By Banji Ayoola
The Second Republic was terminated by the military in 1983 following a senseless horrendous violence, during which the old Ondo State was turned into a huge killing field, where many human beings were either slaughtered or roasted alive.
This incident was a spontaneous reaction statewide to the declaration of the governorship election result of that year in favour of the former Deputy Governor, Chief Akin Omoboriowo, who had just decamped to the opposition National Party of Nigeria, NPN, from the ruling Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, and against the incumbent Governor Michael Adekunle Ajasin.
Notably, the UPN, the ruling party at the state level, was popular among the people of the old Ondo State as well as those of all other sister states in the South west and Bendel state in the Second Republic. It was the party of their hero, the revered Chief Obafemi Awolowo; a party which could be described as a metamorphosis of the Action Group, AG, of the defunct First Republic.
The generality of the people of the region had identified strongly with the party, led by Awolowo, due to the performance of the administration of the old Western Regional Government which he led, and particularly the Universal Free Education policy of his party and government.
This policy brought free formal education to the doorsteps of many homes in the old Western Region. It offered opportunity to many children mainly of poor small scale farmer parents to taste formal education even up to the highest University level. The people of the region and Bendel state now broken into Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo and Delta states do not forget this.
With other life impacting programmes and prudent financial management particularly of the cocoa proceeds from farmers in the region, and the boosting of cocoa fortunes by the AG administration, the people of the region generally have been traditional supporters of an Awolowo party.
The same policy, the UPN rechristened Free Universal Primary Education, UPE. The party and its governments in the five states it controlled whet up the appetite for, rekindled the flame of formal education which was lit in the region in 1955 by the AG. The UPN carried aloft this flame and further set aflame the region with the repackaged and rebranded free education policy. It made primary education as the basic, free and compulsory for all children of school age in all the five LOOBO (Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Bendel and Ondo) states. It also ran a free secondary education. Education was also free at the grade two teachers training colleges, technical colleges, nursing and midwifery schools.
The implementation of this policy alone opened the doors to brighter opportunities for children from these states. Government supplied free text and exercise books to primary, and secondary schools pupils, and students of teachers training and technical colleges, nursery and midwifery schools throughout these states. It provided free furniture and other equipment for the use of pupils and students. Pupils and students of secondary schools, teachers training and technical colleges, nursing and midwifery schools which were running the boarding system were served free food thrice daily.
In addition, the UPN four cardinal programmes of free education and rural integration among others, touched the lives of the people. These made a great impact in transforming the living standard of the people apart from accelerating the socio economic development of the West above other regions, the East and North.
Generally, people of the region identified strongly with the party led by Awolowo because of his comparatively more honest, beneficial, serious and hardworking leadership. This historical party loyalty and affinity they generally transferred to the UPN. Thus the old Ondo State was a UPN state. And the performance of the Governor, Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin was felt statewide as projects and amenities were evenly spread. It established Ondo State University, Ado Ekiti; Oluwa Glass, Okitipupa; Ifon Ceramics; Premier Metal Industry, Ondo; Nigeria Romania Wood Industry, NIROWI, Ondo; Okitipupa Oil Mill; Confidence Insurance, Akure; Ondo State Housing Corporation estates in Akure and Ado Ekiti to name a few.
It was from this scenario, this government led by the ruling party, the UPN, that the Deputy Governor, Chief Akin Omoboriowo defected. It was against this popular government that he stood to fight to actualise his legitimate ambition, from which he wanted to snatch governorship by decamping to the opposition National Party of Nigeria, NPN.
Notably, the NPN controlled the Federal Government, which deployed the federal might, including the police and the federal radio station it established in Akure to support Omoboriowo in his power tussle with his boss, Ajasin. It saw the rift as a good opportunity to snatch Ondo from UPN.
It should be noted that NPN too could be described as a rebirth of the old Northern People’s Congress, NPC, in the First Republic. The AG and NPC were opponents in that republic.
Now what is the situation in 2020? Can the tussle between Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, and his estranged Deputy, Hon Agboola Ajayi lead to a replay of the 1983 crisis? No.
True, Ajayi, like Omoboriowo has decamped to the opposition party. But this opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, is not in control of the federal power. The ruling party at the state level, the All Progressives Congress, APC, is the same party holding the federal power.
