LAST Saturday’s Osun State governorship election won by the sitting Governor Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, a candidate of the All Progressives Congress {APC} certainly brought to the fore a lot of intrigues, deft political maneuvering and some political lessons.
The two main gladiators and dramatis personae in the political chess game, Aregbesola and the Peoples Democratic Party’s {PDP} candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore were determined to outsmart each other to win the election.
However, Omisore lost the race to the APC leaders’s Spartan determination and will not to allow Osun to slip away from his hold.
Following the lost of Ekiti State to the opposition PDP in the recently concluded election in the state, the party went into a kind of political retreat. The outcome of the secret roundtable planning was what produced the new strategies adopted in the Osun election which it used to checkmate the ambition of the opposition to upstage it.
Part of the strategies adopted which were reviewed as the situation demanded was intensed poaching of some key and notable elements within the opposition party.
Aregbesola as a political strategist and good organizer knows who matters and who can really deliver electoral dividends in the state when it comes to election. The governor and all his men in the state with the good support enjoyed from the national leaders of did not leave anything to chances.
The effort to strengthen the APC political base in Osun to achieve good result in the poll had begun long before the emergence of Omisore as the the PDP candidate. Aregbesola had understudied the PDP and discovered that the internal strife and the resulting wounds inflicted following the national crisis in the party in many states including Osun had not properly healed.
The governor and his men through careful planning and calculated permutation infiltrated the PDP rank. The political calculation began to produce a desired result shortly before the April 5 PDP primaries held at GMT Hotel,Osogbo which produced the defeated PDP candidate.
Signs that the PDP might not be able to fight the August election together with some of its known leaders who are in control of the political machinery in their areas and capable of helping it to attract votes in any election in their area were visible when Senator Isiaka Adeleke was almost denied the opportunity to participate in the primary.
The first executive governor of the state, Adeleke, had then approached the State Working Committee {SWC} led by Alhaji Ganiyu Olaoluwa to collect the intention form for the primary.
This development did not go down well with some members of the state executive of the PDP including Olaoluwa who listed some conditions before Adeleke could jump the hurdle. The reason for the state executive position on Adeleke might not be unconnected with alleged long “abandoning” of the party by Adeleke while other leaders including Omisore were left to support the state executive in running the affairs of the party.
Beside Adeleke’s coming to join others including Senator Olasunkanmi Akinlabi and Mr Wole Oke, who had already obtained their intention forms to contest the primary was seen as threat to a calculation that Omisore might face a serious challenge from the political lineage of Adeleke.
Undeterred by the obstacles on his way, Adeleke went on and secured the intention form thus leaving the party’s primary race to Omisore, Akinlabi, Oke and Adeleke..
Aregbesola had long seen this unhealthy development in the PDP and was waiting for the right time to strike after he and other APC leaders in collaboration with some notable Osun leaders of thought had reportedly met Adeleke and persuaded him to join the APC.
The former governor was said to have been promised the Osun West senatorial district ticket while Aregbesola was said to have allegedly used his power as governor to facilitate certain entitlements to Adeleke when he served as the first civilian governor of the state as part of the deal. Adeleke however denied being promised a ticket and collecting money for his decision.
Few days to the PDP primary, Adeleke’s supporters went to attend a PDP meeting at Ideal Nest Hotel,Osogbo. Before their arrival at the venue, Omisore’s supporters had got the wind and allegedly attempted to prevent them from participating in the meeting. Policemen at the venue allegedly saw Adeleke’s supporters at the venue as intruders who were not invited to attend. Their principal got the information and raced down to the hotel to witness what was happening.
Adeleke alleged that some associates of Omisore including the current Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan, Mr. Sogo Agboola and others threatened his life for allegedly bringing political thugs to the place. He also alleged that Omisore was privy to his alleged attack and did not call his men to order.
This development raised political dust in the PDP camp and Adeleke petitioned the national leadership of the PDP and the presidency demanding proper investigation into the matter. However, the expected quick intervention from the two quarters to erase Adeleke’s fears never came or came too late.
