By Adeoba Michaels
In his opinion article titled, APC Convention: Less We Forget, Tunde Rahman, the media adviser to the self style national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC Asiwaju Bola Tinubu hailed the last National Convention of the party as a huge success.
He attributed the choreographed peace and what later emerged to be forceful suppression of ambitions of scores of aspirants to the political sophistry of Tinubu ostensibly to give a false impression that the former Lagos State Governor was succeeding on the duty to reconcile aggrieved persons and tendencies within the party.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Shehu Sani bid the party farewell. Party members and chieftains that were schemed out in Imo, Delta, Kwara, Kano and others are still protesting. Heads were smashed, limbs broken by irate party men whose will were subverted at the Eagles Square.
The emergence of the Reformed All Progressive Congress, rAPC, on Wednesday led by Alhaji Buba Galadima further exposes the hypocritical, Pyrrhic victory celebration of Rahman and his co-travelers. The implosion proved that his boss lacked capacity to rein in contending forces within the party.
Abinitio , not a few political observers had predicted that Tinubu will fail as a chief peace missioner considering his antecedence and the role he principally played in the ensued crisis. Tinubu could be described as chief agent provocateur. He can’t reconcile a rift he has an interest and party too. An unbiased arbiter is urgently needed to salvage the remnant of what is left in APC .
Strangely, Rahman painted a picture of a ‘Constitutionist Tinubu’ while referring to those who feared for crisis that will inevitable trail congresses and convention as ‘Impositionists’. The political exigencies of not holding such contentious congresses and convention in an election year can only be dismissed by hypocrites . That cannot pass for imposition. The imposition theory was the creation of Rahmon and his fellow alarmists and propagandists.
Even the APC constitution backs the National Executive Council NEC of the party to convene any committee in the interest of the party including a caretaker committee to administer the party affairs at times like these. But for their sinister motive, they blackmailed the proponents and bite the bullet.
The congresses and convention exposed APC as a party without cohesion and stability. There were parallel congresses in 24 states out of 36 states of the federation including Lagos, Tinubu’s domain.
The immediate past National Legal Adviser, Dr Muiz Banire, SAN had got over 17 court cases bordering on imposition of candidates, flagrant violations of electoral guidelines among others. Young promising Nigerians were mulled down in their prime.
Tinubu cannot be throwing his weight around as the best thing that ever happened to democracy in Africa and yet rejects the basic principles and tenets of democracy.
If Tunde Rahman is under a self-induced amnesia, certainly discerning Nigerians know Tinubu is everything but a constitutionist and democrat. Tinubu’s true colour was seen during the last Ward, Local government and State congresses held in Lagos were candidates were imposed, mayhem unleashed on protesting party members resulting in deaths of three persons in Ifelodun LCDA and one person in Agege Local Government Area and other unreported deaths.
Tinubu was alleged to have physically stormed the state Secretariat at ACME and disbanded the appeal committee from Abuja which was documenting reports of injustice and impunity at the congresses. He was said to have ordered them to leave his state in their interest.
Tunde Rahman should also be reminded that his boss like military dictator prepared the list of Tunde Balogun led State Working Committee executives in his bedroom about 48hours to the scheduled congress and got them coroneted in a bizarre show of shame.
Under the ‘constitutionist’ Tinubu’s watch, Joe Igbokwe, has been serving in government perpetually while also serving as the Lagos State APC Publicity Secretary which violates the Article 17(iv) of the APC constitution 2014 as amended. Igbokwe is the CEO Wharf Landing Fees Collecting Authority.
The section frowns at party members holding both party positions and serving in the government simultaneously. Infact, the party constitution says such fellows should resign 30 days to the election.
There was a petition written by a Lagos politician Alhaja Ajoke Arnusa addressed to Senator Ken Nnamani , the Chairman, APC National Convention Appeal Committee raising concerns over Kemi Nelson, the coroneted South West Woman leader, another political protégé of Tinubu who refused to resign her position as the Executive Director(Operations) at the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund.
Tinubu’s media aide should also be reminded that his boss imposed 18 ex-council chairmen who had served for one term without recourse to internal democracy in the last council election in Lagos. The so-called constitutionist democrat also masterminded broad day subversion of peoples’ will at the botched centralized local government election primaries held at Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere.
The garb of democrat does not fit Tinubu. He is rather an autocrat extraordinaire. All the attempts – sponsored editorials , Public relations stunts to make Tinubu to smell like a rose are not working. The veneer of Tinubu’s claim as a democrat has been unraveled and the public now know better.
Adeoba Michaels, a Political Analyst writes from Lagos.