Moreover, the ideological difference between the UPN and NPN was sharper as the former, going by its programmes and ideological orientation, could be categorised as progressive and the latter conservative. This ideological difference is lacking between the APC and PDP today. In fact, Nigeria’s two foremost political parties today could be described as two sides of the same coin without any serious or clear cut ideological commitment, other than the struggle merely to grab or acquire state power to execute perceived interests which may not be popular.
Now, the configuration of forces is entirely different from that of the Second Republic. The Federal Government and APC national leadership, unlike the NPN controlled Federal Government of the Second Republic, is not as desperate as the NPN to go into battle as shown in the deployment of the federal might by that Federal Government on the side of one of the combatants. Doing this would be a miscalculation for the APC as this would certainly endanger the 2023 presidential ambition of its national leader, Senator Bola Tinubu. It would severely damage the party in the state and have a spill-over effect on other sister states in the South west.
Again, there is opposition within the party against Akeredolu’s reelection. Now at least eight other aspirants within APC have collected their nomination forms, to slug it out with the incumbent governor at the party’s primary scheduled to pick the candidate to fly the party’s flag in the governorship election. The story is almost the same in PDP where Agboola is facing a similar opposition to his governorship ambition. So, there are so many camps with various interests, which could not be easily inflamed. This was not so in the Second Republic when the UPN leaders and members in the state lined up behind either Ajasin or Omoboriowo.
Governor Ajasin was a fairly old man compared to his Deputy, Omoboriowo, Age was indeed a factor in that dispute. But now, both Akeredolu and Ajayi are young, almost within same age bracket.
Ajayi, a former PDP chieftain, comes from the Southern senatorial district of the state from where there are complaints against alleged marginalisation by the Akeredolu administration. The district has been in blackout for many years with its crippling effects on socioeconomic activities. Government is accused of not fighting enough to restore light in the area. Besides, there are allegations that no projects were executed in the area by this government. Also there are accusations against the Governor that his administration sidelines party members while it lavishes his family members and close associates with juicy appointments and contracts.
However, to Akeredolu’s credit, his administration is revamping the state University of Science and Technology at Okitipupa, which he has renamed Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, OSUSTECH. The late Governor Agagu is from that area. His brother, Femi, is a commissioner in the Akeredolu administration. Also, Princess Oladunni Odu, a strong member of the Agagu administration, holds a key appointment now. Apart from building access road to the institution, and taking steps to complete the over 20 abandoned buildings, Akeredolu’s government is striving to enlarge the curriculum of study at the institution. The university which was founded by Governor Agagu had been abandoned since he left office over ten years ago.
Notably, Okitipupa is the traditional capital of Ondo South Senatorial District. Besides, the government of Akeredolu built the Ore overhead bridge linking the other parts of the state with the southern part.
Akeredolu’s supporters dismissed the allegation of nepotism against him as tissues of lies, as they gave his administration a pass mark, insisting that he would floor all his opponents to clinch his party’s ticket again.
Do we, as servants of the people need to resort to violence, killing of other human beings to actualise whatever personal desires? Why should a sane human being even contemplate this and for what? Just to attain selfish desires; to seize control and use of mere earthly political or state power, which does not last, to attain certain goal of sitting over the commonwealth, and not really to serve. For service entails genuine love for the other man, the other woman, our neighbour; the burning desire to give, to help where help is needed; to improve the living conditions of all the people who look unto their leaders full of hope and ennoble our environment.
Therefore, to decide to live one’s life as a politician is a grave responsibility. So also, and even more, is holding a political office, which is a rare opportunity granted one to bring joy and happiness to a large number of human beings by purely serving, giving and helping unselfishly in accordance with the Volition of the Grantor of this and all other powers. To serve carefully while harmonising one’s deeds with all His Laws, knowing that one shall, at the end, definitely pay for any violation of these only Living Laws; however clever one may be in evading the punishment of the earthly human laws.
It should now be clear that grave responsibility lies on the heads of politicians whether in the APC, PDP or whatever other parties, the electoral body, security agencies and all other bodies that would take part in or supervise the forthcoming Governorship election in Ondo State to ensure that they shun any form of malpractice in discharging their duties. Peace will flourish in Ondo State before, during and after the election scheduled to hold on October 10, 2020.
