“In every community, there is a class of people profoundly dangerous to the rest. I don’t mean the criminals. For them we have punitive sanctions. I mean the leaders. Invariably, the most dangerous people seek power.” – Saul Bellow, 1915-2005.
The chaos being experienced in Lagos State government goes beyond the ordinary political disturbance nations occasionally experience. It is tending towards the sort of anarchy which threatens democratic governments. At the risk of being called parochial, it needs to be stated that Lagos is unlike any other state in the federation. It is the second most important unit in Nigeria – after the Federal Government. The state accounts for nearly half of the nation’s commercial activities; it is home to the headquarters of most banks and other financial institutions and the largest single refinery globally. The head offices of five of the nation’s leading newspapers are here. No national strike can be successful without Lagos participating.
Right now, Lagos is undergoing what can only be described as a political spasm which could become violent – if not properly handled by the All Progressives Congress, APC. It is difficult to pin-point the exact cause of the current crisis which has turned the State House of Assembly, SHA, into a battle ground in which the Police and the Directorate of Security Services, DSS, now determine who has access to the hallowed chambers of the legislative house.
Hitherto well respected elders of the party in the State, the Governor’s Advisory Council, GAC, which until now spoke with one voice, are also divided on the main issue of whether Mr Obasa has been constitutionally removed as Speaker and Mrs Meranda has emerged as his replacement. The rolls of the Police and DSS are also confusing. It is difficult to understand on whose instructions they operate and who they regard as the Speaker to protect against the other. The last drama before the writing of this column occurred on Thursday, February 27, 2025, when Obasa was escorted into the SHA with only four members of the Assembly to hold a session while 36 members were locked out. The self-proclaimed Centre of Excellence, has now become the Centre of Confusion politically. Even the reported intervention of former Governors Bisis Akande of Osun and Segun Osoba of Ogun proved abortive. The party’s elders would have been better off staying at home. Battle lines have been drawn and neither side is prepared to concede an inch. That is understandable. Irrespective of who eventually emerges as the ultimate Speaker, the war between the two camps has just started. That is the most frightening aspect of this conflict.
Just as concerning is the realisation that the State and national leader of the APC, President Tinubu, is being cited by both sides as their supporter. His attempt to declare “no winner no loser” through his messengers, Akande and Osoba, had met a brick wall on both sides. Neither Obasa nor Meranda wants to step down to allow a third candidate to emerge as Speaker. The case is in court and might drag on for a long time while the wounds of hostility fester. Elsewhere, the Governor of the State is the recognised leader of the party in the state. That unfortunately has not been the case with Lagos State. Tinubu has kept control of the party machinery – all the way down to ward levels. As inconvenient as that might be for Lagos State Governors, it ensured unified command – with little room for disagreement or discord. But, that level of involvement was only possible when he was not President. Given the challenges of the presidency, with an angry North trying to unseat him in 2027, it has become absolutely impossible to maintain the grip on Lagos State. Political power abhors a vacuum; and with the Governor not fully in control, the current power tussle was an accident waiting to happen.
The most important question now is: how does the party resolve the conflict without creating lasting enmity within the ranks as the nation moves towards the mid-term of the Tinubu administration and politics moves to centre stage once again? It is not easy for a non-politician to advise professionals in the business about how to go about solving their self-created problems. One thing however appears obvious to an onlooker; and that might be the starting point.
“Who will guard the guards themselves?” asked Juvenal, born 55 AD, a Roman satirist. Nigerians in general and Lagosians in particular should now be asking: “who will rule the rulers themselves?” As at the time of writing this article, the Lagos State House of Assembly is controlled by security forces – not those elected to rule. The Police and DSS are there because the rulers have demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that they are incapable of ruling. Has ruler-ship now been transferred to the armed forces in Lagos? The crisis is certainly an embarrassment to President Tinubu. This atrocity is taking place in his own state and those demonstrating their unfitness for ruling are people he personally approved to be elected to office. Right now, like a magician who has suddenly run out of tricks, he is obviously bewildered – wondering why the old magic wand no longer works. I think there might be a reason.
Most of the old hands he had used to control the state have stayed on for too long. The culture of family dynasties, children of old politicians and their in-laws being slated for all the available political offices — Senate, House of Representatives, State House of Representatives, Ministers, Commissioners etc is now breeding pervasive resentment. Those known to be non-partisan are privy to the steady increase in attacks against members of the Governor’s Advisory Council and Tinubu himself. The most frequently asked question is: “are they the only people in Lagos?” The question invariably is followed by a catalogue of all the public positions held by the oligarchy. Certainly, there is a need for more inclusion in sharing the dividends of the party’s success.
The President has a big mess on his hands as we head for the mid-term. Irrespective of what he does, the party in Lagos will never be the same again; and there is a chance the APC might repeat the mistake of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, which handed the governorship of Lagos to the National Republican Congress, NRC, and Chief Otedola in the 1990s….
AFENIFERE AND PANDEF IN SEARCH OF NEW LEADERS
“Advice is seldom welcome; and those who need it most, always want it the least.” — Earl of Chesterfield, 1694-1773.
The sudden death of the two Titans of Afenifere and PANDEF, Chief Ayo Adebanjo and Edwin Clark, respectively, left two big holes that would be very difficult to fill. To some extent, Afenifere has the bigger challenge. The Adebanjo faction of the Pan-Yoruba organisation has quickly selected Oba Olaitan as the Acting Chairman obviously in a bid to ensure a seamless transfer of authority. The fact remains that Afenifere speaks with two voices – the Fasoranti group and the Adebanjo group. Because Adebanjo, as Vice Chairman, was the voice of the organisation, before the split with the Fasoranti group, it had been easy for the media and other associations to treat the late Chief as the voice of Afenifere. The same privilege might not be extended to Oba Olaitan.
ATTAH SHOULD LEAD PANDEF
“All great leaders have one characteristic in common; it is the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxieties of their people.” – Professor John Kenneth Galbraith, 1908-2006, The Age of Uncertainty.
PANDEF is more fortunate. Last week, in my article titled PA ADEBANJO AND CLARK JUST RAISED THE BAR ON RETIREMENT, the point was made that at its inception, PANDEF had appointed late Chief Edwin Clark and Obong Victor Attah as co-Chairmen. On account of old age, Attah stepped down for Clark. Now, there is a vacancy in PANDEF. Even the most casual observer of the Nigerian political environment must concede that the person who fits most into the shoes left by Adebanjo and Clark is Attah. He lives on the same street in Asokoro with late Edwin Clark and he and Adebanjo are so close, the late Afenifere leader had been present at all the important functions involving Attah in Uyo. I know, because I was there each time. Attah had returned the favour and frequently visits Adebanjo whenever in Lagos.
Ideologically, Attah is in total support of all the positions held by the two leaders. As we have often noted, leadership has two important dimensions: character and competence. Since 1999, two sons of the Niger Delta have held top positions at the Federal level – President and Senate President. None of them have had “the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxieties of their people”. When Attah was fighting for Resource Control, Jonathan and Akpabio kept quiet. Jonathan started a constitution reform programme and petroleum industry bill without finishing any one. Akpabio had been Senate President for almost two years; and nothing has been heard about restructuring; and there will never be if he remains Senate President for fifty years. And you hold your nose when the word Senate is mentioned….
I honestly wish Attah is a Yoruba; because he would have been the logical successor to Adebanjo. PANDEF owes the nation a duty to appoint Attah as Chairman if they want the struggle to continue in safe hands.
•Written By Dele Sobowale
Follow me on Facebook @ J Israel Biola
