Peace and unity is now inevitable to achieve our ultimate goal.
I woke up this morning with a burden in my heart after going through some events of past days and the trend on social media platforms. I discovered that there is an urgent need for peace and unity in our party in Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
For that peace to come on board, we need to be honest with ourselves by abiding with all possible agreements that we may reach again on the way forward. Though, the peace and unity that I’m talking about must fall within the dictates of our party’s constitution and it must be accompanied by the process of equity and justice because without justice there can’t be peace. Justice means obedience to the rule of law and the constitution of our party.
When I went through a platform “Osun PDP Rethink,” I discovered that our leaders in Osun PDP from both factions are already tired of all the troubles, “wahalas”, all the “katakatas” that have been happening in our party; this should give everybody that loves PDP a joy and this was manifested in what our former Minister, Alhaji Jelili Oyewale Adesiyan and Hon. Bade Falade wrote on the platform and the joy of it is that the reactions of some of our younger ones which were in tandem with what these eminent and respected leaders were discussing on the platform. Even when provoked, both Alhaji Adesiyan and Hon. Falade maturely restrained themselves from getting angry, their responses drew apology from one of their attackers which is a welcomed development and assurance that peace is gradually coming back to our fold.
I’m in a privileged position to say that the majority of our leaders are also in tandem with what they were discussing and I have talked to a large number of our party members of recent and I discovered that the major problem why we still find it difficult to resolve is that we have gone too deep in the meaningless fight; meaningless because we are all guilty of taking the fight too far and we found it difficult; we don’t know how to convince and forgive ourselves to go ahead, how are we going to do away with the intra-fighting. I make bold to say that in the course of this struggle, I have offended some people and many have also offended me. I’m now tendering unreserved apology to those I have offended to forgive me and I also promise that whoever that have done me one wrong or another have been forgiven.
Again, I want to say that we have some very few, I mean extremely very few and vocal of our leaders and members who are not flowing with what we are discussing to achieve peace and unity in our party, because of what? Because of their wickedness, inordinate ambition, selfishness, unforgivingness, self centredness and this emanated from what they think they want to BECOME before and after the formation of the Osun state government by our Party, the PDP, on 27th November, 2018 starting from Ward, local government, state and national levels but unfortunately, because of their self-centeredness, they want to over ride the interest of the majority of our party members, they have forgotten that their action will affect and is already affecting the fortunes of the majority of our party members, especially the younger elements, whose interests go beyond any individual’s parochial interest. Those youths whose interests go beyond individual interest, form the bulk of electorates, campaign coordinators, crowds and election tools, they need the employment and appointments that our party’s victory will enhance us than their fathers, mothers and Leaders. Their interest must be protected, it must be paramount in our minds as parents and Leaders if we are not wicked and heartless.
HOW WE CAN GO BEYOND PAROCHIANISM:
The younger elements who are the soul of this party, the real owners of the party must be given priority, they must be considered first even if we have ourown personal ambitions to pursue, we should do so without jeopardizing their interest because no single individual owns this party, the party belongs to all of us, it belongs mostly to the youths.
Many of us have utilized the party like a business venture, as if it is our private venture or estate and we have made gains in triple folds than what we invested into the party. We must see others as equal contributors to the party just like the widow in the bible whose tithe was the smallest but remained the most acceptable.
The poorest party members dedicate their time for the programs of the party and they have become part of the population that people are using in considering our party as the only viable alternative to APC misrule, the moment we consider every other person as equal with one votes we would have grown above being parochial.
HOW CAN WE ACHIEVE PEACE? SELF RULE.
We have to realize that there is need to localize all politics.
All politics is local. We should try and allow the local people to choose their leaders by themselves from the Ward, Local Government to the State levels and avoid undue interference by people from other wards, local government or State levels and by that we will have the genuine peace. If I, Hon. Soji Adagunodo, Dr. Bayo Faforiji, Alhaji Suaib Oyedokun, Dr. Olu Alabi, Chief Layi Ogunrinade, Erelu Olusola Obada (CON), Otunba Iyiola Omisore, Prof. Wale Oladipo, Akogun Lere Oyewumi, Rt. Hon. Adejare Bello, Senator Ademola Adeleke, Sen Felix Ogunwale and all other leaders can face their own ward and allow other wards in their local government to take their decisions according to the peculiarities of their local politics without interference, without resulting to untoward attitudes by fraudulently tampering with the executives and delegates so produced by the local politicians, I can assure you that there will be absolute peace.
