Some people will definitely be averse to the use of the phrase, “at all cost”. This is because it hurts and doesn’t soothe their interest. Yes, the phrase may somehow sound emphatic and assertive, but it is purposely employed to drive home my points on this subject matter.
Truth must be said, the immediate and dire need to restructure, reorganize and reposition the party ahead of the 2027 general elections cannot be overemphasized. When a football team fails to deliver by bringing home laurels at the end of a tournament, early preparations against the coming one is inevitable, and indeed, the best way to go.
If the status quo of the APC in Oyo State today is maintained beyond this point, then we haven’t learned any lesson. The fact is that we are sitting on the keg of gunpowder which can be hazardous, and even be politically suicidal if not promptly checked, but allowed to explode.
The saying goes that a bird can never fly with only one wing. If a bird with just a wing rebuffs the efforts of “Olugbo”, the god of the forest to add the other missing wing to its body in order to facilitate its mobility, then such a bird is doomed to remain perpetually on ground. And in no distant time, it could become the food for the predators. Such is the predicament of the APC and by extension the Progressives Family in Oyo State today.
Last week, there were reports, although some called it rumour regarding the imminent dissolution of Oyo State Exco of the party. It was on Tuesday 14 November, 2023 when the news filtered in that the National Working Committee of the party was set to replace the current Exco with an Interim Management Committee. There were reactions with some party faithful applauding the move while others actually felt otherwise . The next day, the spokesperson of the current Exco came up with a rejoinder debunking the story of any move by the NWC of the party to send them packing. Of course, rightly or wrongly, he was only doing his job.
The fundamental question to ask are as follows: Is it desirable to keep the party Exco at various levels that were products of such volatile and controversial congresses to continue to manage the affairs of a house that is already divided against itself? Did the outcome of the last general elections good enough to justify the retention of the Exco without jeopardizing the future of the party? Why did the party as strong as they claim it was/is overwhelmingly won the first election, which was the presidential, but woefully lost the second election, which was the gubernatorial?
While I leave the answers to the first two questions to emanate from public debates, I can categorically say that the answer to the last question is not farfetched. It has to do with the personalities involved. I mean those that carried the flags of the party on the two occasions. One contributed glaringly and ignobly to the fragmentation and disaffection that grounded the party, but the other one did not. As long as we shy away from this salient and sacred fact, and continue to live in self denial, we are not helping matters.
Truth they say is bitter, but it is better to say it at all time. Apportioning blames to individuals and groups as being the architect of the failure in the second election is like leaving the leprosy unattended to, but preoccupied with treating the ringworm ( a fi ete sile, a npa lapalapa). It is always good to look inward on issues.
When an error is committed delibrately or inadvertently, the right and sincere thing for corrigible ones to do is to reassess the situation, find remedies and effect corrections. I hereby admonish everyone of us to stop the buck passing. It is in the interest of all to embrace with open minds, any interventions coming from the leadership of the party up there at this crucial time.
The leadership of the party owes us a duty to act decisively in resolving our differences, and doing so at the nick of time should be a welcome development. A stitch in time, they say saves nine.
“Oni’lu ko ni fe ko tu, ajeji ni ko ni ko ohun ti yo da”, meaning that an indigene will never wish his hometown a downfall, but strangers will feel less concerned.
Reminiscing on all the issues that culminated into the brouhaha that threw spanners into the wheel of the party, none of the tendencies can claim to be absolutely right, and none can be said to be absolutely wrong. The name of the game is politics, and politics is about interest. We all play it to the best of our abilities. But of what value is the politics played, but eventually failed to translate into electoral success, or at least put the players in a vantage position? It only amounts to a waste of precious time, a dissipation of massive energy and an unnecessary squandering of scarce resources. Period.
Therefore, there can be no better time than now to take redemptive actions. All wounds must be healed completely and unity restored by 2024. The consolidation of the gains from the unity of our party must be accomplished by 2025. Finally, working consensually and conscientiously in 2026 to market our party and candidates for total victory at the polls in 2027 must be our priority now. This is the timeline to toe as a party if we are serious and desirous of electoral success in 2027. Anything aside this may amount to another wild goose chase.
Finally, no one should be allowed to hold the party to ransom again because no individual or group is greater than the party. Therefore, any figure that may stand as the stumbling block with the aim of sabotaging genuine reconciliation must be cleared off the road.
I repeat, no matter the quantum of sacrifice it entails, the time is ripe to move Oyo State APC forward at whatever cost.
