On May 29, 2015, Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, became the 14th Governor of the State. Three years after, he has invested tremendous time, energy and resources to accelerate socio-economic development in the State.

From the outset, Ambode’s goal was to give Lagosians a functional and safer city, where people can find success and satisfaction. His slogan: “Itesiwaju Ipinle Eko, ‘Lojewalogun” which means: “The progress of Lagos is our priority”, is about development and modernization. Thus far, he has been able to achieve this through visionary leadership, untiring commitment to excellence, technocratic competence, commitment to results and, above all, accountability.

Across the State, massive infrastructure projects are visible. Recently, 21 roads and 3 bridges connecting Lagos with Ogun State were commissioned while Aboru Link Bridge was equally commissioned two years ago. In the Badagry axis, Imeke-Ajido Link Bridge and numerous other roads were constructed. Similarly, the Ajah and Abule-Egba Bridges, Ojodu-Berger Pedestrian Bridge with adjoining roads were completed and commissioned. Also, a World Class Bus Terminal at Ikeja was recently commissioned. In 2016, 114 inner roads were rehabilitated while a total of 181 community roads are currently undergoing reconstruction.

Presently, work is on-going on the Pen Cinema Flyover while the redevelopment of the Lagos Airport Road into a 10 lane international standard highway is on course. Equally work is progressing on the Oshodi Transport Interchange which when completed is bound to change the face of public transportation in the State. Just a few days back, approval was given for the construction of Fagba flyover.

In a democracy, a strong and thriving economy is vital because extreme poverty could be a serious threat to nation building. This explains Ambode’s unwavering dedication to strengthening the State’s economy. Presently, in Nigeria, Lagos has effectively proved that it is possible to build an economy that is not solely reliant on oil.

A large chunk of the State’s infrastructure renewal projects is being financed from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). Presently, due to the impact of ongoing reforms and growth in the State’s economy, the State is experiencing relative improvement in its average monthly IGR. In the first quarter of 2018, the State has achieved an average monthly IGR of N34billion, compared to monthly averages of N22bn, N24bn and N30bn in 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively.

One vital tendency that has become a recurring symbol of the Ambode administration is the Governor’s penchant for fulfilling promises. Sometimes ago, while on a project inspection tour at the popular Ladipo Motor Spare Parts Market, Oshodi, as soon as the Governor was sighted by the traders, chants of Ekwueme! Ekwueme! Ekwueme! filled the air. In Igbo language, Ekwueme means promise keeper. So, the ecstatic traders were merely expressing their appreciation to the Governor for keeping to his promise of improving infrastructure around the market.

In this clime, a good number of political leaders make empty promises. It is, however, in keeping faith with his promises that Ambode has raised the bar of governance in the country. To him, a leader should be bound by his word. In his inaugural speech, Ambode pledged to run a government that will leave no one behind; a government that will implement programmes that make life simpler, easier and happier for the people. Thus, his administration has ensured even allocation of infrastructure development across the State.

In the area of youth empowerment, the Governor promised to create a favourable atmosphere for the empowerment of the youth. Presently, his administration has put in place the N25b Lagos State Employment Trust Fund which youths with creative ideas and talents are now accessing to realize their dreams. Similarly, in fulfillment of his promise to make Lagos a sure and first destination of choice for investors in Africa, Ambode established the Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment to coordinate the State’s various investment initiatives.

The Governor is equally making good his promise of ensuring prompt payment of Public Servants’ wages on the 23rd of every month. This is simply a way of fulfilling his promise of creating a conducive atmosphere for Public Servants to thrive in the discharge of their statutory responsibilities. In our climes, there is, indeed, no better way to motivate workers than ensuring that their wages are paid on time.

Retired public servants are equally benefitting from Ambode’s promise of improving workers’ welfare. For instance, in 2015, in order to reduce the economic and emotional burdens of the State pensioners, a sum of N11bn was released to offset pension liabilities owed retirees in 2010. Also, between May 2017 and March 2018, N9.3 billion was paid as pension to 2,466 retirees in the State. Last year alone, government paid over N9 billion as terminal entitlements of retirees. Without a doubt, this intervention has gone a long way in ameliorating the sufferings of retirees in the State.

A New York Times bestselling author, Richard Paul Evans, once said: “Broken vows are like broken mirrors. They leave those who held to them bleeding and staring at fractured images of themselves.” Making promises and keeping them is definitely a good virtue that must be embraced by people in all walks of life. In the Nigerian political landscape, the consequence of several broken promises accounted for one of the reasons why many display apathy towards certain basic civic duties, especially tax payment and the electoral process.

But the Ambode Administration has demonstrated that promises are sacred and, as such, must be kept. Creating an atmosphere in which citizens and investors have no option but to stand by the government, the administration has continually proved that fulfilling of promises is possible, and that it is a virtue every responsible government should covet and uphold. Consequently, the State government has injected new hope and energy into a broken morale, scattered systems and altered preconceived mindsets that Nigeria’s ruling class is full of liars.

Thus far, Governor Ambode has been able to manage the Lagos economy through prudent and stringent management of available resources. This has qualified him as a trusted and reliable leader. According to German writer and statesman, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, ‘not the maker of plans and promises, but rather the one who offers faithful service in small matters is the person who is most likely to achieve what is good and lasting’.

In Ken Follett’s novel, ‘The Pillars of the Earth’, the writer explores the development of medieval architecture as captured in the building of a cathedral in the town of Kingsbridge, England. Like the medieval architects in the novel, in the past three years, Ambode has been going about the reconstruction of Lagos like a skilled builder. The result is that his Administration has erected several pillars upon which the future of Lagos could now firmly rest.

As the Governor focuses on the last lap of his four years mandate, Lagosians are certainly in for more dose of his ‘Ekwueme’ trend in the State.

Ogunbiyi is of the Lagos State Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos

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Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode on Tuesday unveiled a new 37-feet Chief Moshood Kashimao Olawale, MKO Abiola statue.

The unveiling was done at Alapere area of the state in honour of the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. Ambode who spoke at two events in honour of Abiola canvassed for restructuring of the nation that will lead to fiscal federalism and devolution of power.  The first event was the June 12 Anniversary celebration at the Blue Roof, Lagos Television, Ikeja and the unveiling of the Abiola Statue held at Alapere area of Ketu, Southwest Nigeria.

Speaking at the June 12 anniversary, Ambode said the theme of the event, “Restructuring: Antidote for Ineffective and Ineffective Politics”, was apt, stressing that as a State and people, “our stand on a restructuring process that will lead to fiscal federalism, devolution of power is very clear.

“Our present democratic experience may still be far from ideal but we must all make concerted efforts to entrench fiscal federalism which is the only way to achieve true nationhood. We are absolutely convinced that it is the right way to go for us to realise the optimum potential and prosperity of the federating States and the nation.”

The governor said by this singular act of the president, he had written his name in Gold in the political history of Nigeria, adding that this formal recognition is a crown of victory to the struggle that had taken the lives of so many nationalists and patriots.

The governor saluted leaders of the struggle, including Gen. Alani Akinrinade, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Ambassador Walter Carrington, Justice Dolapo Akinsanya, Chief Frank Kokori, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Mr. Wale Oshun, Alhaji Balarabe Musa and other Nigerians and Civil Society Organisations, trade and labour unions, among others.

Speaking at the event, Special Adviser to the Governor on Civic Engagement, Benjamin Olabinjo said June 12 stood as a universal pact for all Nigerians, saying that Lagos State had never lost sight of the importance of identifying with the struggle and the defence of democracy and the universal right of all individuals to actualize their maximum potentials.

The guest lecturer, Dr. Dele Ashiru of the Department of Political Science, University of Lagos, called for special status for Lagos being the commercial nerve centre of the nation and also called for the restructuring of the nation, saying that a situation where a behemoth sat at the centre and distributed resources to others was an anathema to federalism.

Speaking at the unveiling of the Abiola statue, Ambode said he was particularly happy that Lagos State had a good reason to honour Abiola as a symbol of democracy, saying that exactly 25 years since he won a presidential election but was refused to serve the people who gave him their mandate, the country finally and deservedly recognised him with the highest honour in the land – the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic.

“We are very happy to gather here today at the MKO Abiola garden to unveil this statue, a monument that will forever crystallize his legacy, serves as a reminder to the greatness that Chief Abiola represents in our socio-political landscape As an individual, he transcended race, tribe and religion.  He appealed to all Nigerians and we voted for him. Sadly, he lost his life trying to secure his mandate.

“Even though he was from another State, Lagos was his home. And we recognize his contribution to our State and our democracy. It is now my honour to unveil this statue as a monument to symbolize democracy and the supremacy of the voice of the people,” he said.

Abiola’s son, Abdulmuminu Abiola lamented that for 16 years, the Peoples Democratic Party failed to honour his father, while commending the All Progressives Congress, APC, for honour accorded his father, while also thanking Ambode for building a bigger statue in honour of his father.

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While reading the book, Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate by Bob Woodward, something fascinated me. Richard Nixon, former American president and the man at the centre of the Watergate scandal, was facing the most disastrous period of his career. The options in front of him were limited. One of it was to resign or face a disgraceful impeachment and trial. Nixon had to decide not just on the resignation, but also how to navigate his exit without going to jail. He would require state pardon from his successor.

He summoned his chief of staff Alexander Haig, his right-hand man and a retired Army General for a brainstorm. They decided that Haig had to see the vice president, Gerald Ford and subtly negotiate Nixon’s post presidency pardon. Gerald Ford was to become president once Nixon resigned.

Gerald Ford had very protective aides. One of them was Robert Hartmann, who was detested and distrusted by Haig. Hartmann did all he could to talk Gerald Ford into taking the hardline against Richard Nixon. But while Gerard Ford refused to commit to any agreement that could blight his presidency from get-go, he was resolute not to throw his boss, Richard Nixon, under the bus. As a matter of fact, at the risk of a public outcry that questioned his integrity, he processed and pardoned Nixon.

This preamble is a showcase of the rigour and laborious process of the administration of government, crisis management and forthrightness in the face of complex political machinations. It is often a time for leaders to rise above themselves in clear and charitable demonstration of nobility.

After Sunday’s ill-fated world press conference called by the embattled governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, I took time to study his resume posted on a friend, G.B. Onitilo’s social media wall. From Wharton to INSEAD to Harvard, Ambode parades an intimidating track record of academic and administrative excellence. Indeed, you have to give it to him, he paid his dues.

If this resume is the only thing he reeled out at that press conference; if he had mentioned all in his C.V. with emphatic grace and candour; if he had relegated his ego, anger and a visibly combative quest for vengeance to the background, by day-break on Monday and by now, Akinwumi Ambode would have seized the momentum in public discourse. This C.V. is what we would be talking about. But in contrasting self-immolation from the Gerald Ford model above, Ambode walked into his own long dark night in a reckless, misguided vulnerability to adult delinquency.

Ambode’s penchant for compulsive and unforced errors did not start today. I recall at the primaries that brought him to power at the Lagos Airport Hotel years ago. In front of other bewildered contestants, Ambode made a remark curious to the standards of sensitivity and gauge mechanism. He said, “Anyway, we already know who would win”. Eyebrows were raised. That was tactless. Ambode was made to apologise. After getting to power, no one can deny him of having delivered a stellar performance. The face of Lagos has changed. But again, I hasten to say, this is an added “storey building” on Fashola’s well decked upstairs. Characteristic of him, Ambode is accused of having uprooted all of Fashola’s legacies. Why? Fashola was known to have worked against his emergence as governor in clear preference for Supo Shashore. This he paid for dearly, as he only escaped being muddied up after a series of smear attacks that seemed to emanate from his successor.

There is something disreputable about being deliberately slavish to an unbridled urge to throw others under the bus. It is this same compulsive demeanour that may propel you to attempt the suicide of rubbishing the man who brought you to reckoning, Bola Tinubu. However, should you decide to burn that bridge and be your own man, which is bold, daring and frankly lies within your right for self-advancement, you must have “conquered” the mass populace through a people-centred system of governance that would propel Lagosians to queue behind you in one unequivocal voice on your raining day. Fashola enjoyed this, while Ambode seems to be struggling right now. You cannot destroy the party structure that brought you to power and still have the generality of the people behind you. It is tantamount to stepping out to jog bare-chested in snowy winter! Ambode did not think this through, he did not choose his battle well.

Let’s now add this icing on the cake. Imagine if at that press conference, Ambode had said the following:

“I welcome my co-contestant to the race. I admire and respect him. His ambition is his right and well safeguarded by our constitution. Moreso, the more contestants we have, the merrier and better it is for the robustness and deepening of our ever evolving democracy.

“As the holder and incumbent of the current mandate and chief security officer of this State, I assure you, Jide Sanwoolu of maximum security as you present yourself for this primary. Finally, my good people of Lagos State, the meaning of leadership actually is service. And part of the inherent virtue of service is selflessness. Therefore, I am not desperate to be returned, but nonetheless, I emphasise that you reflect on my evidence-based giant milestones as you make a choice. Our bigger picture shall be the peace, progress and consolidation of the strategic template that differentiates Lagos from other states. Our bigger picture is not my brother Jide and definitely, not me, Akin!

God bless and thank you all!”

If this was Ambode’s short speech, I can visualise the applause and the turning around of the wheel of tremendous goodwill to himself. What were his handlers thinking?! What went wrong? How did he waste such monumental opportunity that led to the anti-climaxing of himself and his brand personae?

Leadership requires the capacity for conquering the self in the face of physical, psychological and emotional pressure. It requires seizing every opportunity as a platform to step out and make a STATEMENT in tempered, measured, soothing and winning words. Ambode’s resume is fantastic but it was torn to shreds on Sunday in a self-destruct moment of fury. Many people boast of resumes, but not many people can lead. If they lead, occasions that test them expose them and they crash like a pack of cards. This exposes their lack of inner strength and how bereft they are to arrest and manage crisis. Ambode’s public communications disaster is a learning curve on the tragedy that befalls a lack of capacity for conquering oneself.

Akin Fadeyi is the convener of the Corruption Not In My Country Project.

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The “Baba Sope” Political Ideology and Myth of Yoruba Omoluabi Ethos

It is faulty to equate the deep loyalty Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu attracts in Lagos as exemplary of ‘Omoluabi loyalty’ or being reflective of the ethos of the entire Yoruba or South-West populace. The Ondo State electorate will argue, for example, that they “liberated” themselves from this without compromising the ‘Omoluabi’ ethos.

