The bell for local government politics has been rung in Ogun state signalling all stakeholders to engage themselves in responsible or irresponsible power play. In a political battle where incumbent governors have always been ‘winning’, the stakes have become very high particularly for ruling parties.
Governor Dapo Abiodun is trying to do what incumbents like him do: ‘capture’ all the local government areas in the state for his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and thus legally gain control of the grassroots and position himself for the second term governorship battle in 2023.
Remember he won his first term by a narrow margin following internal disagreements within the APC with former Governor Ibikunle Amosun throwing political spanners in the works then. It was a last minute pact with a faction of the PDP that saved the day.
That is basically why the governor is now fully involved in this month’s local government election. On the surface, he looks like a democrat trying to put round pegs in round holes through democratic means by asking candidates to show their strength through party primaries.
He looks meek enough not to operate like a famished lion chasing its prey but power destroys and absolute power destroys absolutely.
Yet after the primaries, he intervened especially where his political calculations failed, and engaged in ‘consensus’ negotiations to plant his men (and women) in power. Even as we write negotiations are still ongoing in some ‘difficult’ local government areas.
The power of incumbency is like a Mosaic rod, quite efficient in its efficacy, and party leaders are playing along because the game is equally very juicy, if you know what I mean. And some traditional rulers too are not left behind trying to have a taste of the political pudding.
My fear is that at the end of the day, the governor will succeed in planting his men at the local government level, a tier of government that has been suffocated by state governors in the country.
If Governor Abiodun uses his executive powers like his friend, former Governor Gbenga Daniel did, very soon all the local government chairmen will be prostrating at Oke Mosan, the seat of power, to get their federal allocations. They will be so constrained that they will rue the day they lobbied for power.
But will Governor Abiodun do this? He looks meek enough not to operate like a famished lion chasing its prey but power destroys and absolute power destroys absolutely.
We will continue to watch him and see where he leads Ogun State, the gateway state that is crying for progress and justice particularly at the grassroots level.
