Osun 2014: The Battle for Aregbesola’s Job Yinka Kolawole, in Osogbo, looks at the emerging tendencies ahead of next year’s governorship election in Osun State The political system in Osun State is in preparation but not yet ready for the governorship election scheduled for next year. But within the political class, many are getting ready to throw their hats into the ring when campaigning officially commences for the poll in which incumbent Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Action Congress of Nigeria will be slugging it out with an array of candidates from the opposition parties in the state. Signs of the preparedness for the epic battle among the politicians abound in the political parties and on the streets. The parties are getting ready for the primaries to pick their candidates. This election to all intents and purposes occupies a prominent place in the history of Osun State. Aregbesola in Pole Position For now, the incumbent Action Congress of Nigeria appears to hold all the aces. There are hushed struggles within ACN regarding who will fly the party’s flag in the governorship contest. Some members of the party seem to prefer what they call a “home grown” politician to the incumbent governor, who had played most of his politics in Lagos State before becoming governor in Osun State. But the general belief is that the power brokers in ACN would like to hand a second term ticket to Aregbesola to enable him consolidate their grip on power in the State of the Living Spring. Giving the party’s ticket to the incumbent to contest for a second term, an established practice in most modern democracies, is gradually becoming the in- thing in ACN, going by the position recently canvassed in Ekiti by the party’s National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in support of Governor Kayode Fayemi. PDP: A Four-horse Race The primary election in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party in the state is expected to be a horse race among four contenders. The four political heavyweights who have shown interest in the PDP governorship ticket are Senator Christopher Iyiola Omisore from Osun East senatorial district, Senator Abdulrasheed Olasunkanmi Akinlabi from Osun West senatorial district, Alhaji Fatai Akinade Akinbade from Osun West senatorial district and Honourable Oluwole Busayo Oke from Osun East senatorial district. The four aspirants have been showing off their academic and political credentials, amid subtle political maneuvering to outsmart each other. Akinlabi Akinlabi, 57, has by every standard been a success story in politics thus far. He is from Ode-Omu, a village in Ayedaade Local Government Area of Osun State, and he attended the Howard University, where he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He also has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Columbia University. A banker, Akinlabi is a successful businessman known for his philanthropy. He comes to the race with experience in both the legislative and executive arms of government. He was a Senator between 2003 and 2007 and was later appointed minister. He has extensive network and political contacts in and around Nigeria and the fact that he served in the Federal Executive Council for four years in the President Goodluck Jonathan government is a major strength. Akinlabi is perceived to have a robust war chest to prosecute his campaign. He is also seen by many as a good party man who yielded his second term ticket to the Senate to another candidate. Again, he is in the good books of the party officials from the state level down to the ward. Recently, the state party chairman, Alhadji Gani Olaoluwa, was quoted as saying that Akinlabi was the best financier of the party as at the end of June 2013. Akinlabi is credited with landmark projects in the state to show for his tenures both as senator and minister. He has a strong followership in his hometown and party chieftains, including the former PDP chairman in the state, Alhaji Ademola Razak Oyelowo, who still wields considerable influence in political circles in the state and also comes from Ode-Omu. Many believe Oyelowo’s support for the ambition of Akinlabi is vital. Akinlabi is also believed to possess the financial wherewithal to pursue his political ambition. However, the Ode-Omu-born politician is believed to have joined the governorship race late and it may take him some time to build a statewide political structure that he needs to successfully pursue his governorship ambition. Yet, there seems to be a phenomenal rise and acceptability of his candidacy as a third force. This is giving some party members hope that if chosen as the PDP candidate, he would give Aregbesola a run for his money. Akinlabi is a Muslim, like Aregbesola, and comes from Osun West senatorial district, a senatorial zone that is yearning and mobilising for a real turn on the governorship seat. In the 22-year history of the state, Osun West has only been in power for 21 months. Akinlabi was elected into the Senate on the platform of the PDP, where he held responsibilities like vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Education and Ad- Hoc Senate Committee on Corruption. While his quiet mien is often considered in some quarters as inappropriate for the task ahead, Akinlabi is quick to display his political credentials, which include four years in the Senate and four years as minister. Whether as minister or senator, he has never been linked to any scandal. Analysts think that many non-aligned PDP members may support him at the end of the day. Omisore Omisore, a 56-year-old Chartered Engineer, is a native of Ile-Ife. After surviving a major blight to his blossoming political career, when he left the Chief Bisi Akande government as deputy governor, Omisore is a two-term senator, during which time he represented Osun East senatorial district from 2003 to 2011. He is no stranger to the intrigues associated with party politics and was practically holding in his palm the PDP governorship ticket in 2010, despite having to contend with about 11 other aspirants, until the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division, voiding former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola’s 2007 election, stopped the PDP in its tracks. Omisore has a solid political structure around him that has survived