HARMONIZATION:
Harmonization comes from the word harmony and harmonization can only work if there is consensual agreement between all concerned parties without anybody forcing anything on either of them. If there is no consensus there can’t be any harmonization.
Where there is no agreement there is the need for elective congress. In a situation where people harmonize themselves locally according to their local peculiarities there must still be affirmative Congresses with all parties to the agreement in attendance. It is better for our party members in all the wards to start taking steps to call ourselves together from today in our various localities and discuss the way forward in a way that is legally backed up by the rules of engagement of our party .We have to show our party’s national leaders that we are capable of ruling ourselves without any leader interfering from outside because all politics are local and the steps must be within the ambit of the law so that some people will not be aggrieved and result to legal tussle that may throw all our efforts into the gabbage or refuse dump.
EXAMPLE OF HARMONIZATION IN IFE NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
I will like to illustrate how harmonization works in certain four wards in Ife North local government according to what some of our leaders told me. In Ashipa/Akinlalu, Famia, Oyere I & Oyere II. In these four wards nobody will ever go and interfere with their congress, primaries or even sharing of government positions zoned to them like councillors, Supervisory Councilors council chairmanship, State or federal appointments etc. They will just bring the list of all the names that they have agreed upon for those positions. The reason is that in those Wards, we have the Ifes, Modakekes, Ipetumodu/Edunabon, Moro/Yakoyo, Ibadan and people from other areas of Osun State living there. Nobody dares interfere. As I’m writing they have arranged the next 5 congresses and primaries that may come to them and they have their arrangements on ground for it. Nathaniel O Oke (SAN), Hon. Femi Eluyinka, Hon. Segun Atowo, Isaac Ayedire, AlAlhaji Fadairo, Hon. Kayode Taiwo, Alhaji Dauda Shittu Olawale and many others are our Leaders from those four wards. Each time they are fighting on congresses and primaries in other towns and wards, all parties from these wards always came around for affirmation with all parties represented.
The local government has never experienced any form of crises from them except a few times when leaders from outside the wards tried to interfere in their matter and they rebuffed them stoutly. They are the most peaceful wards in Ife North. That’s the type of harmonization that can bring peace, that’s what we need.
FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN:
There are people who are afraid of the uncertainty of their future in the post crises of the party, I want to say that they should learn from examples of people who became what they are today without having any executives in the party that gave them the mandate to represent them. Let me give you some examples of such situations where people came into position of authority without any manipulation or influential connection with any leader/Godfather or party executives.
1. Our referred leader, Otunba Iyiola Omisore, joined PDP fresh from AD.
He was set up by the cabals in AD who felt threatened by his rising profile, out of vendetta, Omisore, his friends and associates were thrown into prison unjustly on trump up charges, God showed himself, the man won both primary and general elections into the Senate without connection of party (PDP) executive or delegates right from inside the prison without contributing a singular effort to the process of his election, people stood up for him and made him a senator and the rest is history.
2. The same situation applied to the former Osun State governor Oyinlola, who just left the army as a general, he joined PDP and made efforts to become a senator, at that time, no mentor, no Godfather, no executive and no party structure, he ended up being tipped to contest the governorship of Osun State and he ruled for seven and half years.
3.The present Governor of Benue State, Orthom became governor less than two week of joining the party (APC), he knew nobody, no God-father, no party executives to assist him to see anybody to influence anything for him, today he is the governor of that state.
4. Also very recently too is the case of Senator Ademola Adeleke who became the senatorial candidate of PDP in Osun State here within 24 hours of joining the party, (PDP) and was elected a senator, He has no leader, no executive or structure of the party.
5. Another vivid story of how God works is also the case of Alhaji Kamoru Ajisafe, a.k.a. Kisolowoe who followed his leaders to the State Chairman of our party Alhaji Ademola Rasaq in 2007, Ajisafe tried to appeale to the warring contestants into the office of his council chairmanship position, his pleas and those of others fell on deaf ears, Ajisafe is a contractor who loves PDP and his interest was to support any candidate of the party so that he could be getting construction jobs from the council if the party of his choice won.
He later tried to appeal to the State Working Committee members to assist the council in sharing the positions among the contestants so that peace could reign with that the infighting would not rob our party of victory, his plea was without bias and this attracted the leaders who saw good intentions for the party in him and that was what earned him the ticket of the party and he ended up being chosen as the candidate of the party for the local government council chairmanship position without any connection to any leader or executive as his Godfather.
