The leadership crisis that rocked the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at the national level is a clear mirror of the attitude of political leadership in the country. Many may see the crisis as a clash of titans with parallel opinions, however, a critical analysis of the genesis of the crisis revealed selfishness, vendetta, and high handedness.
The state politics of Edo state was the climax of the crisis, the story of the love gone sour between Adams Oshiomhole, the godfather and Governor Godwin Obaseki, his estranged godson, fueled the leadership crisis. Due to alleged disloyalty and grandstanding of Obaseki, Oshiomhole vowed to take his pound of flesh by denying the governor the party’s platform to seek reelection.
Obaseki on his side, desperate to get the APC ticket machinated the suspension of Oshiomhole from the party. The move dragged for months as various parties were in and out of court over the suspension. It took the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari, who had maintained distance from the party politics to calm the storm rocking the APC.
The APC crisis is not unexpected from a ruling party. IMPACT NEWS recalled vividly of various controversies that rocked the then PDP when it held sway to power in the country. The crisis in the PDP was one of the factors that paved way for the entrance of the APC to government.
However what we wonder in this entire crisis is the place of the common man in the politick. The APC crisis was about selfish interest, ego bout, vendetta and power intoxication. It is unfortunate that the welfare of Nigerians is not featured in their crisis.
Today, the insurgency in the North-East, persists with no end in sight, kidnapping and banditry are almost way of life in the North, yet all that gives the leadership sleepless nights is their selfish interest.
We also recalled that the PDP government was chased out of power due to wide spread corruption, failed leadership and general insecurity. Has this lot changed with the APC’s government after five years in power? Unfortunately it has not.
The current government has given Nigerians little reason to believe it is better that the previous administrations.
We are not unaware that as politicians strategizing ahead of the next contest matters a lot, but to Nigerians, what matters are constant and uninterrupted electricity, security of lives and properties, availability of basic infrastructures are topmost on the wish list. While politicians strategise ahead of the next contest, their strategies should therefore be in the context of what interest Nigerians.
The unfortunate face-off between Oshiomhole and Obaseki was obviously not about the welfare of the Edo people. It was about political supplanting and ego bruising.
Now that the intervention of President Buhari has settled the dust, we urged the Edo people to cast their lots for the candidate that has their interest at heart. At the national level, the effort of the Buhari’s administration is nothing but a drop in the ocean considering barrage of challenges facing the country.
