ‘o to gee’ (enough is enough). We uprooted Saraki and you cannot commend me for this? Do you know who Saraki is? If you are talking of the smartest political player, seasoned smart guy, he is. But for every smartness he has, I have a superior smartness. At the end of the day, who won?”

His political associates, admirers and friends believe that the current travail of the APC national chairman is a passing phase in his sojourn in party politics. According to them, any observer will agree that Oshiomhole has been able to instill a level of sanity, proprietary and dignity in the APC. They believe he represents finesse and transparency, hence his ability to lead the political battle that crushed egos and promoted selflessness. One of them noted: “Oshiomhole aims at professionalism and excellence, two traits that have accompanied him since his days as a union leader. His ultimate objective is to ensure that the party’s structures and ideals are maintained and not used to serve selfish interests. This was clearly seen in his first public speech after the High Court ruling. Oshiomhole said that he was more concerned about his legacy than the title.

“’I worry more about what I will be remembered for when I was chairman rather than how long I was chairman.’”

Another party big wig said the tenure of Oshiomhole has made a lot of positive difference in the APC. He observed that the impact of the APC national chairman would be felt by many, including his political foes, as none of them can accuse him of promoting anti-party policies or embezzling funds. The source said: “He is aware of the battle ahead but he is not having sleepless nights over it. Oshiomhole once remarked about his stewardship as the APC chair, “Whatever you do, those who want to fight you will fight you but I know that my tenure will be defined by God and not man.”

No doubt, his confrontational style might have yielded him more friends than foes; head or tail, his exit or otherwise is bound to have some immediate and future implications for the APC. However, those opposed to Oshiomhole think differently. Incidentally, the majority of them are from his home state. Some of his adversaries were enthralled by a court injunction restraining him from parading himself as the national chairman of the APC.  They chorused: “There will be peace in Edo State,” following the suspension order granted against Oshiomholee by a Federal High Court in Abuja recently. Justice Danlami Senchi of the court in Jabi ordered Oshiomhole to step down on March 4, until the determination of the substantive suit by Edo State chapter of the party seeking his removal as the APC chairman.

The ruling came almost a fortnight to the NEC meeting of the party which Oshiomhole should preside over. Going by the constitution of the party which stipulates that the deputy national chairman (South) should assume the exalted office of chairman of the party in an acting capacity if there is a leadership vacuum, a former governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, who was approved the deputy national chairman of the party, the same day was poised to fill in the seat. But in another drama, some members of the party endorsed Giadom, the party’s National Secretary to occupy the seat. In the opinion of some observers, the smoldering cold war in the APC is indicative of the internal acrimony across the board that Oshiomhole had tried to resolve.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE