By Kalu Nwokoro Idika
One of the bane of democracy in Nigeria is this devilish game of godfatherism. It has become a norm for past leaders in Nigeria to solely determine who takes over the baton of leadership from them. However, this reoccurring political idiosyncrasy has battered the entire political structure; breeding cowards and puppets who know next to nothing about good and responsible leadership. The interest of the masses is not considered. What matters more to these insatiable thieves is money, money and contracts.
The magnitude of looting that characterises governance in Nigeria has made many past leaders to fear what might happen to them in case they relinquish power to a decent predecessor. Some of them are so worried that their criminal records while in the office could be exposed hence the need to scout for another thief that will cover their evil tracks is deemed imperative. This ugly trend has rendered a lot of States in Nigeria very useless. State Government Houses are now a spot for thieves. One will be shocked to see all brand of scoundrels on briefcase jumping from one office to another in search of contracts they will never execute. Perhaps, creating space for thugs that will prefer to foreclose the dividends of democracy from a hungry and frustrated masses.
Political leadership in Nigeria is one big chicken shit. There are many Governors in Nigeria that are still answerable to their godfathers that plotted their victory. The godfather decides how federal allocation to the State will be shared. In most cases, the godfather has percent of every kobo that enters into the State coffers. The duty of the Governor is to award contracts to companies affiliated to the godfather. And also, ensure that his cronies are given appointments into juicy positions in the government. Without the Governor appeasing the godfather with his demands, his administration will be made ungovernable.
The politics of godfatherism is so visible in Lagos, Abia, Osun, Edo, Cross River, Kogi and many more. Stories abound on how some of the Governors who had attempted to extricate from the bondage of godfatherism were severely punctured and disgraced out of office. Ambode of Lagos state is a typical case. Even some of the Governors who survived the onslaught of godfatherism has a bitter story to tell. The same political ugliness is what Adams Oshiomohole was on the verge of replicating in Edo State before his madness was chained through the sudden judgment of the Appeal Court.
If Adams Oshiomohole had known how irrelevant and little he has been in the congregation of the cabals controlling the presidency in Nigeria, he wouldn’t have ventured into the suicide mission that culminated to his present calamity. He staged a political bout against his State Governor thinking that he had supporters in Aso Rock who will help to clean up his shenanigans. Oshiomohole never knew that there were other angry political mafias waiting to sweep him off and put his irritating rascality to a stop. He wanted to be like Tinubu of Lagos that decides who gets what, when and how in the State. The suspended APC national chairman was commonly reduced to a political featherweight and boxed out of the ring.
Indeed, there is no moral justification for the disqualification of Governor Obeseki from contesting the party’s governorship primary election. The premise upon which he was disqualified is laced with the usual political vindictiveness that has become of Nigeria’s politics. The discrepancies spotted in his academic records which APC Screening Committee anchored their argument for his disqualification were there when he was screened during his first tenure. So, it baffles me to a great extent why Oshiomohole and his notorious gang never acknowledged it at the initial stage but now.
The mafias that laid the legal ambush for Oshiomohole at the Appeal Court did a clean job. Clipping his feathers is just the necessary thing to do at this critical time. Rather than allowing Oshiomohole to drag and further decimate the image of a dying party, it is better to kick the black midget out of the way for sanity to return. The judgement of the Appeal Court must have thought Adams Oshiomohole a horrible lesson. His political miscalculation has caused him a considerable amount of damage that will take a longer time and effort to repair. Adams Oshiomohole wanted to be the Tinubu of Edo State but luck ran out of him.
But when will the politics of godfatherism end in Nigeria?
Kalu Nwokoro Idika is a political analyst, investigative and freelance journalist
Kalunwokoroidika@yahoo.com