OBASANJO AND AMOSUN: STRIKING THE BALANCE IN OGUN POLITICS

By Wole Elegbede

Ogun State has produced lots of illustrious sons and daughters who have continued to make their marks on the sands of time. These notable Ogun State citizens have made positive impacts on various spheres of life in Nigeria and the world at large such as politics, economy, military, judiciary, media, engineering, academics and religion, to mention a few.

Amongst the distinguished citizens of the state are former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun. Obasanjo, who is often called by the sobriquet OBJ, is renowned for contributing to the end of the civil war in Nigeria in 1970 as a young officer; was a two-time head of state, a statesman and an influential leader in international affairs. Amosun, however, is the governor of Ogun State, a notable accountant, a former senator and a star in the political firmament of Nigeria.

Because of their unquestionable role in the politics of Nigeria, it naturally goes that the they have an important role to play in the politics of their home state. Should they decide not to withhold their role as pathfinders in the politics of the state, their involvement will have a telling effect without any doubt.

As the train of politics move gradually towards the year 2019, when another general election is conducted, the political scenario of Ogun state has drawn more than an ordinary interest not only because of the emerging personalities that have shown interest to vie for political offices but because of the rise in profile of the state in various facets of life.

Under the leadership of Amosun, Ogun is now the toast of local and foreign investors alike. Amosun and his team have been able to do this by creating the right conditions for businesses to thrive. Recently, the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) said Ogun state had done well in the parameters used in assessing the 36 states of the federation on the ease of doing business and Investment Certification Programme. Evidence of Ogun's improvement in the ease of doing business was also recently confirmed by another credible source, the British High Commission in Nigeria. At a recent lunch of the Price Water-Coopers (PWC) and the High Commission on United Kingdom in Abeokuta, the Deputy High Commissioner of United Kingdom to Nigeria, Lauren Beaufils, remarked that Ogun state had the potential for becoming the biggest economy in Nigeria considering its business friendly environment aimed at opening the state to international investors. It is not surprising that with the conducive policies, the Manufactural Association of Nigeria (MAN) said the industrial capacity utilisation was positive about the Ogun industrial zone in 2016.

Against the background of this sterling profile, the political stakes in the state are very high. The governorship stake has become more and more the talk of town, especially in regard to which senatorial district will produce the next governor. Ogun state was created 41 years ago. Since then, only two of the three senatorial districts (Ogun Central and Ogun East) have produced the governors of the state leaving out Ogun West.

Watching with eagle eyes from this angle, some analysts believe the role of Obasanjo and Amosun is imperative and could be a game changer in state's political arithmetic. They left no one in doubt about their preference for an indigene of Ogun West to emerge as the governor of the state this time around. There could not have been a more apt opportunity to drum their support for Ogun West than the reception marking the 80th birthday of a political juggernaut in the district, Chief Poju Adeyemi, on Saturday August 12, 2017. Justifying their stance in separate remarks at the event, they posited that the Ogun West senatorial district should produce the next governor in 2019 in the spirit of equity, fairness and justice.

When the grand masters speak, only the Lilliputians will raise eyebrows. Stating their stance publicly is neither a pronouncement nor a decree but you may call it a fait accompli. It definitely will have a telling effect on the political landscape of Ogun state.

Their arrival at this juncture in Ogun politics bellies an understanding between these two powerful citizens. If the understanding continues unhindered, it is the politics of the state and democracy that will gain the most. In the words of Leonardo da Vinci "the noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding". The people of Ogun West have already expressed appreciation for the uncommon gesture.

* Elegbede, a public affairs analyst, sent the write-up from woleogunstate@gmail.com

Ok

Governorship in Ogun state in 2019 is coming to a zone that has not produced it in the past 40 years. What a fantastic show of political engineering on the part of OBJ AND SIA.