In the 2012 Ondo State governorship election, the current governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, as candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), was perceived as a “Tinubu imposed” candidate. He ran against the then incumbent Governor Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party, and the people of Ondo State rejected Akeredolu.

I recall stomping across Ondo during that election, as excited crowds in the State could not but approve, with songs and folk songs, as Mimiko invoked the tradition of the people not to take any imposition from “outsiders’.

Then throughout most of the nooks and crannies in Ondo State, the campaign was more about resisting Tinubu than being a verdict on Mimiko’s performance. Mimiko did not have to say much about his performance during his first term in office, it was almost above those of his peers, particularly in terms of education and health care. His Abiye healthcare project was celebrated even by his opponents.

In 2016 when Akeredolu was to run again, ironically against a candidate handpicked by Olusegun Mimiko, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), he presented himself as an independent candidate, his own man, and not only did he defeat Tinubu’s anointed candidate in the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries, he also canvassed for votes while reminding the people of Ondo State of how they should not let outsiders chose for them. Akeredolu won against the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and today the rest is history. A number of other factors contributed to the victories in the 2012 and 2016 elections of Mimiko and Akeredolu.

Ambode As Ambode’s Achilles Heel

A lot has been written about current governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, yet the irony is that Ambode’s problem wasn’t his godfather, former Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, but he (Akinwunmi Ambode) was his own problem.

Power overwhelmed the governor, and he completely detached himself from the strong political party structure. A party that has been in power in Lagos since 1999 is not the kind that you ride on and ignore. You may ignore the man who brought you in from obscurity, but to survive, you need to be an exceptional performer and keep your party structure happy. Ambode did not read the handover notes of Governor Babatunde Fashola. If he had, he would not be facing the political battle of his life. The people stood with his predecessor, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, even when the body language of his godfather was hostile, and then the mighty Tinubu knew moving against Fashola would have been political suicide for him.

The Mafioso Nature of the APC In Lagos

The Lagos APC power structure is filled with contradictions. It is sometimes progressive, at other times self-serving, but mostly it operates like the mafia in its highly close knit nature. Those who control the party at every level expect absolute loyalty, with no questions asked. It reflects most political parties in Nigeria; and even the newly formed ones are mirroring the model, which they have improved on. Six of the new Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) registered political parties have founders, who are also the party chairmen/women and also the sole presidential candidates.

For every progress Ambode made with road construction in inner city Lagos and futuristic projects such as the Murtala Muhammed Airport road and bus terminals, he undid with unpopular policies that targeted the very poor. It was as if he was in a race to undo some of Tinubu and Fashola’s projects.

The Lagos civil service is an extension of the party structure. If you come in as a governor, you are not expected to rock the boat or ‘change the template’ (apologies to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu), and it is a structure mostly servicing a few against the majority. Hardly would you find a Lagos State civil servant who is not a card-carrying member of the APC. Particularly for the Alausa based civil servants, what happens in Alausa always remain in Alausa.

The Lagos APC has political leaders who depend on state resources, as they have no other means of livelihood than politics. They know Lagos like the back of their hands and have foot soldiers beholding to them – from National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) members, to genuine party members who desire progressive change, to just about anyone who can be a yes man or woman. They are mostly reliant on a rent-seeking and collection system, and cannot just be cut off and be neglected by any governor, no matter how powerful or resourceful.

Ambode broke the first commandment: “thou shall not be unreachable”.

Yoruba and especially Lagosians do not like governors or political appointees who are perceived as ‘arrogant’ or cannot be reached, and if a governor likes, he could tar the whole of Lagos roads with gold, but the people want to be able to ‘visit’ him, and they expect to be given ‘transport fares’ on their way home. Party leaders and members expect governors to attend meetings at intervals; they don’t want to be forgotten during ‘Ileya’, ‘Christmas’ or any festive period. The street talk is that Ambode was not only unreachable to party members and leaders but he lived in his own world, while his appointees were also detached. Party members can’t even remember the name of commissioners in Ambode’s cabinet. Gone are the days when Rauf Aregbesola, Musiliu Obanikoro, Muiz Banire, Tokunbo Afikuyomi and co were commissioners, and you need not see the governor to have a say in the government. Ambode ran a one man show.

For every progress Ambode made with road construction in inner city Lagos and futuristic projects such as the Murtala Muhammed Airport road and bus terminals, he undid with unpopular policies that targeted the very poor. It was as if he was in a race to undo some of Tinubu and Fashola’s projects. They say if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. Ambode was busy fixing projects that didn’t need fixing – from bus stops, to the remodelling of roads, which were a waste of time and resources. BRT buses were disappearing one after the other due to neglect, and even Ambode’s newly constructed roads started developing potholes. The solutions became a problem. He did so well looking into inner city roads and improving the Lagos security architecture, with Lagos under him becoming one of the safest cities by Nigerian standards.

