OSUN APC CRISIS,HOW IT BEGAN, WHAT AND WHO LED US HERE AND WAY FORWARD.
It is no longer news that the Osun state APC is enmeshed with crisis and internal wranglings which eventually led us to our present position. it is so unfortunate that those that were supposed to take firm decisions on how to bring the party together are the ones that fueled and still fueling the crisis till this moment.
HOW IT ALL STARTED.
It all started immediately the current governor was swore in, in November 2018 which suggest that there are more to the crisis than meet the ordinary eyes.
It all started like a rumour where governor Oyetola alleged that it has been programmed that he will not be allowed to spend more than four years as governor and he is being called “Ambode Osun” and the person behind this move according to governor Oyetola is no other person than his predecessor and immediate past governor who passed the barton of leadership to him, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. Although, this accusation could not be substantiated with verifiable evidence hence it is tagged a rumour.
May the almighty Allah continue to be with the then Mufasir of Osogbo, Sheik Maruf Ishola and others who are the first set of people that broke silence and confronted the two leaders openly on May 25th 2019 at banquet hall of the government house Oke fia Osogbo during the 62nd birthday anniversary of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola which was hosted by governor Oyetola. Sheik Maruf Ishola particularly raised the alarm on that day and advised that the crisis be nip in the bud before escalated for the progress of the state and the party in particular.
After governor Oyetola revealed that he heard Ogbeni said he won’t be allowed to spend more than one term in office, Ogbeni on his own part denied making such statement and later advised governor Oyetola to shun sycophants around him so that he may not be misled and further advised him to face the serious task ahead of him. Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola went a step further to narrate how both of them started their friendship long time ago and concluded that if both of them could run their friendship for decades before they came to political office and no crisis between them, nothing should be allowed to come in between them now. Despite all this explanations, the governor not seemed satisfied, then came the issue of cabinet formation which every right thinking individuals know it is right to give the former governor senses of belonging by allowing him to pick from the cabinet members as it is being done everywhere and even in Lagos state, but in Osun, reverse was the case. A former governor who passed the barton to new governor not allowed to nominate even a single person in the new cabinet and the reason for this is no other thing than trying to exclude Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola from governance and party affairs in Osun in pursuant to the planned anti Aregbesola’s war in Osun.
The cabinet formed and no single slot was conceded to Aregbesola.
NOMINATION OF MINISTER BY GOVERNOR.
When federal cabinet was about to be formed, the APC governors were given opportunity to nominate three persons per state among whom a name will be shortlisted by Mr president and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s name was missing among the names forwarded to the president by Mr governor but, other names were forwarded instead. It took the grace of God and Mr president before Ogbeni was nominated as minister, the position that wasn’t supposed to be contested by another person in Osun here if there was cordial relationship between the incumbent governor and his predecessor.
Then came the turban of Ogbeni as the Amir Waziri in Osogbo which was planned jointly with Mr governor but, which the governor later jettisoned and absconded to Saudi Arabia a day to the program.
The story of how those appointtees of Oyetola that honored Ogbeni with their attendance were maltreated and dealt with later is no longer news, some council chairmen that identified with Rauf on that day were witch-hunted and maltreated.
THE MEDIA ATTACKS FROM OSUN CABINET MEMBERS.
The crisis got escalated when Oyetola’s cabinet members most especially SA on Education, Jamiu Baatunde started attacking Rauf Aregbesola on social media by calling him names like “Trojan horse”
One would have expected Mr governor to sack or query his cabinet members who were busy attacking his predecessor everyday if he wasn’t the one that sent them but, unfortunately the governor kept mute while the attacks lasted.
DESTROYING OF AREGBESOLA’S LEGACIES IN OSUN.
Everybody know that the incumbent governor was the chief of staff to the former governor for good eight years and he was actually the defacto governor because no decision was taken without his involvement and full participation.
