…..AND THE PASTOR BACKSLID! (Part One)

Jack Amaso

“Osibajo had stated on Sunday in the United States that the problem of the country was not a matter of restructuring but about managing resources properly and providing for people properly.”https://www.google.com.ng/amp/s/punchng.com/restructuring-afenifere-ijaw-tiv-youths-flay-osinbajo/amp/

….and Esther of our time, refused to speak up. Yemi Osibajo has publicly capitulated.

“For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”Esther 4:14 KJV

• From the conservative progressive Awoists, (who don’t believe in working with the hawks of the North, as represented by (Chief Ayo Adebanjo). Osibajo became
• The liberal progressive Awoists (as led by Tinubu) who are liberal custodians of the progressive doctrine, like their conservative colleagues, both are “covenant custodians” of the doctrine of true federalism…..the liberals are liberal by liberty of association, with the centre in view.
• He has Backslidden in “political ideology” to the ranks of South Western liberals like S.L. Akintola, Adasa Akinloye, Richard Akinjide and the stoogetogeneral; Olusegun Obasanjo. They are the traditional compromise friends of the Hawks and Doves of the core North, who play second fiddle compromise role them

For a man connected to Chief Obafemi Awolowo, to make that statement, the gravity of his utterance can best be understood within the context of the action of Ojukwu’s son, who is perceived to have abandoned the traditional values his father fought for; values held in political trust by APGA. When he moved over to the ruling APC, APGA Conservatives viewed it as betrayal..

TINUBU THE ADVOCATE OF TRUE FEDERALISM

Osibajo’s political principal, Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains a vocal advocate of true federalism, who said:

“The imbalance between the roles of the federal and state governments lies at the root of our difficulties. We need to re-balance the duties of the federal and state governments. The quest to correct the imbalance is the essence of federalism that I have advocated for so many years”…..Due to our particular political history and its military legacy, the quality of our federalism and the quality of our democracy are intertwined. The more we repair federalism, the more we improve democracy.

“In my mind, federalism denotes a division of labour between the federal and state governments that functions to maximise the benefits of governance to the people. True federalism is that brand which provides that the federal government should focus on those few but essential things only it can provide such as foreign policy, defence, and national economic policy.”

Bola Tinubu. https://www.google.com.ng/amp/thenationonlineng.net/tinubu-nigeria-better-off-true-federalism/amp/

SPLIT IN THE RANKS OF THE PROGRESSIVES

…and 2015 became the year of separation, when the progressive Awoist were split into Conservative progressive Awoists, and the Liberal progressive Awoists. Prior to this time, individual progressive who had broken ranks, ended up with disastrous results, the most prominent and tragic of whom was Chief Bola Ige, whose decision to work with Obasanjo, the Dean of South Western Liberals, was disapproved by Ayo Adebanjo, the Dean of the Conservative progressive Awoists.

In his quest for relevance at the centre (Federal relevance), Tinubu made the biggest real strategic attempt to end ethnic politics in Nigeria, by doing what the conservative progressives would regard as unacceptable; A tactical political alliance with the hawks of the core North to create the APC.

That marriage of inconvenience, dislodged the corrupt PDP, only for Buhari to betray the ethnic goodwill of Tinubu, by creating the worst level of nepotism, which Tinubu (to his historical credit) is the one man apart from Azikiwe, Awolowo, Harold Jenewari Dappa-Biriye, J. S. Tarkar, Ortom and others, that made the most profound paradigm shifting attempt at ending ethnic politics with his decision to work with the hawks represented by Buhari.

By the evidence of Buba Galadima, Buhari didn’t want Tinubu’s political company.

“Buhari was the one who was against the alliance with Tinubu and I don’t want to say anything. Let Buhari deny what I have said. I was for it and I organised it and I wrote a memo and even produced a candidate for the Vice-Presidency, this same Osinbajo.“https://www.google.com.ng/amp/s/punchng.com/buhari-didnt-want-alliance-with-tinubu-in-2013-galadima/amp/

That move from a political historical perspective split the progressives into conservative progressive Awoists, and the liberal progressive Awoists

ETHNIC POLITICS BEGINNING AND THE END

“In 1951 the first celebrated cross carpeting episode occurred in Nigeria; which consequently robbed Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe the chance to lead the government’s business of Western Nigeria. This happens to be the most celebrated cross carpet episode in Nigeria. Yoruba members of the National Council for Nigerian and the Cameroon (NCNC) were lobbied to cross over to the Action Group (AG) to stop Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, an Igbo man, from becoming the premier of Western Region. This heralded the massive cross over to the AG. As the leader of the NCNC, Azikiwe was to be the Premier of Western Nigeria following the elections of 1951 with Chief Obafemi Awolowo, a Yoruba man and the leader of Action Group, as the leader of the opposition in the Regional House of Assembly. The NCNC won 42 seats out of 80, but within 24 hours 20 of them had cross carpeted to AG.”

https://www.google.com.ng/amp/s/www.vanguardngr.com/2018/02/nigeria-political-cross-carpeting-danger-democracy/amp/

If Awolowo (as one historical school of thought claims)  is the 1951 originator of ethnic politics in Nigeria, the same Awolowo must be credited for making the boldest ever attempt at ending it, with his paradigm shifting decision to work with the same NCNC, even at the expense of his liberty.

He is the one man who took a firm, documented, and solid step to end it, at the expense of personal liberty, by the evidence of his historical March 28,1966, letter to Major General Ironsi, the Head of the Federal Military Government and Supreme Commander he titled:

“PREROGATIVE OF MERCY: SECTION 101 (1) (a) OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERATION ACT 1963”, that contains the following details.

“In October 1963 (that is about a month after my conviction and while my appeal to the Supreme Court was still pending), a Peace Committee headed by the Chief Justice of the Federation, Sir Adetokunbo Ademola, made overtures to me through my friend Alhaji W. A. Elias to the effect that if I abandoned my intention to enter into alliance with the N.C.N.C. which, according to the Committee, was an Ibo Organisation…….I would be released from prison before the end of that year. I turned down these terms”.“https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!msg/usaafricadialogue/GTHjhZCGEZk/rmkTJ4jAKtwJ

Tinubu an advocate by action of detribalized politics, made the landmark move of working with the hawks, a move Awolowo would never have made (by the evidence of his letter to Ironsi) not on ethnic grounds, but on strategic grounds. The other politicians who made such moves at different political dispensations, were Harold Jenewari Dappa-Biriye, J. S. Tarka, who joined the NPN and Governor Ortom. The recent expansionism of the Fulani into the Benue valley and the nepotism of Buhari is a stab in the back!

–To be continued