SIMON EBEGBULEM, BENIN CITY
It is barely five days to the National Convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the chances of the immediate past governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole emerging as the next National chairman of the party, is very obvious following the barrage of endorsement he has received so far. Before now, the former governor who is the caucus leader of the party in Edo state, had received the endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari following what he believes as Oshiomhole’s proven capacity to lead the party at this point in time. Apart from President Buhari’s support, the South South APC and the Edo state chapter of the party, have thrown their weight behind Oshiomhole’s aspiration. Also, the caucus of the APC in the senate and the House of Representatives endorsed the former governor when he visited the red and the green chambers to solicit for their support. Sunday Vanguard learnt that top echelon of the APC resolved to back Oshiomhole following his track records as a former NLC President and governor of Edo state for eight years where he brought development and defeated the PDP godfathers. However, to further pursue his ambition, Comrade Oshiomhole, last Sunday June 10, 2018, commissioned his secretariat at Aso Drive, Asokoro Abuja. The secretariat was commissioned by the Governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai, who fired the first salvo, by describing Oshiomhiole as a “brother, friend, leader and the next national chairman of the APC by the grace of God”. The commissioning was graced by National Assembly members, members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC, Edo state chairman of the APC, Anslem Ojezua and party leaders across the nation.
Oshiomhole who spoke at the occasion, said he was not scared of the presence of former Governor of Edo state, Prof.Osarhiemen Osunbor and Chief Ebri who are in the race, asserting that the “the more the merrier”. According to him, “the presence of these people in the race makes it interesting because in a boxing you don’t ask a heavy weight to go into a boxing with a feather weight. So as they are heavy weights it will be an interesting convention. But for those of us who believe in democracy we are not worried about contestations. But I am aware that many people at various levels, including governors, senators and party leaders are in my support. I am working with everybody. My decision to contest for chairmanship if blessed by God, using our party leaders and members, to entrust me with that responsibility is to be the chairman of everyone, not to be chairman of some and chairman of others. We want to have an all-inclusive approach to leadership”. It would be recalled that Oshiomhole had defeated Prof.Osunbor through the Appeal Court on November 11 2008, after the court sacked Osunbor declaring Oshiomhole as the duly elected governor of Edo state. But Osunbor later joined the APC and Oshiomhole ensured that he settled in the party properly.
However, Oshiomhole ambition received a boost last Monday when one of the aspirants for the National chairmanship position of the party, Chief Ibrahim Emokpaire, who also is from Edo State decided to jettison his ambition and backed the aspiration of Oshiomhole. Chief Emokpaire who disclosed this while addressing journalists in Abuja, said after consultation with his family and party leaders across the nation, he had decided to drop his ambition with a view to support Comrade Oshiomhole whom he described as an amiable leader capable of taking the party to the next level. According to him “I have decided to support Oshiomhole’s aspiration alongside my followers to further enlist the confidence of our party members in his ability and capacity to lead our great party. This is personal and not out of timidity or threat, but rather to enhance party discipline and loyalty at all times.
“Please permit me to seize this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all my supporters both at home and in the Diaspora who through thick and thin stood by me in support of my aspiration until this last minute of my withdrawal. I thank members of the Progressives Solidarity Forum, my friends and all my followers too numerous to mention” he stated.
Oshiomhole’s chances were further boosted Tuesday when governors of the party stormed his campaign office, declaring their support for his aspiration. The governors include Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Rotimi Akeredolu SAN (Ondo), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun) Tanko Al-Makura (Nassarawa), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Yahaya Bello (Kogi) Simon Lalong (Plateau) and of course the Chairman of the Progressives Governor’s Forum, Owelle Rochas Okorocha (Imo). Apart from the governors, the national leader of the party, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu and Chief Bisi Akande, also paid a solidarity visit to Comrade Oshiomhole.
Governor Bagudu who spoke to journalists said “Our party is looking forward to the chairmanship of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. He is experienced in the various aspects of national life. We are all confident that our party is structured to maintain democracy. His experience in the recent past as executive governor of Edo state, his experience as President of the NLC and as a democratic activist all his life, these qualities will be brought to bear in achieving the ideals of the APC. So we believe he will be a leader who will be the embodiment of the spirit of the party. The experience will help him make our party central to governance. I can tell you that Adams Oshiomhole is my candidate for the National chairman of the APC and the candidate of all the APC governors. We believe that we have identified somebody who can do the job and it will be a good start and good spirit to demonstrate our support for him because he is the best person that can do the job”.
