Never say it is over with anyone until it is actually over. That is if it can actually ever be over for anyone, as even death is not necessarily the end, in terms of relevance and life thereafter.
Whereas people are always quick to mock and write off politicians when perceived to have fallen into misfortune in their career or trade, I think that it is in politics that one gets to see how easy it is for political fortunes to rise, fall and rise again.
Dino was in his elements, boisterously singing, chanting: “Governor dey pass Governor, Aya ya. Udom pass Akpabio, Aya ya.”
That is why I have always disagreed with the quotation attributed to Powell that, “All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.”
Those familiar with my interventions will probably remember how, at different times, I had taken up on this quote, which was generously used back then, to mock what was thought to be a long-term aspiration of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu that would never fly.
Apart from making the point back then that the quotation was generally contextually misapplied, I had raised some posers:
“What is a happy juncture? What is failure? What makes a political life a success? Attainment of the apogee in the hierarchy of political offices? Who determines what the happy juncture or failure is? The person in the ring or the spectator? How many political lives did not, at some point, suffer a ‘setback’ only to make a rebound onto greater successes? What if the career had terminated at some earlier ‘happier juncture’, would that count as success for the one who stopped daring, in deference to this counsel, and failure for the one who reached beyond, only to fail to attain a higher office?
A few years back, some commentators here were in the habit of using this quote as prop to beat Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, having concluded that his career was already over, writing his chances of ever being President off, even before he had made public his aspiration. Guess who is President today!
I just saw a 2018 video of Senator Dino Melaye on a visit to the then Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, with the then Senate President Bukola Saraki and some other Senators.
Dino was in his elements, boisterously singing, chanting: “Governor dey pass Governor, Aya ya. Udom pass Akpabio, Aya ya.” Everyone laughed heartily, with Dino pumping fists with the Governor and others present.
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As if that was not enough, Dino would about a year later take to the floor of the Senate to again mock Akpabio, in the end that the end had come for the man’s career, having just lost his re-election bid. Addressing Akpabio, Dino said, “…as a retired Senator who will not be with us in the 9th Assembly.
…Akpabio, I will miss you in the Senate, but we will definitely meet on the streets of Abuja.”
Less than 2 months after that, Akpabio was back. Not on the streets of Abuja, but the floor of the Senate. This time, as a nominee for the post of Minister. He did not forget the jibe by Dino. He said, “It’s a rare privilege to stand here before you my colleagues. I remember when one of my younger brothers here told me that we’ll now be meeting on the streets Abuja. But His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari has made it possible for me to come here and stand before you.”
In a twist of fate, Senator Dino Melaye would end up on the streets of Abuja rather than the floor of the Senate before the end of the year. How could he have ever thought that the victory that he thought he already had, which made him mock the man who had lost, would eventually be snatched from his hands? He would eventually lose at the Tribunal and Appeal Court, which then ordered a supplementary election, which Melaye lost.
A few years after, Godswill Akpabio is back in the Senate, not just as a Senator, he is currently the Senate President. Senator Dino Melaye lost the bid to again return to the Senate at the point of primary election, failing to clinch the PDP ticket
A few years after, Godswill Akpabio is back in the Senate, not just as a Senator, he is currently the Senate President. Senator Dino Melaye lost the bid to again return to the Senate at the point of primary election, failing to clinch the PDP ticket. Luckily, he was able to win the party ticket and would be standing as the Candidate of the PDP in the Kogi Governorship election in November. Who knows what the future holds for Senator Melaye who is now gunning to become a Governor?
“Governor dey pass Governor, Aya ya. Udom pass Akpabio, Aya ya.” Who knows tomorrow?