The reversal of policies of Ogbeni was the first step taken by governor Oyetola which it is normal if done without any political undertones, but the one done in Osun here were done clearly with obvious political undertone.
Any policy of government can be reversed after five years if it was discovered to have been done in error. The reason for schools mergers in Osun was well explained to the populace especially the one that has link with the school feeding program which was done to avoid psychological effects on the students. Returned to Old school uniform that was done can be justified, although the time it was done, students have already adapted to it
Attempts were made to rubbish the policies of Rauf Aregbesola which the incumbent governor was part and parcel of.
The most unfortunate part of this is that most of these programs are the reasons why the populace still love our party, but were vindictively stopped or reversed, and no alternative were put in place to replace them.
Check it out👇
O’School
O’Calistenics
O’Meal to mention just few.
FORMATION OF THE SPLINTER GROUP CALLED THE OSUN PROGRESSIVES (TOP) AND THE ATTACKS THAT FOLLOWED.
After all efforts to be included in the scheme of things both in governance and party affairs met the brickwall, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s loyalists grouped themselves together under an umbrella 🏖️ called (TOP) and the aims and objectives of the group were spelt out among which is restructuring of the party after noticed the ways and manners the Famodun led party executives are running the party which we sighted will spell doom for the party. Since forming of this group, which was never against the law, members of this group have become subjects of attacks from the government side called IleriOluwa.
Many of the group members were wounded and sent to prison on flimsy excuses, Oranmiyan house was attacked and properties of TOP members were destroyed. All these happened and nothing was done to stop it.
After all positions in government have been occupied by only IleriOluwa group then came the party congresses where TOP members too purchased nomination forms to be included in the party affairs but, the governor’s side won’t allow internal democracy to materialized hence the written of all party executives from ward to state levels and deliberately excluded Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s group again and all efforts to forced them to do the needful also failed.
They boasted openly that with or without TOP, they are winning the governorship election.
The outcome of the July 16th governorship election have shown to the whole world who is actually in charge of the party and the people in the state.
Until few days to this election, TOP leaders were making frantic efforts to make sure the aggrieved party members were included in the scheme of things to make the election an easy ride for APC, but the arrogants and paperweights around Mr governor would not allow all the efforts to materialized.
If just 30% of party positions were conceded to TOP to placade the aggrieved members, the result would have been different, but the IleriOluwas insisted that they can do it all alone. Now they have done it and the whole world have seen their capacity and capability.
WAY FORWARD 👇
Because of other subsequent elections coming in February 2023, I will advice the party leaders to wake up now from their slumber and allow reasons to prevail over them by making sure that the Osun APC is restructured now before it finally crumbled.
Óbà ni, kòìbàjé.
We have seen the capacity and capability of those who called and tagged themselves heavyweights and this should guide us against next electora contest.
An election where a whole party state chairman lost his ward, local, federal and senatorial to the opposition party
An election where a sitting governor and the DG lost eight out of ten local government in the senatorial district to the opposition.
An election where virtually all the appointees lost their polling units.
We failed because we failed to put our house in order.
We failed because we failed to run all inclusiveness both in governance and party affairs.
We failed because we went to the poll with divided house.
The needful must be done now.
WHAT IS ANTI PARTY AND HOW CAN WE IDENTIFY ONE?
In conclusion of my long epistle, I want us to deal with this particular phase in our political grammar, “Anti party”
What is anti party and how can we accuse someone of engaging in anti party activities?
To the best of my understanding of the meaning of anti party, anti party can be defined as actions taken against or in contrary to collective engagement and decisions of the group of people, so you can not accuse someone already excluded from the scheme of things of anti party because in the initial stage, you never carried him along, so as a result of that, he is free to take an independent decision or action that suit him.
Hon Adabanija Qomarudeen Idowu is my name .
Writing to express my views and not to impress anyone from Egbedore local government area of the state of Osun
Ward 3, Ara ward 2.
