The end appears in sight for Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel’s, dictatorial tendencies, which manifested shortly after the 2007 general elections leading to a deliberate sidelining of structures of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) among other institutions, that ensured electoral victory for the ruling party in the state. The directive dissolving the Ogun State chapter of the PDP is a welcome development, which discerning observers believe is a clear testimony that Daniel no longer enjoys the undue backing of the party’s national leadership.
But a bravado built on political naivety is being displayed by a few hirelings of the Ogun State governor. And such can only happen in a polity, where unabashed sycophancy is a ticket to pecuniary gains and sundry material support from a man, who is being sustained in office through the goodwill of a PDP-controlled Federal Government. It is interesting to note that these sycophants are against this genuine attempt by the PDP national leadership to resolve the festering crises in the Ogun State chapter and restore internal democracy in a party where Daniel has enthroned dictatorship using government funds and machinery to completely sideline opponents of his style of leadership.
Former Ogun State PDP Chairman, Elder Joju Fadairo, was made to address a humiliating press conference last week, where he catalogued reasons why the decision of the party’s national leadership should not hold and also sought to cast aspersions on the legitimacy of the National Working Committee itself as he threatened a legal battle. I remain firm in my convictions that Fadairo was railroaded into addressing that press conference. The Fadairo I know would not have willingly made himself a party to that charade called press conference. I’ll, therefore, plead that the national leadership try to understand the ‘Christian Chairman’s’ problems as it was under his watch that oath-taking became an integral part of PDP operations in Ogun State. I have no doubt that Fadairo is a hostage to Daniel and the cabal around him. Instances abound when the old man has complained severally of “being treated like an errand boy by the governor in party affairs.” Chief Olalekan Ojo was the only State Chairman who could look Daniel in the face without the fear being displayed by Fadairo. It is possible Ojo’s background as a retired police officer gave him the required courage.
But my concern is not even about Fadairo as I am very sure the old man knows what is really happening but may not be able to complain publicly due to a fear of being killed by ‘armed robbers.’ My concern is about persons who believe they have some knowledge about what is going on, but are unfortunately naïve to the point of stupidity. Till date, the Police and the State Security Service (SSS) are being used to intimidate persons who do not support Daniel across the 20 local government chapters of the party in Ogun State. These law enforcement agents regularly invite known members of the internal opposition against Daniel for “chats” in their offices, where these party members are often asked to stop attending Ward and Local Government meetings of the PDP. Examples of these abound in local governments where the ‘strong boys’ have broken off from Daniel’s authority. In other places, it is the ‘strong boys’ who do what the law enforcement agents do, which is a major reasons for some of the clashes in some parts of the state recently. It is natural that the opponents resist where there is clear evidence of intimidation.
In Ijebu East Local Government, for instance, the Police and SSS in Ogbere, the LG headquarters, have ‘invited’ several PDP members to their offices with a view to intimidate them out of organising at the grassroots level. This support for dictatorship by the law enforcement agencies is often justified by frivolous petitions authored by known Daniel acolytes, who till tomorrow remain political paperweights in the local government. My hometown, Ijebu Ife, is a typical example. The Ward Chairman of Ijebu Ife I, Hon. Adewale Adebowale (Jaro), has been ‘questioned’ by both the SSS and Police in Ogbere more than 30 times in the last six months. They want him to stop going to the party secretariat, which some of us paid the rent for and also equipped the place. Since these intimidations at the local government level did not work, Jaro along with some others have been invited to ‘report’ at the Eleweran, Abeokuta headquarters of the Ogun State Police Command next week.
How these incidents relate to the matter at hand? Without the use of the Police and SSS by Daniel to intimidate opponents within the party, especially at the grassroots, the governor would have by now known the quality of his political structure. Daniel’s political structure in ALL the 20 local governments of Ogun State cannot be effective without tacit support from Abuja through the use of law enforcement agents. A generous dose of pecuniary fertiliser and appointments into political offices were the initial additional tools to brute force (official and unofficial) by this dictator. The recent appointments of two ministers from the state without his input have greatly helped to show some light that Abuja might be distancing itself from him. Patronage to party members is thus not limited to Daniel’s supporters alone. With this dissolution, it is an icing on the cake for us. And this is where his hirelings, who do not understand how things work, should seek counsel.
God seems to be answering our prayers with the dissolution of the party executives. Now, we naturally expect that the law enforcement agencies, through their handlers in Abuja, should no longer take illegal instructions from Daniel. But most importantly, since Daniel is now preparing for a full-scale war against Abuja, which has been shielding him from sanctions due to sundry malfeasance, we feel it is time Abuja ask the law enforcement agencies to revisit a number of issues that they have refused to act upon till date “because Daniel is a loyal PDP governor.”
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