many onslaughts both from within his party and from the opposition parties. Those who know him say he has a great ability to think far ahead and properly situate challenges and proffer lasting solutions to them. This quality seems to put Omisore ahead of those contesting the PDP ticket with him. In 2011, when he lost the senatorial election to the candidate of ACN, former Majority Leader of Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. Jide Omoworare, Omisore had to reconcile with Professor Wale Oladipo, who is believed to firmly hold the grassroots in his area. As an indigene of Ile-Ife, one of the biggest towns in Osun State with a high voting strength, Omisore has a good chance. And his ambition may be helped by the perceived neglect of Ife town by the state government. This perception is shoring up the support base of the former lawmaker, which had dwindled, in his hometown. Omisore is believed to be close to the Presidency and getting the support of President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Working Committee of PDP may not be difficult for him. But just as it happened in 2010, when he vied for the PDP governorship ticket, certain interests within PDP and, more importantly, some pockets of disenchantments that followed his perceived endorsement by the Razak Oyelowo-led state working committee of PDP, are again gradually rising against him. In any case, if Omisore clinches the PDP governorship ticket, his party will have a lot of work to do to defeat the ACN ruling party. Besides, the crisis in the PDP may hinder Omisore’s aspiration if care is not taken. Akinbade Akinbade, a native of Ogbaagba, near Iwo, graduated from Ibadan Polytechnic, where he studied Mechanical Engineering. Seen as a grassroots politician and a home-grown man, he has been in the state since its creation and is believed to know the political terrain well enough to summon the needed support for his governorship ambition. Akinbade was a commissioner under three different military regimes in the state and was state chairman of PDP in 2003, when the party defeated the Alliance for Democracy government of Akande. He later emerged the Secretary to the Osun State Government during the Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola-led PDP administration. Akinbade’s governorship aspiration may be aided by supporters of former chief of staff to Oyinlola, Elder Peter Babalola, who had refused to move with him when he defected to ACN shortly after the change in government in November 2010. They are now believed to be in the camp of Akinbade. Akinbade, a devout Muslim himself, is loved within the Muslim community in the state and he has support of traders, artisans, civil servants, and other low income groups in the state, especially within Osogbo, the state capital. It was reported recently that Oyinlola might support the aspiration of the Ogbaagba- born politician. The former governor was reported to have visited Akinbade at his country home during the last Eid-el-Kabir celebration with a large number of his supporters and was also with him when Akinbade recently opened his Golden Tulip Hotel in Ibadan. Akinbade seems to possess the clout and pedigree to successfully challenge the incumbent governor in the governorship election, if the party picks him. But the removal of his alleged strongest supporter, Oyinlola, as national secretary of PDP, may have a negative consequence on Akinbade’s chances. Many of his supporters, however, do not nurse this fear. They believe he could still win a fair primary. Oke Oke is perceived to be the youngest and most outspoken of the four key contenders for the PDP governorship ticket. He is from Esa-Oke, a town in Obokun Local Government Area and has a degree in Economics. The former member of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance also holds two Master’s degrees in Financial Accounting and Tax Law. Currently, he is pursuing an LLB and a Ph. D at the University of Birmingham. Oke, 46, has done two terms at the House of Representatives. He has been a member of the organised private sector for over two decades. But his attempt in 2011 to go to the upper chamber failed. Some people in Obokun and Oriade local government areas of the state are of the opinion that Oke lost the 2011 election not because he was unpopular, but owing to the general acceptability ACN was enjoying at the time. Oke has been assuring his party that if he gets the PDP governorship ticket, he would defeat the incumbent governor in the real election. He has also promised to render quality governance to the state if elected governor. He is from Ijesa, like the incumbent governor. Many believe Oke epitomises a modern-day governor, who can effectively tackle and solve the problems confronting the state. Closeness to the people, especially at the grassroots, while in the National Assembly and after, and his grassroots empowerment programme are some of his strong points. During his tenure in the lower chamber, the state made good use of its opportunities in terms of recruitments into both the military and paramilitary agencies in the country. Apart from his good record while in office, Oke’s ability to connect with the vast youth population and many others through the social media may be a plus for him. Through such processes, he has engaged a large section of the Osun populace in discussions on governance in the state. This appears to endear him to both the elite and the masses. Oke told THISDAY in a recent interview that he has the financial wherewithal to fight a successful governorship battle. Considering his age, he is seen as doing extraordinarily well on the political stage. But the real threat to Oke’s ambition may be from his own local government area, where a retired Deputy Comptroller General of Customs, Chief Francis Fadahunsi, from Ilase Ijesa, is eyeing the Ife/Ijesa senatorial seat. Fadahunsi is an associate of Omisore. This may markedly divide his support base at the home front. Enthusiasm One significant feature of the governorship contest in Osun State is the enthusiasm of the aspirants. How this enthusiasm would translate to real votes, particularly, at the primaries, remains to be seen. Source: Thisday Live
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 04:38:12 +0000
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