Ambode’s greatest sin was taking away the garbage clearing project, and thousands of poor people in Lagos – mostly party members employed as street cleaners and operators – lost their means of livelihood. Ambode handed the task of cleaning Lagos over to a relatively unknown company called the Visionscape Group, which did a terrible job of it, and the only clean effort from the company was its creation of a clean looking website, while the new face of Lagos became the dirty face of Lagos.

Ambode unleashed one punitive tax system after the other on the people of Lagos, with the most controversial one being the land use tax. When he was advised to review the State’s tax policy, he was stubborn, indifferent and ruthless, until the protest grew louder. He did not even stop at that, and he legislated his godfathers alleged tax collection firm company, Alpha Beta, as the sole collector, but when citizens screamed ‘scam’, the state’s law makers claimed that legislating Alpha Beta into a State tax collection system was an “administrative mistake.”

Of all his attempts to fix inner city roads, Ambode waged war on poor people in waterfront areas; the people of Otodo Gbame paid dearly for Ambode’s land grab schemes, with over 200 structures belonging to poor people getting razed down in 2016. The Egun and settler communities around Lekki were seen by the government and its elitist friends as constituting eyesores; and to make matters worse, the government disobeyed court orders, even when they got an injunction from the courts not to demolish these communities. Like his predecessors, Ambode mocked the Freedom of Information Act. Lagos is one of the few states where budgets are released without a breakdown.

The collegiate “baba sope” method is plagued with contradictions and abuse, and thus repeated conflicts. It is only a matter of time before it caves to the anger and discontent of followers and the electorate. For all his contributions to Nigeria’s democratic process, the legacy of Governor Tinubu will be better served if he stops getting involved in every selection process, and allows contests and processes to be free and fair.

Ambode is a product of the ‘baba sope’ collegiate contradiction and a victim of this also. Hopefully the Yoruba “progressives” will learn from the resistance mounted in Ondo, Ekiti, Kogi and the disaster of losing a senatorial seat to a dancing clown and almost losing the Osun governorship to him as a warning shot. The warning being that democracy is not a gift but a right; that leaders are servants entrusted with superintending the fair distribution of the commonwealth; that they can’t keep distributing resources to their lackeys, friends, cousins, wives, concubines, brothers at the expense of qualified members of the public.

The Tinubu Clampdown On Ambode

The assertion that Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu is behind Ambode’s travails are false. Tinubu would have been swept by the revolt from within his own political base, but he was smart enough to be led by the mass, rather than leading them. The revolt also exposes Tinubu’s vulnerability; if he had not moved against Ambode, the mass in his party structure would have moved against him. Tinubu barely yields power and influence, but he was forced to stand with the party and base, rather than stand against them. Even overtures from Abuja could not have changed that. The crises within the Lagos APC against the governor had been allowed to fester for too long. The chicken had come home to roost.

Many us have been saying it for years, both privately and in public, that the Asiwaju Tinubu political structure would have to adapt to modern democratic ethos. The collegiate “baba sope” method is plagued with contradictions and abuse, and thus repeated conflicts. It is only a matter of time before it caves to the anger and discontent of followers and the electorate. For all his contributions to Nigeria’s democratic process, the legacy of Governor Tinubu will be better served if he stops getting involved in every selection process, and allows contests and processes to be free and fair. Nigeria’s democratic process can only improve if the internal party democratic process is free, transparent and fair, with party membership open and attractive to the best who may disagree with the leaders of the party. It will be a shame for all his contributions, for Governor Tinubu to leave the public with the image of the Lord of a Mafia group.

Who Are the Yoruba Progressives?

Many are sympathetic to the ideological left in Yoruba land, but really if you derobe the masquerade, it is becoming very difficult to spot the differences between the Yoruba PDP or APC.

Land and resource ownership and control in Yoruba land, particularly in Lagos, is now for the benefit of the few, and economy of YORUBA revolves within the same elite. Thus, a Governor Ayo Fayose could challenge the traditional Yoruba left and “win” in Ekiti and it took the traditional left in Yoruba land, adapting the play book of Ayo Fayose, to “win’ Ekiti back. Usually it takes invoking the spirit of Obafemi Awolowo to win elections in the South West, yet this is fast changing; the people can’t spot the deference any more, and they will rather take their chances with so called ‘akotiletas’ than stay with the so called ‘disciples of Awolowo.’

