Osun APC and unfinished business of reconciliation

By Emmanuel Oladesu

The membership registration and validation in Osun State All Progresives Congress (APC) has compounded the challenge of reconciliation in the polarised chapter.

New members are trooping into the party, implying that the chapter is enlarging its coast through the renewed membership drive.

Curiously, the defection of new members, led by Senator Iyiola Omisore, has also generated resentment and bitterness. Interior Minister Chief Rauf Aregbesola, in a video that went viral, declared that killers were not welcomed into the party. He evoked the memory of the illustrious leader, Chief Bola Ige, whose killers are still at large. The former governor acknowledged that nobody had been convicted. But, Ijesaland, in his view, is still aggrieved on account of elusive justice.

The governor, Gboyega Oyetola, has been appealing to defectors from the progressive camp to return. Omisore, who has heeded the call, has refused to react to the video. But, some of his associates had packaged a feeble response to the onslaught. Although he is a fighter and a rugged politician, the serial defector will never disclose his strategy.

However, it is evident that Omisore is gazing at the future. He plans to assist the party to retain power by working assiduously from his Ile-Ife axis. It is in his own interest too. Thereafter, he will not contemplate retirement. The former deputy governor still harbours governorship ambition. He will not be a dormant APC member. As a stepping stone, he may want to return to the Senate to represent Ife-Ijesa District on the platform of APC. Aregbesola is from the district. Currently, the seat is occupied by Fadahunsi of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).

To discerning observers, Osun APC is groaning, although it appears that it is growing in leaps and bounds. The opposition seems not to pose much threat for now. The ruling party is waging war against itself. Unresolved rifts are upsetting the platform. When will unity return to the fold?

The peace brokered at Ila-Orangun was short-lived. It was a parley attested to by party elders. Combatants cracked jokes, beamed smiles and ‘shook hands,” a sort of elbow bumps, as permitted by Covid-19 safety guidelines.

But, they still went their separate ways. They made commitments to end their inexplicable rift. Yet, there was no real renewal of contact.

Reconciliation is a matter of the heart. Sometimes, it is difficult. Most times, it is possible. It imposes some challenges. Vinsceral commitment is required. To borrow the late Ven. Emmanuel Alayande’s admonition to the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo when he was going to the historic Jo’s convention of the Action Group(AG), political actors locked in rivalry  need to be “less inflexible and more condescending.” Also, in his view, gladiators need to make extreme “self-sacrifice” and exhibit “self-abnegation.”

In relation to the divided Osun APC, leaders of the two seemingly antagonistic camps need to put aside their minor differences and elevate the collective interest of the party over personal interests. The promotion of group interest is critical to the survival of the platform in next year’s election.

What has snowballed into crisis was a clash of strategies during the hectic governorship election of 2018. The primary was a bone of contention. There was no consensus about the choice of the flag bearer. The post-primary logjam was never resolved. Tension enveloped the party. Notable members defected.

The defection damaged the chance of the ruling party to breast the tape at first ballot. Defectors who contested on the platforms of smaller parties fired their sharp arrows at their former party. The vote of APC was split. The agony on poll day attested to the weakness of crisis resolution mechanism in the chapter. It is an instructive lesson which a progressive party like APC should strive to learn.

The poll was inconclusive. There was no clear winner. It was not a tribute to a political family that had held sway in the State of Living Springs for eight years. Again, the lesson is that the impressive performance of a popular government may not guarantee victory during election, unless the party puts its house in order.

Anxiety had engulfed the Osun APC ahead of the supplementary election. The chapter needed new allies to win. The absence of a willing ally meant that the platform would not survive, but sink. It would have been calamitous. Hopes would have been dashed. Ego would have been bruised. The dream of a government of continuity would have been aborted. The platform would have become a liability. Many APC members would have been politically liquidated by a hostile successor.

The  beautiful bride was Omisore and his followers in the Social Democratic Party (SDP). It was a confirmation of the dictum: there is no permanent friend or foe in politics; only permanent interest. Therefore, it seems that morality and politics exist in clear-cut antithetical relationship. Key leaders of the ruling party may not like the face and politics of Omisore. Yet, it was undeniable that he had become a factor that could not be totally ignored.

There was a sharp disagreement over the utility of strategic collaboration between the bigger APC and the smaller SDP in that moment of anxiety and emgency.  As big as APC was, its size could not produce winning votes.

Having realised the inadequacy, the solution became comprehensible. When the group photograph of a parley between Omisore and Kayode Fayemi/Olu Agunsoye appeared in newspapers, people knew that the sudden amity will produce desired results.

Omisore was more closely associated with the PDP. The perception was that he only took refuge in the SDP. Therefore, his alliance with the APC did a severe damage to the chance of his former party, which fielded the dancing senator, Ademola Adeleke, as candidate.

Progressives often distance themselves from conservatives and reactionary elements. Yet, unforeseen circumstances have always led to sudden understanding and closing of ranks. In 1999, Ige and his group, bubbling with puritanical zeal, ran away from the All Peoples Party(APP) because of the Abacha politiciansin the party. Later, their Alliance for Democracy (AD) presidential candidate, Chief Olu Falae, contested on the joint AD/APP platform. Therefore, the rapport between Osun APC and SDP followed the usual pattern. What should follow, naturally, was the distribution of political reward.

It appeared that Osun APC never wanted to renege of its meagre promise to Omisore. When Ayo Fayose supported Fayemi against Segun Oni in the past, thinking that the senatorial ticket will land on his palm, some circumstances crippled what looked like a pact. Fayose’s supporters later cried foul that he was used and dumped.

During the Osun rerun, it was insinuated that APC will turn it’s back against the former deputy governor.

However, Oyetola honoured a gentlemanly agreement through his policy of inclusion by giving slots to the Omisore camp in his government. This too became a source of discord in the party.

As the gulf between the governor and minister widened, people started insinuating that proximity and emerging cordial relations between Oyetola and Omisore translated into a spiteful behaviour towards his predecessor.

There are some hurdles to cross. How will the ruling party hold ward, local government and state congresses in an atmosphere of acrimony? How would the chapter handle the politics of governorship nomination ahead of the poll, bearing in mind the party’s convention relating to the right of first refusal?

The fallout of the party registration meant that there was an unfinished business of reconciliation in the chapter. Party elders should gird their loins and move swiftly to prevent the escalation of conflicts. Osun APC wants continuity of a progressive administration in the state. There should be no continuity of intra-party malice.

The glaring gulf between the Ilerioluwa and Oranmiyan is the main issue. There is the need to close the gap.