By Abdulkareem Musah, Kaduna
Permit me a space in your widely read newspaper to make my views to deepen our democracy.
I am not just writing because I have a penchant to do so. I am writing because of my belief in party internal democracy and eager that I can only live with the humility of a person who has the right intellect that is unencumbered by a satanic mind. We have had a fair share of the evil from PDP in Edo State hopeful that an ACN government in Edo State led by Comrade Oshiomhole may be a safe heaven.
But will Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole prove skeptics wrong and turn around the deplorable spate of selection and or imposition of unpopular candidates on the people? This is a million dollar question begging for an answer. The Governor appears to be a democrat. Oh! Did I just say that? Well, I hope I don’t have to eat my words if the illusion or better still, the illusory about internal democracy is anything to go by in regards ACN in Edo State shabby build up to her primaries for the impending local government election in the state.
It is apposite not to ignore the party’s scheming in Edo North with particular attention to Etsako West Local Govt Area, the Governor immediate constituency and inductively set an agenda for our discuss to correct the rots in the system. Charity they say begins from home.
The maneuver to manipulate the democratic process and subvert the strong will of the Etsako West Local Govt Area people was obviously displayed weeks past with a kangaroo like endorsement of one Hassan Kadiri by a hand pick of charlatans. The democratic and shoddy show of shame at the Governor’s residence in his native Iyamho village was masterminded by the over – zealous, very arrogant, illiterate and uncivilized LGA party chairman, Alh. Abubakar Akhohia. I honestly pity how the very few that were screened into the Governor’s residence by fierce and stern looking security operatives were coerced, compromised and humiliated against their conscience. In truth, most Nigerians are docile. No wonder, the over-zealous Akhohia was imposed on the people in less than three months after decamping from PDP to play a script. Illiteracy is not only a disease but also a barrier.
It is dishearten that the residence of the State Governor should be desecrated with this unholy act and his name sullied to an extent that the unrepentant charlatans swagger from political to social gatherings; from clubs to palm – wine joints and from eateries to mama – put with an emphatic bravado and pontification that their ill action was licensed by the Comrade Governor to compensate the beneficiary (Hassan) for his past numerous and serial failures at the polls. Good talk! It is only biblical that the last is first and the first turn last. I actually don’t want to fall into the temptation of discussing persons here.
The mere mention of “compensating with souls and future of Etsako-West people” is sacrilegious. Why not continue the once lucrative slave trade or human trafficking business in Edo State? Your excellency, Edo State people deserve a little apology as a sign of cleanse for all of this, sir. Where is democracy? Where is the rule of law that you preach? Where is one man, one vote? What about qualification and justification? This is hypocrisy. Without apology, this government is another ‘you are qualified but you are not wanted’ which is in consonance with the Orwellian thesis of ‘all animals are equal; some are more equal than others’.
It is shameful and very frustrating that a political party that is focused to win an election through lawful votes will choose to gamble her ticket to compensate an aspirant for his basket full of losses at elections from eternity. What a pity! This is another school of politicking. The indices that caused his yester years failures at elections will still tail him. Of course, I am beginning to doubt the integrity and credibility of the impending local government election to be conducted by EDSIEC. If Prof. Jega could get it right considering the impromptuness of the election, I don’t see why EDSIEC will not improve on the merits of INEC unless that the Comrade Governor is planning for it to fail. As our people will say “If the inferno starts from the shrine, where will the villagers take refuge” Nigerians are watching.
The falcons no longer hear the falconer. The once united ACN family has been polarized for one man’s interest. Ward chairmen and party leaders that are against subverting the will of the people are branded as saboteurs. They are treated as renegades and subjected to all manners of humiliations by Alh. Akhohia in an attempt to frustrate them out of ACN. “The innocent souls that died for the reclamation of Oshiomhole’s mandate are weeping in their untimely graves; the then villains and vampires with blood soaked palms are lavishly celebrated and compensated, pumping Champagne on the graves of the fallen heroes”. God dey!
How come the Comrade Governor has suddenly changed his good philosophy that endeared him to all right thinking Nigerians and be heading for doom? It is unbelievable. Does he think the people are morons that they cannot figure out what is going on? When the kingmakers change their roles by joining the race to the palace, excuses upon justification begin to loom the air. But records are records. Views once held cant be easily obliterated in this golden age of twitter, blackberry and face book technology. And the hunter becomes the haunted. This is for the wise minds.
Though it will apposite to try absolve Comrade Oshiomhole of these allegations, he is one Nigeria that had won a place in history for the stand he once took on rule of law, democracy and his legendary One Man; One Vote in Nigeria politics that herald President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan a Pan Nigeria brand. The biggest confrontation of our political elite is the acute shortage of principled politicians as well as the awful lack of ideology in our politics. Honestly, I expected Oshiomhole to be a different brand from the band wagon politicians postulated by the great son of Africa, Osaguefo Kwame Nkrumah in his famous book, Consciencism and I quote “Principle is indivisible. It is either wholly kept or wholly sacrificed”. The bunch of charlatans and sycophants the Comrade Governor calls friends and he actually want to please definitely don’t have the political value that transcends into votes when the chips are down time. The Comrade Governor may hate this home truth. His bunch of sycophants may not be ready to upturn his apple cart by telling him that the music is getting over. Then what is left? Let him not see himself as an Avatar. No man is God.
Facts are sacred. The Comrade Governor should resist this temptation and controvert the damming and derogatory allegations. He should also resist certain category of politicians that are like Lucifer in John Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’ who are prepared to reign in hell and suffer in paradise. He should focus himself on the course of advancing party internal democracy, rule of law, social justice and social infrastructural development and forever etched his name in gold letters.
In sum, let the Comrade Governor consider the possibility of another political party having the sympathy of the people and the entire political scheming backfires. Assuming this diabolical plot works, will the Governor still have the right attitude to hold high his head for the legendary One Man; One Vote or as a Governor or a leader who desires to make a progressive change where justice, equity and the rule of law prevails among all citizens irrespective of sex, religion and tribe.
In conclusion let me borrow a quote from Harold Robbins, “dreams die first and your plans gradually begin to collapse like a pack of cards. All your sermons obviously fell on deaf ears. Not even the oratory of the Linchon”.