The class structure of modern day Yoruba politicians is modelled after the so-called Hausa-Fulani hegemony style that we have all been brought up to detest. Check the beneficiaries of government appointments both at the federal, state and local levels in Yorubaland, and many are family members of the Yoruba ruling elite. A very ‘progressive’ Yoruba senator who mouths JUSTICE was already a pensioner in America, when the opportunity came for the ‘progressive’ to present a name to President Buhari for the NAFDAC Chairperson, our senator did not need to search far and wide in Yorubaland for a younger qualified Yoruba. He recalled his wife, who by the way was already a pensioner also, to take the position. The office of the vice president is littered with sons and daughters of the ‘who is who’ in Yoruba land. The Lagos House of Assembly, like most Houses of Assembly in Yoruba land, is an extension of family meetings. ‘Familitocracy’ is replacing fairness, and the new generation Yoruba leaders is winning the battle of who is more nepotistic in the Nigerian federation. The politics of ‘godfatherism’ is replacing the ‘omoluabi’ ethos. ‘Omoluabi’ is just a theme to cunningly use the load of bread to wipe the soup from the plate of the commonwealth.

Yoruba Omoluabi ethos should not be the subjugation of the will of the people to the few. It is about justice for all, equality for all who live and reside in Yoruba land, irrespective of who they are, where they come from, what language they speak. We are meant to be the beacon of hope, the welcoming people who rejoice at the arrival of new settlers, the ones who vacate the most beautiful part of the household to make the guest comfortable, the tolerant ones, the ones whose strength is not in the ability to spill blood but the diplomatic prowess of stopping a war, the people who agree, but mostly agree to disagree. The ‘omo Karo o ji ire bi?’

Fairness in the distribution and allocation of Yoruba resources for all who contribute to Yoruba land should now be the priority of Yoruba leaders, it should cross party and ideological lines. Not all Yoruba progressives or conservatives have done badly, even with their faults, but a lot of bad has been done. Yes, we can still point to some progress, but that is due to the determination and can-do attitude of the Yoruba and all those who have chosen Yoruba land as home. It is never too late to stop the house from falling.

Kayode Ogundamisi is a commentator on Nigeria and producer/presenter of the political TV show #PolitricksWithKO on BEN-TV UK.

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I have watched, with consternation, how many good people on and off social media, who are not members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, have become adversaries and combatants over the governorship primary of the APC in Lagos. Many have also become APC emergency advisers. I keep wondering why members of the Lagos public, who are not in the APC, should insert themselves in the intra-party search of the APC for its governorship candidate in the 2019 governorship election. Freedom of speech? The right to hold opinions, and freely comment on the political developments in Lagos State? I get that. I sure do.

But shouldn’t non-APC members wait for the APC to sort itself out, and present its candidate, so that our fellow needlessly-agitated compatriots can vote for a party or a candidate of their choice in the general elections, selecting from the array of political parties that may be on offer, based on the party platforms, manifestoes and programmes? In the just concluded Osun governorship election, there were 48 candidates, and one of them, dismissed for his “buffoonery”, almost danced his way to the gubernatorial seat; and who knows, he may yet get a redress at the election tribunal. As a non-APC member in Lagos State, you will have your time to elect the candidate of your choice as governor, come February 2019. Some aspirants in the APC, who could not secure the party’s gubernatorial ticket in Osun State, decamped and contested on the platforms of other political parties. Although they did not win the elections, many people who believed in them voted for them.

Were our compatriots who have now turned themselves into political consultants and “visiting” advisers for the APC consulted before the APC chose (selected or imposed) its governorship candidate in Lagos in the 2015 election? Were they? Were they consulted when a royal threat was issued to cast into the Lagos Lagoon recalcitrant residents, inspired by power intoxication from Abuja, who were accused of plotting not to vote for a preferred candidate? Were they?

Doesn’t a political party have a right to choose its candidates, including democratically disallowing an incumbent from having a second term, if it so wishes? Does the governorship candidate of APC in Lagos automatically become the governor-elect of the State? What of the other political parties? Shouldn’t they be given a consideration at all? If the APC and it’s precursors and it’s “Power Mafioso” are the demons that the voting public in Lagos State needs to get rid of, why can’t the intruders concentrate on joining and building an alternative that can take over political power in Lagos State, instead of labouring on lecturing the APC and it’s “gods” on how to run their affairs in order not to lose the electorate and the general election?

This is my advice to you: As a voter and part of the Lagos State electorate, stop inserting yourself into the intra-party process of the APC to select its governorship candidate in 2019, if you are not a member of the APC. Doing so means you don’t take your right to freely elect a government of your choice in Lagos State seriously. The APC primary is not a governorship election.

If you are genuine believer in a multi-party democracy, and you trust that the electorate has the will to alter its political destiny, why not invest your energy and social media time in that possibility, instead of dissipating energy on prescribing the choice of candidate to a political party to which you do not belong and which you often mock?

This is my advice to you: As a voter and part of the Lagos State electorate, stop inserting yourself into the intra-party process of the APC to select its governorship candidate in 2019, if you are not a member of the APC. Doing so means you don’t take your right to freely elect a government of your choice in Lagos State seriously. The APC primary is not a governorship election. That election holds in February 2019. When the general election holds, you will have a number of candidates representing their parties and platforms to pick from. APC will field a candidate in the election, just like the other parties. As a civic duty, when the general election comes, you should compare and contrast the policies and programmes and the manifestoes of the parties before settling for one candidate.

