How Lucky Aiyedatiwa Is Fast Becoming Unlucky?

By Ojo Oyewamide

Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is a lucky man. The fortune embedded in his name worked for him in the shark-infested waters of Nigerian politics. He was a lecturer. As the story goes, he reluctantly became deputy governor of Bayelsa State. The slot was reportedly zoned to his area. He was persuaded to take advantage of it. After some hesitation, he agreed.

His boss, the late Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, ran into trouble. He was accused of money laundering and arrested in London, United Kingdom. Disguised as a woman, he slipped through the grip of British law and returned to Nigeria. The then President Olusegun Obasanjo detested or appeared to detest corruption. He pressured members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly into impeaching Alamieyeseigha.

The path was thus cleared for Jonathan to become governor. At first, he was again reluctant to assume the office. He retreated to his hometown of Otuoke. But Obasanjo summoned him to step forward and take the reins. Once more, his luck prevailed.

Jonathan had already secured the PDP nomination to run for the governorship seat. He did not know what fate still had in store for him. Before the gubernatorial poll, Obasanjo chose him as the vice-presidential candidate of the PDP. He ran alongside the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and won. Again, fortune smiled on him.

Yar’Adua fell ill. Throughout his principal’s illness, Jonathan showed no visible sign of coveting the office. When the President eventually passed on, the mantle of leadership naturally and constitutionally fell upon Jonathan.

In 2011, Jonathan contested the presidency and won. That, perhaps, was as far as luck could carry him. But he did not realise it. By 2015, the presidency was expected to return to the northern part of the country. Jonathan, however, chose to overstretch his luck.

This writer told some people that Jonathan might not succeed because he had failed to recognise the limits of fortune. He lost the election, truncating the ambition of the PDP to rule for decades. Since then, the party has wandered in the political wilderness.

Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa is also a lucky man in Nigerian politics. But it took some time before fortune found him. He contested the Ilaje/Ese-Odo federal constituency seat in the House of Representatives in 2015 on the platform of the APC. He lost despite it was a season when the name of the late President Muhammadu Buhari was considered an election-winning talisman.

Aiyedatiwa was later nominated to the NDDC board but held the position for barely nine months. In 2019, he was the choice of the late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu for the southern senatorial seat. He however failed to clinch the APC ticket due to the overwhelming influence of Abuja.

His fortune was activated when a disagreement displaced former Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi from the favourable part of Akeredolu’s heart. The late governor nominated Aiyedatiwa as his running mate in the 2020 governorship election. They won. As providence would have it, Akeredolu passed on. And the mantle of leadership fell on Aiyedatiwa.

Aiyedatiwa participated in the 2024 gubernatorial election and emerged victorious. Before the poll, there was an understanding in the state that he might not be eligible to contest again if he won. The understanding was based on interpretations of amendments to the 1999 Constitution.

His opponents in his southern senatorial zone leveraged this argument to rally support for other contestants like Chief Olusola Oke and Agboola, claiming his election would short-change the southern senatorial district. Politicians in Akure backed him, believing that after his four-year tenure, it would be their turn.

Hardly had Aiyedatiwa secured victory than he began scheming for re-election. Since then, it has been one misstep after another. He sought total control of the APC structure in the state. But his leadership style has been markedly exclusive.

He sidelined many who had helped him fulfil his destiny of governing the state. He appears uncomfortable with those who remained loyal to Akeredolu until the former governor’s passing. Instead, he surrounds himself with individuals who lack the courage to offer candid and constructive counsel.

His greatest failing is an excessive fear of tomorrow. He suspects every move. Support groups were formed to promote the achievements of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and work towards his re-election. Among them are Grassroots Movement for Tinubu (GMT), Asiwaju Mandate Group (AMG) and others. Aiyedatiwa regards these groups with deep suspicion, largely because of their association with the Minister of Interior, Hon. Bunmi Tunji-Ojo. Truth is that the minister’s present concern is the re-election of his principal.

The Holy Bible cautions against anxiety over the future. Matthew 6:34 admonishes: “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.” Someone should tell the governor to allow his actions to be guided by this biblical advice.

Under his watch, party congresses descended into chaos. Those among his aides reputed for their capacity for violence were reportedly allowed to compile ward and local government executive lists. Other aides were disappointed. But there is nothing they could do.

APC state secretariat was invaded by street urchins. Party members were killed, injured and assaulted. The party chairman, a man widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s few consistent politicians, was dragged along the ground by political thugs like a common criminal.

A court order halting the state congress was flagrantly disobeyed despite directives from the party’s national leadership that it should be respected. This came from a governor who once sought refuge in the judiciary when he faced impeachment as deputy governor. He recently approached the Appeal Court to halt a High Court pronouncement on his eligibility to seek re-election.

A man who has benefited immensely from the judicial system now appears to disparage it. Such is the extent to which unbridled ambition and a failure to recognise the limits of luck can drive a person.

It was the late Yoruba sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who observed that a leader is only as good as those around him. Governor Aiyedatiwa is as good as the sycophants who encircle him.

Consider the speech of that fellow who was selected as the state chairman of APC at the illegal state congress. He declared the Finance Commissioner as his adopted mother. Who doesn’t know it is the woman that is exercising the power of the state? You must worship on the goddess’ altar before getting or keeping anything in the government. It is as low as that.

The whole world knows this writer is not a member of Aiyedatiwa’s fan club. He seeks nothing from the governor or his administration. So, the governor and his supporters know where this writer belongs.

But is it not tragic that some who publicly profess loyalty to Aiyedatiwa harbour private resentment? One such figure, a well-known chameleon from the governor’s own area, rarely speaks well of him. After his illegal selection as one of the state executive members, he had the enfrontary to accuse this writer on phone of undermining the governor. It was clear he was trying to impress those around him and give a hypocritical impression of loyalty to the governor.

This writer, who does not suffer fools gladly, responded in kind. After all, he has never claimed friendship or loyalty to Aiyedatiwa. But what of the hypocrite who professes love and allegiance while uttering damaging words behind the governor? May God deliver Governor Aiyedatiwa from his friend-enemies. May God give him the wisdom to know the limit of his luck.

Ojo Oyewamide writes from Abibirih Lane, Isolo, Akure