Ovation Publisher, Dele Momodu has weighed in on the recent crisis that rocked the All Progressives Congress, APC, following the suspension of its national chairman, Adams Oshiomole and the defection of Edo state Governor, Godwin Obaseki to PDP.
Momodu, a former presidential candidate, in a column on Saturday, titled “Pendulum: My Kobo Advice for Adams Oshiomhole and Others”, expressed disappointment that Oshiomole could not overlook/forgive his successor, Obaseki and that their fallout almost led to the disintegration of the party.
He stated that Oshiomole committed ‘Political Hara-Kiri’ by letting his rift with Obaseki fester adding that if he had forgiven the governor, the party won’t have had any problems. The article read in part;
“I have had the opportunity of speaking at different times to both of them, especially Comrade who I met at breakfast in Eko Hotel Signature in Lagos last year. Comrade never said anything concrete enough to warrant the war of attrition that is now likely to consume at least one, or indeed both of them, if care is not taken. My own plea that day was for Comrade to forgive whatever iniquity or sin Obaseki might have committed. I’m one Christian who holds the Biblical injunction on forgiveness very close to my heart. There is nothing too big to forgive even if I can’t forget, and I do desperately try to forget as well. I have learnt that life is too short and there are always regrets all round afterwards.”
“In short, I continue to believe that Comrade should have treated Obaseki like a recalcitrant baby and leave him to his conscience because he is the older man and the benefactor. By playing dirty and wrestling in the mud with Obaseki, Comrade has diminished his status and importance in the eyes of onlookers nationally and internationally. In fact, Comrade has provided some lethal ammunition for his many vociferous critics and rabid enemies who have now, apparently, finally, gunned him down. How fatally he has been dealt with remains to be seen. I do hope that he heals quickly and bounces back.”
“His firebrand style of politics is still something that I look forward to. Exactly two Sundays ago, I predicted what has happened to some mutual friends, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi and Hon. Oye Ojo when we discussed the raging imbroglio.”
“As I also said to them that evening, what shall it profit a man who kills his own child in a pique and fit of anger? Especially when in the process the man himself appears to have sung his own nunc dimitis! I believe that if Oshiomole had left Obaseki alone, he would not have been suspended by his ward and there would, therefore, have been no basis for his removal as Chairman. Instead he went further to disqualify Obaseki as APC Governorship aspirant APC Party Chairman. Comrade would have done well to listen to Confucius who wrote, “Before you go on a journey of revenge, dig two graves”!”
“It seems now virtually late to make amends. Comrade and Obaseki have stripped themselves naked in the marketplace. Their underbelly and nudity have been harshly exposed. It is such a monumental tragedy. The battle is no longer a localized affair but a national struggle for the control of the ruling party ahead of the 2023 Presidential election.”
“Beyond Obaseki, I feel that Comrade was fighting, like a poor General, on too many fronts. He should have read the handwriting correctly to see that Obaseki was now a pawn in the game but he didn’t. This is unlike a man with his maturity in politics. I thought he was a master tactician and strategist but his performance as Chairman of APC totally belied this.
“The APC he presided over had become nothing but a “Fuji House of Commotion”, a place where, apologies to Chinua Achebe, the falcon could no longer hear the falconer. And so, things fell apart, and the centre could no longer hold.”
“For Comrade, that is not a sign of political craftsmanship but brinkmanship. It is called political harakiri!”
Adams did nothing to Godwin. Remember that certificate discrepancies was the reason for his disqualification. Godwin should have gone on appeal , withdraw the NYSC certificate (since it is the source of the discrepancies ) and present only O’ level which could equally be accepted. Let those with understanding try to understand.