Ogun-East: Dapo Abiodun’s redefinition of politics This may as well be a new beginning in Ogun State where politics of bitterness and winner-takes-all is commonplace. Prince Dapo Abiodun is setting a precedent in the aftermath of the party primaries to elect candidates for the 2015 general elections which, if emulated by our politicians, will set the state and indeed our country on the path of political peace permanently. Abiodun is preaching reconciliation with political foes in a manner that, left to him, the 2015 elections in Ogun will be a clear departure from ‘our acrimonious politics.’ Now, what do I mean by our acrimonious politics? Our acrimonious politics is ugly. It does not give room for decorum. It does not think about how the opposition feels after losing election. It promotes do-or-die politics because it is all about oneself- that is, selfishness. In essence, it encourages violence because that is about the only tool - even if it is infamous - that guarantees success in the political contest. But Abiodun is saying enough of that ugly politics. We must move forward. And the best way to move forward is to adopt his brand of politics of reconciliation after an election; to heal the wounds. Here, let me unveil this Iperu, Ikenne Local Government-born prince. He is apparently not new in Ogun State where he is a household name because of his robust political antecedents. He started out as a senatorial hopeful under the Abacha transition programme when he sought to represent his people on the platform of the defunct United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) before the death of the then Head of State ended that programme. He indeed won that election and was given a certificate of return by the electoral body then. Unfortunately, before those who won elections were sworn in, Abacha’s death truncated the process, but his passion to serve his people did not end there. Abiodun joined the PDP under the current political dispensation and wanted to positively affect the lives of Ogun people through the office of governor. That was some eleven and a half years ago. But that was not to be. He returned to his business which he has used to empower his people and several hundreds of Nigerians. Abiodun is highly successful in the oil industry where he operates in the upstream segment. As the chief executive of Heyden Petroleum Limited, he is shy about shouting about the high networth of the firm, but sources say it is a multi-billion dollar company. The success of Heyden brought out the philanthropy in him, not only to his immediate Ijebu -Remo people of Ogun State but also to people across the country. Those close to him talk about his passionate support for the current administration in the state after switching from the PDP to APC out of his conviction in the philosophy of the latter and competence of Governor Ibikunle Amosun who fortuitously has not disappointed the people in terms of delivery of democracy dividends. Dapo Abiodun’s support for the giant strides of the Amosun administration and his philanthropy combined to force his Ijebu-Remo people of Ogun East to prevail on him to represent them in the Senate via the 2015 polls. He has won the primary of the APC to vie in the election, but the innovation he has brought into the process is a recipe for political peace. He is reconciling with those who vied for the APC ticket in the senatorial district in a manner that shows that the winner should not take all in an electoral contest. Besides offering to refund some of the expenses his co-contestants and other aspirants incurred in the course of the primary election in a bid to cushion the effect of campaign expenditures on their finances and complement similar efforts by Governor Amosun, the Ogun East APC senatorial candidate is involving them in his campaign. There cannot be a better way to remove whatever bad blood the primary election might have engendered, ensure peace in the party in the period leading to the elections and even after the polls- and ultimately guarantee delivery of democracy dividends through quality representation at the Senate. By this redefinition of politics, Dapo Abiodun is laying an example that may sooner or later extinct politics of bitterness and winner-takes-all as our democratic experiment grows to maturity. Ogun East, Ogun State and the country at large need this rare politician in the Senate to deepen this brand of politics.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 08:18:47 +0000
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