On his part, Governor Bello of Kogi said “the presence of all of us at the campaign office of Oshiomhole speaks volume. It shows that support he is receiving from us and I can tell you he is our man for the job. Oshiomhole’s records speaks volume and when you have this kind of man at the helm of affairs of our party. I can tell to that the opposition will take off come 2019”. Speaking also, Governor Amosun of Ogun state said he (Oshiomhole) is one of us. That is why we had to come and identify with him here and you know what that mean. You know he is running for the office of the chairman of the party, so we have to come and identify with him. I know for me and for us in Ogun state, we are supporting him”. On his part, Tinubu said, “my visit symbolizes solidarity and unity of purpose to continue to bring a progressive party that will carry Nigeria in a progressive manner (to bring about), good governance with courage and commitment”. Asked if he his visit was an endorsement of Oshiomhole’s aspiration, he said, “there is no doubt. I have worked with him, why should I have any doubt? The stuff of this game (politics) is that you win. Have you seen a democrat who is ready to lose? Just accept it, it is about choice”. Adding to what Tinubu was explaining, Chief Akande said “democracy is a matter of choice; you would want somebody who is competent enough to do the job and you allow him to do it. Oshiomhole is competent to do the job and that is why all of us are supporting him”.
Oshiomhole who expressed joy with the huge support he is enjoying ahead the convention, announced Hon.Farouk Aliyu, a close political ally of President Buhari, as the Director General of his Campaign. Asked about the crisis that engulfed the APC after its congresses, Oshiomhole noted that “for now the national leadership of the party under Chief John Odigie Oyegun is doing its best to resolve issues. Because like I keep saying to people you cannot have two chairmen at the same time. As we speak the party has a leadership and it is their challenge to try and sort out the problems that have arisen whether before during or after the congresses. I know they are doing something and I hope it will yield result. But as we say, a political party or government is also a continuum and conflict will always be endemic in the affairs of the people particularly if it is founded on democratic principles. Now what matters is that we will continue to interact with people and fix issues as they arise”.
Reacting to the presence of other candidates in the race such as former governor of Edo state, Prof. Osunbor, Oshiomhole asserted, “that makes it interesting because in a boxing you don’t ask a heavy weight to go into a boxing with a feather weight. So as they are heavy weight it will be an interesting convention. But for those of us who believe in democracy we are not worried about contestations.
Many people at various levels, including governors, senators and party leaders I am very hopeful they are in my support. I am working with everybody. My decision to contest for chairmanship if blessed by God, using our party leaders and members, entrust me with that responsibility is to be the chairman of everyone, not to be chairman of some and chairman of others. We want to have an all-inclusive approach to leadership”.
Meantime, Comrade Oshiomhole last Monday night, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for helping the posthumous award given to late MKO Abiola and Chief Gani Fawehinmi, calling on him to arrest former President Olusegun Obasanjo if found guilty in allegations leveled against him. Oshiomhole who spoke during the event organized by friends of Gani Fawehinmi in honour of families of Chief Gani and Abiola, recalled what he described as the sins of Chief Obasanjo asserting, “ he should be arrested if found guilty of any offence. He arrested many of us while he was President. If we are celebrating Chief Gani Fwehinmi today we have compelling reasons to do so. In all of these, we did not pay any money to Gani or Falana” Oshiomhole who narrated how Obasanjo allegedly plotted to proscribe the NLC and send him to jail while he was President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said the late Fawehinmi and Femi Falana saved him from being a convict under Obasanjo’s administration. The event which took place at Sheraton Hotels Abuja was attended by Femi Falana (SAN), the first son of late Gani, Mohammed Fawehinmi, Chief Frank Kokori, late MKO Abiola’s daughter Hafsat Abiola Costello, Kayode Komolafe, National Assembly members and many others.
According to Oshiomhole, “ we have every reason to celebrate Gani and thank God he used our President, Buhari to bring smiles on the faces of Nigerians. When I see people like Obasanjo lamenting, I laugh because we can see how things can change. While I was in the NLC, there was a particular strike we wanted to call and 24 hours before the planned strike, we got a court injunction restraining us from going to court. We decided to call Gani Fawehinmi to seek his opinion. We called him and said strike is due to resume from tomorrow but there is an injunction now stopping us from proceeding. To my shock Gani said some of these judges gives orders that are always funny but that what we will do is that he will do everything to ensure that the order is vacated, but that we should obey the order.
“ I was very angry, because my problem is how do is explain to Nigerians that the strike will be put on hold without being accused of selling out. On that basis I reluctantly issued a statement suspending the strike but we needed to beg Gani to issue the statement to say that he advised us to suspend the strike, if he do so the public will not blame us. Because we will lose public trust they will never trust us anymore. Gani of Blessed memory issued the statement and said he advised us to do so. However, we had a caucus meeting and said, based on our previous interactions, we have disobeyed court orders before and Gani defended us. So we said from now on we will not seek legal opinion and if we are charged for contempt we will bring Gani to defend us.
“We had couple of general strikes then because we have a President that does not want to do the right thing. The next time we had cause to go on strike and this time we faced Babalakin, he was legal Adviser to Obasanjo and he went to Abuja High Court to seek injunction to restrain NLC from going on strike and he decided to fly to Lagos to look for a popular Judge that will issue an injunction restraining us. And justice Ali who works for the Lagos High Court, who was attending a conference at the university of Lagos law Department. From our own intelligence, he decided to go to his Chambers to oblige then President Obasanjo the injunction he wanted to stop us from going on strike. He restrained the NLC, Adams Oshiomhole from embarking on that strike. I said well, we will not call Gani, we will not call Femi Falana or any lawyer, if a Judge issues an order that I should stop a moving train the Judge ought to know that it is not possible. For us we choose to be our own lawyers in this matter and said the order was issued by a corrupt Judge and we will not obey. We are saying all these because we have lawyers like Gani and Falana who will always come to our rescue.