Aregbesola and the APC were sitting at a corner watching the drama going on in the PDP camp and made deliberate effort to use the incident as good excuse to portray Omisore and his men as having violent disposition and should not be associated with. The ruling APC made a big issue out of the alleged harassment Adeleke suffered in the hands of Omisore’s men. The state government went to the extent of raising a panel to investigate the matter and related issues.
Few days to the April 5 PDP primary, Adeleke threw a surprise. He announced his outright withdrawal from the election and instructed his supporters not to attend the primary. Though not publicly announced, the camp of Omisore saw Adeleke’s decision as making the primary battle less difficult to fight.
Omisore eventually got the party ticket after the election but this and Adeleke’s resolve further created a wide crack within the PDP family. Aregbesola,who had been courting Adeleke to join his party all along now saw another good opportunity and intensified political offensive to win Adeleke’s heart to the APC.
The Guardian learnt that the high-tech political maneuvering launched by the APC national leadership coupled with the deft move by Aregbesola and his men in Osun sealed the deal with Adeleke. This culminated in the public declaration for the APC by Adeleke at a crowded rally held at the famous Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo.
Adeleke’s defection was seen as a serious blow to the PDP camp. What further weakened the political control of the PDP and depleting their rank and support was the fact that other notable leaders of the PDP in Osun West Senatorial District including Elder Peter Babalola popularly called Peter Action had earlier dumped the party for the ruling APC. Babalola wields great influence in Osun politics and the entire old Ayedade zone and this reflected in the huge votes enjoyed by the party on the election day.
The PDP’s fortune in the election also suffered as another political bigwig from Osun West, and Labour Party candidate in the election, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade had also defected from PDP to pursue his political ambition in his new party. Akinbade, who was the state PDP chairman who midwifed the party to success in 2003 once said he left PDP for good and would never return to it.
The efforts of these people and others in the area could have contributed to a better performance and raised the fortunes of the PDP in the election if the party had not suffered self- infraction and poaching by the rampaging APC.
Not that alone, the defection of the immediate past governor of the state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola who left the party and declared for Aregbesola’s party few days to the election was another contributory factor why the PDP lost the election.
Oyinlola’s coming to the PDP was evident when at a mega rally of APC in Ilesa, Aregbesola’s hometown, his supporters including a former chairman of Osogbo council, Teslim Igbalaye, a former state secretary of PDP, Yinka Adeojo, a former deputy chairman of the party and a political godson of Adeleke, Dr B.T. Salami and others left PDP in droves.
Another factor that helped the APC to scuttle the ambition of the opposition during the election could be attributed to the performance record of Aregbesola, his popularity and the overwhelming love and support the APC enjoy in virtually all the 30 local councils in the state.
Many Osun citizens including the less privileged saw the zeal and determination by the current administration under Aregbesola’s administration to develop the state and thereby meeting their yearnings.
The school uniform project, OYES programme, feeding of school pupils in primary 1-4 and other popular programmes by the state government were part of what endeared the populace and fetched Aregbesola more votes than the PDP and others in the just concluded election.
Despite the over militarisation of the state few days to the election, which affected the psyche of the people of the state remained undeterred, focused and determined to ensure they exercise their civic responsibilities.
Not even a large presence of security men including soldiers and operatives of the Department of State Security {DSS} could dampen the morale of the people from casting their votes.
The people became more resolute to return the APC to power and vote against the PDP because of the allegation that the federal government was bent on taking over Osun State as it allegedly did in Ekiti.
Perhaps the resolve by the APC leadership to ensure that Osun remains in the fold of the party and the resultant intensive campaigns and rigorous mobilization and sensitization of the citizens contributed in no small way to a large number of qualified citizens who registered for the election. This factor also played a role in the huge turnout of voters during the election.
Defeating an opponent in the class of Omisore in an election of the type held in Osun last Saturday which took place under a free and peaceful atmosphere is no mean feat.
All said and done, the election was also equally well fought by the PDP and its candidate. The over 292,747 votes recorded by the party against the 394,684 votes garnered by the APC to win the election is an indication that the ruling APC still has much work to do to defeat the opposition in future elections. The Guardian