We are not practising a parliamentary system of government. However, a few examples from the recent political history of and political leadership succession in the U.K., which underscore the principle of party supremacy, would suffice. The “great” Margaret Thatcher, after leading the Conservative Party as British prime minister for over a decade, was eased out of power by her party and colleagues, ahead of a general election. Thatcher suffered an unpopularity backlash after her government imposed the poll tax. That was how John Major became the prime minister in 1990. And Tony Blair didn’t end his last term. Following his resignation, his Labour Party found a successor in James Gordon Brown in June 2007. Both Thatcher and Blair were removed as prime minister by their respective parties.

A party has a right to pick a candidate of its choice for a general election in its exclusive governorship primary, without being dictated to by intermeddling outsiders and the interloping comentariat, and those outsiders have a right to vote for or against the candidate so chosen at a general election.

If democracy and the political party system in Nigeria were to be working as they should, no elected office holder should be free of the moderating control of his party and the electorate. If a political office holder breaks loose from his party, and he is no longer subject to its control, he becomes a monarch in a democracy.

As a voter who is not a member of APC and who, therefore, is not qualified to participate in the APC primary, your dictation of a candidate for the APC implies, very much, that you are expressing or have expressed your preference for that particular candidate before the general election, thereby foreclosing the possibility of a better candidate being fielded by a rival party in the general election.

The power struggle within the APC is not an inter-party power struggle in which the ordinary people, the working class and the oppressed segments of the population may legitimately side with a pro-people party against a ruling party of power oligarchs and aristocrats; it is not a class struggle. It is an intra-ruling class struggle. Head or tail, the current “struggle” within APC will not affect the social, economic and political fortunes of the people of Lagos State fundamentally.

If democracy and the political party system in Nigeria were to be working as they should, no elected office holder should be free of the moderating control of his party and the electorate. If a political office holder breaks loose from his party, and he is no longer subject to its control, he becomes a monarch in a democracy. Our legislatures hardly control our governors or president, in spite of the constitutional powers that assign to them that task. When parties, as loci of moderation of exercise of power by their elected members, lack the power to do so, a democratic tyrant emerges.

Governor Ambode has done many good things. His bad deeds are also glaring. I hope his intra-party traducers concede this fact.

Jiti Ogunye, lawyer, public interest attorney, legal commentator, author, and essayist,

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One of the enduring takeaways from the book, Thirteen Days, by Robert Kennedy, the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy, was the principle that by and large you gauge the ultimate success of an event or action by how you manage its outcome, good or ill. In other words, even if all the world acclaims or renounces what happens to you or what you do, your story or history is unfinished until we see how you handle that outcome.

Kennedy came about this political correctness stand during the Cuban Missile Crisis in the early 60s. At a session of the War Cabinet, a US military general suggested to the president that Washington should resort to the final solution of a preemptive atomic attack on the Soviet Union, which was establishing a nuclear base on Cuba, just on the doorstep of the US. That was when the younger Kennedy brought in the question of the consequences of an action being weightier than an event.

He asked the million-dollar poser: would the Russians not retaliate with their own lethal atomic weaponry? At the end, it would be mutual destruction. Poor management of the initial event would be the cause.

I have had to resort to the days of the Cuban Missile Crisis as I ponder over the All Progressives Congress governorship primary vis-à-vis the admirable conduct of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in managing what ensued. Just as President Kennedy resisted great pressure from his generals to strike the USSR and rock the boat of planet earth by triggering a nuclear world war, Ambode has rejected hawkish calls of loyalists and has stoically handled the result of the APC directly that is displacing him as the party’s flag-bearer in the 2019 poll.

I identify seven lessons from this noble son of Epe.

First, he teaches, as JFK taught during one of the tensest periods in man’s contemporary history, that greatness is not only when you assert your strength or unleash your arsenal. You can stoop to conquer. He wielded wisdom in averting an implosive crisis in APC and in Lagos at large. That is what the Bible means when it declares that ‘’Wisdom is better than strength.’’(Proverbs 9:16).

Secondly, Ambode has refused to pander to a move considered popular among outwitted politicians but what would go down in history as politically incorrect and vindictive, namely switching to another party in search of a return ticket to the number one seat in Lagos. The noble lesson is you don’t leave where you’ve excelled because of the conspiracy of a few.

Thirdly, when you are loved by those you have governed as it has been proved in the case of Governor Ambode, you would be doing them avoidable disservice if you depart soiling your hard-earned name in a roforofo fight with those who might not bother being mired in dishonor.

Fourthly, although many dropped their support for the governor after the Sunday news conference where he delivered some below-the-belt punches on his rival, Jide Sanwo-Olu, Ambode rapidly regained lost grounds and even made new friends with his state-wide radio-tv broadcast. That initiative quickly restored amity among the restive populace. Their state was not about the fight of the titans. When two elephants fight, the poor grass suffers.