He successfully ruled them for three years unhindered
6. President Olusegun Obasanjo was serving his jail term during Sani Abacha regime. After he was released from prison he was invited to come and be the President of this country. He was not part of the process that formed PDP, He did not by himself work to have leaders, party executives,, party structure or Godfather to plead his case. He ruled Nigeria for eight years.
7. President Goodluck Jonathan was diligently performing the function of a deputy governor in Bayelsa State.
Even when his boss, Diepreya Alamieyeseigha was in incarceration, he didn’t nurse the ambition of becoming the Bayelsa State substantive governor but God, who had his own plan for everybody, created the situation that made him the President of this great nation and we know those who have spent fortunes just to become the President of the country and they are still trying till today.
8. Rotimi Amaechi also contested and won PDP governorship primary in Rivers State.
The sitting president Olusegun Obasanjo removed him as candidate of the party, God in his awesome might visited the Rivers State seat of power, touched the judges who handled the petition at the tribunal, removed the person installed by men and put Amaechi in power, by the time Amaechi came to power, Obasanjo and his authority had become powerless.
9. Lastly on the examples is that we must pursue anything in this life with clean conscience with obedience to the rule of law and with belief that God knows it all because our existence itself is ephemeral, temporal and very uncertain.
All what we are fighting for depends on God who will decide those who will be part-taker or beneficiaries of the entire struggle.
I’m saying it with all sense of reality that only God knows who will wake up tomorrow out of all the people who are going to sleep tonight. Let’s learn a lesson from Alhaji Abubakar Audu of Kogi State.
Even in this PDP we have lost some people from the beginning of this struggle till today, (I mean by natural death) some are old while some are young, those who have left us to the great beyond didn’t have the plan not to witness the victory of PDP in 2018. We are all just praying to be part of the success and may God grant us that request.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:
(1) we need peace, unity and justice in our Party but we must pursue this peace bearing in mind the dictates of the laws, rules and regulations of our party which will not hurt any member of our party, no matter how infinitesimal or lowly placed such a person may be, we are all equal before God. Nobody has more than one vote so it means that we need peace with everybody.
(2) We need to forgive ourselves and forget the negative past. Without forgiveness we can’t have peace, we must also remember that we are so lucky that despite all the crises, we didn’t have any incidence of violent death through hoodlums or violent attack and that shows how much we love ourselves, so to err is human, to forgive is divine, remember forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
(3) we need to obey our Rules, Guidelines and both our Party and Nigeria Constitution by strictly going through the legally backed electoral process that will not bring litigation and rob us of victory especially by the opposition party that is keenly watching the unfolding events in our party.
(4) In doing no 3 above we must accommodate ourselves, we must see ourselves as one, God has a reason for creating us as brothers and sisters and the only way that we can achieve our ambition politically is to love one another because God doesn’t live in atmosphere of hatred.
(5) We must go back to our wards and Local government and unite all factions before forming the remaining wards and Local government executives.
Every Ward must be able to demonstrate ability for self rule.
(6) We must localize our issues by trying to reach possible consensus or harmonisation where it is possible with full respect to the rule of law, what I mean here is that in some local government areas, they have their traditional concesus arrangement which is attended by all parties concerned who usually go to the field for participatory affirmation as a mark of respect for our constitution and the rule of law.
(7) We must disassociate ourselves from politics of violence, come to think of it, who do you think can be attacked in your ward or local government that will not have a relationship or the other with you or your friends and family. Violence doesn’t bring peace, it doesn’t bring joy, it doesn’t bring happiness and we are all praying for happiness. Politics is such a phenomenon that should not be allowed to create disharmony among brothers.
(8) our congress, where applicable, as an opposition party is expected to, mainly and in the majority of the wards and Local government areas, be affirmative but where we can not agree we must respect the party’s rules as stipulated in the constitution and go for elective congresses locally among ourselves.
God will give us peace in our party.
Once again i salute the courage of Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan and Hon Bade Falade for sowing the seeds of love among our leaders and also members in the social media, I implore everybody to follow suit.
If we cannot successfully conduct our party congress to elect our officers, how are we going to conduct a successful primary to elect an acceptable candidate for the governorship? Thank you.
Hon Soji Adagunodo
FNIQS, MMP, MBA, MPA.
A chieftain of PDP in Osun.
Leave a Reply