“ So we embarked on the strike and it was total. So Babalakin filed contempt against us at the Lagos High Court and I was accused on contempt as a person and not as NLC President. They said they want to isolate me as an individual so that I will now be isolated and dealt with. That is why when I see them writing letters these days, advising people not to run for election, I said time has changed. But they oppressed us and he was determined to jail us because we questioned public policy choices of the government. I appeared as a person and Femi Falana was sent by Gani to go and defend us. I went into the court room all by myself. While we were in court, some of our colleagues were telling Counsels to the Federal government that you will die from the background. Babalakin stood up and said My Lord we cannot be intimidated. You have to order Oshiomhole to tell his people to stop threatening us. And the Judge said Oshiomhole tell them to keep quiet. But I said my Lord, I am here alone, on my own, I was charged alone and I came alone so I have no hand in what happens around me. And our people continued to threaten them and they said Adams ask them to leave, I said My Lord I don’t know them, I am here by myself and for myself and I have no control over the people outside. The Judge now said we shall rise and that was the end of the matter.
“Again Obasanjo introduced what is called fuel tax and the next thing he ordered overnight, that all toll gates should be abolished even though these toll gates were established through an act of parliament and no Nigerian President has the right to destroy what was established by parliament without passing through the same parliament. So we told him that that tax is illegal because as President you cannot declare such tax without the National Assembly. We went to court and Judge said Oshiomhole’s seat as NLC President is unknown to law. But we insisted on the strike because it is better the court deal with me than calling off the strike and be described as a coward or a sell out such that next time when I call for an action nobody will listen. The media took the headline the next day that Oshiomhole’s seat is unknown to law. But I said this matter will be resolved within 24 hours since my office according to them is unknown to law. So the day of the strike, it was total even the Judge obeyed my orders because he could not go to work. And at the end of the day, the matter was argued by Gani and the matter was resolved in our favour after several threats. And thanks to Gani.
“Gani is not here now but Femi is here, I am standing, all those Judges used against me by Obasanjo have retired. Even the former President himself has retired and he is now complaining that he is being harassed but he harassed me and if I am Mr President I will arrest him. I remember one day I told him, I said President Obasanjo we made you President but you did not make me a Nigerian. He accused me of behaving like an alternative President and running NLC like a parallel government, that I wanted to over throw his government. And I was completely powerless he harassed me with tear gas and everything. So when I hear him talking about arrest, he arrested many of us and if he is arrested today there is nothing wrong in that. So if we are celebrating Gani today we have every reason to do so. In all these we did we paid no kobo to Gani and Femi Falana. If I am not a convict today it was Gani. I am a beneficiary of Gani’s kind heartedness”.
Speaking on Abiola, Oshiomhole narrated: “ Abiola got votes across all primordial sentiments. That is why Nigerians celebrates June 12. Today we are bucked down by ethnic champions, there are no more national leaders. You are either a Pastor or an Imam, you are either a Yoruba or you are Hausa and Igbo. Where are the Nigerians, I am a Nigerian. Abiola came from the Western part of Nigeria and his opponent comes from the Northern part of Nigeria. Abiola won in the state of origin of his opponent. So when did ethnicity become the issue and not who you are. Nigerians voted to dismiss those sentiments on June 12. Also of note is that his opponent from Kano also won votes from the South. So people did not look at where you come from but they voted for their understanding of the two candidates. Apart from that, the Abiola ticket was a Muslim Muslim ticket. Christians voted for Abiola as much as Muslims. So when has religion become an issue in Nigeria? Because political elites have chosen to shift our poverty of ideas, we have elongated religion and electricity as the first line to protect ourselves and the poor masses have been manipulated to take on the party. But until we get to where when you win election it is not based on where you come from or your religion, the struggle will continue.
“Again, I recall when the late President of the NLC then, Paschal Bafyau who was my boss led us to Abiola’s house. There is one activists that accompanied us, at the end of the conversation, then one of our young activists Muhammed accompanied us. Paschal just said this young man is going to London to pursue his education. Then Abiola said wao, Paschal who is sponsoring him. And Paschal said no body, that we are looking for resources to help him. Infact Abiola just wrote a note and told Muhammed that when he gets to London he should call somebody and collect ten thousand pounds from him. Infact Abiola made that guy a young millionaire.
“When Abiola was in prison, we made several efforts to see him but the military were blocking it. But finally one day we went there and Pascal who led us told Abiola that Sir, we want you to accept the bail with all the conditions attached to it because these guys are ready to keep you in prison for a long time, so you will be able to come out. Infact the late Abacha said Abiola should go and do a national broadcast for pronouncing himself a President. But Abiola said, I will remain here in prison I will not vd. Today Abiola’s children can go anywhere and say I am Abiola and they will be respected” he stated.