Bola Tinubu
IF it were to be a traditional stool, the leadership of registered political parties in Lagos state would have consulted the Ifa oracle to determine the likely successor of Governor Babatunde Fashola, (SAN) who will be completing his second term in office as the third civilian governor of Lagos in 2015. But in a democratic setting, votes of the electorate usually determine the victory and emergence of politicians, who heads governments at both state and federal levels.
Conscious of the sacred votes of the majority as a means to attaining power, members of the registered political parties have started strategising ahead of the 2015 general poll, paving the way for success of their potentials candidates in the battle for the soul of Lagos State. It is imperative to affirm that from the permutations and political indices, the titanic contest to occupy the Alausa Government House is to be a straight fight between the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria, (ACN) and the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP). With the task of delivering the South-West handed over to the leadership of the zone by President Goodluck Jonathan, Lagos State is a must win battle for PDP. A chieftain of the party, Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse, once said in an interview that Lagosians are tired of what he described as maladministration of the ruling party in the state and are yearning for a progressive change which only the PDP can provide. But the chairman of the ACN in Lagos state, Chief Henry Oladele Ajomale described the PDP as bunch of failures, arguing that since assuming the leadership of the country in 1999, everything has been going in a wrong direction.
The leadership of the state, comes 2015, according to political observers, will not be decided on the pages of newspapers, but the choice and acceptability of the candidates fielded by participating political parties and as well the performance of the political party. However, both the PDP and ACN in the state are presently embroiled in intra party crises, which if not addressed, may hamper their performance during the crucial poll.
While the top echelon of the PDP is contending with the emergence of various factions within its fold, the ACN is striving to reconcile its members who have gone astray shortly after the conduct of the council election in the 57 local government areas, including the Local Council Development Authority.
Aggrieved members blamed the leadership of the party for jettisoning the electoral process which encourage the conduct of party primaries in accordance with the reformed Electoral law and embrace the selection process. But the state chairman of the ACN, in defence of this process, said the adoption of such arrangement was not strange, arguing that it all depends on what works for individual party.
According to Ajomale, "In some cases, it creates enmity when people refuse to listen to the wisdom of elders. For example, sometimes ago before the local government election, the one held about two or three years ago, during the campaign, when we have not even chosen who is going to represent the party, the aspirants were fighting each other with all sorts of arms, they turned it to a do or die battle. To Ajomale, the political ideology of the ACN promotes the influence of godfatherism which, according to political watchers, is unethical to the growth of democratic rule.
However, as the party gears up for the conduct of the governorship election in 2015, names of some political gladiators in the party had been pencilled down as likely successors of Governor Fashola, (SAN). Investigation conducted by the Nigerian Tribune indicated that among those who may likely succeed Governor Fashola include the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Honourable Adeyemi Ikuforiji, Mr Muiz Banire, Senator Gbenga Ashafa and Senator Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon.
Many factors will be considered in determining who fly the ACN flag in 2015, which include, balancing of equation as regards the senatorial districts, political influence and the issue of god fatherism. Political pundits are of the opinion that the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, noting his antecedent and the fact that his senatorial district has not produced the governor of the state, may have an edge in determining who fly the flag of the party come 2015.
However, some analysts are of the opinion that the ongoing alleged misappropriation of public fund case against him at the Lagos High Court is capable of truncating his yet-to-be declared ambition to rule Lagos, which is adjudged to be the commercial hub of the nation.
Apparently worried over the danger such development poses to his political career, Ikuforiji in one of his recent interactions with the media, said the allegation was politically motivated. Also in defence of the Speaker, his deputy, Honourable Taiwo Kolawole, warned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which has dragged the Lagos Speaker to court, to be wary of mischievous elements and shadowy groups that may be pursuing sinister agenda to tarnish Ikuforiji's reputations for partisans end. In as much as the Lagos Assembly will not condone any form of fraudulent act, the lawmaker said members of the Assembly are ready to make themselves available for any form of investigation by any of the anti-graft agencies, but warned the commission against being used as instrument of victimisation.
Another strong contender for Governor Fashola's plum job is Senator Gbenga Ashafa. A leader of the party who craved anonymity said while experience is in favour of Hon Ganiyu Solomon, power shift system favours Ashafa, recalling that while Tinubu represented Lagos West as governor during his eight-year administration, Fashola represents Lagos central. The political permutation, therefore, according to the ACN chieftain is that 'the Ibeju-Lekki axis, where Ashafa hails from, has been crying of marginalisation,' meaning that, he can be used to pacify the people of the zone in 2015.'
Another source close to the party caucus, however, spoke about Solomon's popularity as a former local government chairman, one-term member of the House of Representatives as well as a three-term senator, representing the largest political space in the state, cautioning that "to defeat such a man at primaries would be very tough."
A strong member of the party posited that withdrawing Ashafa for Senator Olorunnimbe is enough to let the doubting thomases realized that he is not a feather weight as far as the issue of ACN is concerned in Lagos state.
Another contender is Honourable Gbajabiamila. Even though people are looking towards his direction, political observers are of the opinion that he may end up picking the flag of the party as they likened his situation to that of Governor Fashola, who people then described as political underdog.
The political equation in the quest for picking alikely successor for Fashola, is not restricted to the ACN. The PDP is not left out as its leadership have continued the search for credible candidates who can match ACN in terms of performance and delivery of dividends of democracy.
Those being touted in the PDP as strong contenders for the 'exalted throne' include Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, Dr Ade Dosumu (who contested the governorship election in the state in 2011) and Honourable Owolabi Salis. Political pundits are of the opinion that any of the three PDP chieftains mentioned can give the ACN a run for its money in 2015, noting their pedigree in the politics of Lagos State.
To discerning political analysts, the main opposition political party in Lagos State namely, the PDP stands in a good stead to produce the next occupant of the state Government House. To those who believe in this school of thought, the ACN has remained in the saddle for quite some time, having being at the helms of affairs since the advent of the current democratic experiment in 1999. While this is a possibility, one thing that is certain is that this can only be made possible if only the PDP can put its house in order and forge a common front ahed of 2015.
SOURCE: The Tribune
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