Fifth takeaway: When you have discharged your duties and halfway challenges emerge through saboteurs to suggest you haven’t performed, you don’t seek self-redeeming efforts to fight back. In the case of Ambode, there is no doubt he has done fantastically well as attested to by all, including the present crop of naysayers. But because they can’t change the record of history, the governor has decided to rest in the nest of history. Public office holders must follow suit in the interest of the people they serve.

Number six takeaway: when you are holding public, spend every day as if you’d not be there the next day. Ambode has pumped such energy and hard work into his less than four-year tenure that it looks as if he’s been there for two terms. Indeed, there is hardly any governor with corresponding quantum of verifiable achievements as we’ve had it in Lagos under Ambode.

Takeout number seven: the world wouldn’t have forgiven Ambode if he had succumbed to the early party call not to obtain nomination form for the primary. Why? If you have served your people well without a guilty conscience, why would you budge when you are falsely accused of under-performance by gang-up? He did the right thing, believing in the justness of his actions before those who elected him. We are taught by motivation speakers that it is better to try and fail than not try at all. The point is you have no chances of winning if you don’t attempt. But if you put in some effort in a race and you come in for mention as a worthy participant.

As the situation, stands, the implication for APC is that Governor Ambode remains the man he has always been: the poster boy of APC. He is the main man the party would need next year to retain Lagos. Yes, the party may be the engine to roll out for the campaign. But given the massive work Ambode has done to make the people of Lagos love APC these years that Ambode has been in the saddle, he can’t be dismissed or undermined.

The party may worry about a few party chieftains grumbling over issues that don’t move the masses. But they must be more agitated by how they treat a man adored by the majority of the public. They must consider how to handle the day after the displacement of such a man, by a cabal. Otherwise the State is set to drop out from the fold of the APC.

Bode Adeyemi, a journalist lives in Surulere, Lagos

The post Seven Lessons From Lagos APC Governorship Primary By Bode Adeyemi appeared first on OsunDefender.

Lawmakers in the Lagos State House of Assembly after an emergency parliamentary meeting on Wednesday evening insisted that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode must appear before them to explain infractions levelled against him vowing to impeach him if it continued.

Briefing newsmen at the end of the meeting, Majority Leader, Sanai Agunbiade said nobody was witch-hunting the governor as being insinuated in some quarters but that the infractions were serious issues the House could not over look.

According to him, the House decided to correct some wrong information and misconception being bandied around by the House resolutions on Ambode last week Monday, stressing that the House was not saying that Ambode should end his tenure but that because of issues surrounding the 2019 budget, he was summoned by the House.

He said the major contention was that he has started spending from the 2019 budget which had not been laid before the House and against constitutional provisions.

“The budget is supposed to have been laid before the commencement of another fiscal, which has always been the practice in the state, and unless it is laid, you cannot spend from it but the governor has gone ahead to make expenditure from the budget.

“There are also some infractions the House observed about the 2018 budget, expenditures made outside the budget, which necessitated the invitation the House extended to him and some commissioners to come and explain things.

“It is not witch-hunting as people believe; to make expenditure from the budget, you must have laid it before the House, for now we don’t have the budget so you can’t spend. As legislators, we must do things properly”, he said.

Agunbiade also corrected some misconceptions which he said were being tied to the Ambode issue, that it was not true that the lawmakers were after Ambode because he refused to fund their campaign.

“We want Lagos to flourish but we cannot compromise the regulations or constitutional provisions concerning appropriation. If we wanted war, we would not have written for him to come and explain, what we said was that where the infractions continue, we would apply the constitutional provisions which is impeachment,” he added.

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Authorities of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has denied a media report that its officials raided the residence of the immediate past Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode.

This is contained in a statement posted on the commission’s verified social media page.

The statement read, “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has since early hours of today, been inundated with calls that operatives of the Commission raided the residence of the former governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode.

We need to state for the records that the EFCC did not raid Ambode’s house. It is instructive that his administration, like other former governors is under investigation, since they no longer constitutionally enjoy immunity against prosecution.

The Commission hereby states with high sense of responsibility that the operatives did not raid Ambode’s residence.
Whatever the Commission is presently doing with regards to the investigation is in line with its mandate and the rule of law.
We wish to inform the social media to be circumspect in the reportage of any news with regards to investigation activities of the Commission.

As a tradition, the Commission does not carry out investigation on the pages of the newspapers or through the media. Our operations are always covert until at a time when we file charges in court.

Therefore, the attempt to cast the Commission in a bad light is unacceptable as the EFCC will never engage in illegal act. We remain committed to the war against corruption.”

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Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday morning raided the home of the former governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode in Epe area of Lagos.

A top aide of the former governor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that EFCC operatives raided Ambode’s home.

He revealed that Ambode was not in the country and the home had been raided in his absence.

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