Amilcar Lopes Cabral, the slain Bissau-Guinean revolutionary leader , diplomat and political organizer, in one of his indelible narratives about the hypocrisy of colonial power once said,” Tell No Lies, Claim No Easy Victories. Hide Nothing From The Masses of Our People. Expose Lies Whenever They Are Told. Mask No Difficulties, Mistakes, Failures”.
The above postulation of Cabral clearly and completely captures the present political development in Ogun State, particularly the Ogun East Senatorial District, where desperate political tendency has brazenly made decency an alternative forgone.
The interview granted by Otunba Gbenga Daniel on Television Continental some days ago during a popular talk show, ‘Beyond the Headlines’ has been regarded as total falsehood in the face of available facts by majority of Ogun residents, mostly those who were privy to series of events that the former Governor referenced in the course of the interview.
While this contradiction did not come as a surprise to many in the State, considering the antecedents and antics of Senator Gbenga Daniel since the beginning of his public life, some considered it extremely low for a former helmsman and lawmaker.
Sincerely, the frequency at which the former Governor dished out those false narratives on the national television was so shocking and unthinkable, it regrettably exposed some fundamental factors that continued to make our politics continually murky in this part of the world.
It is crystal clear that the resolution of the critical stakeholders within the All Progressives Congress(APC) in Ogun East, on the candidacy of Governor Dapo Abiodun, CON, as the consensus candidate of the party for the senatorial seat was borne out of remarkable and sterling performance of the Governor across the state.
The non-violent political culture, coupled with the developmental drive of the Governor, which engendered unprecedented growth in the state’s economy and speedy development of it’s critical infrastructure remain unforgettable in the consciousness of the people and they can not take this great achievements for granted in any way, hence, the irrevocable stance of the people in Ogun East to have more of the Governor.
This is, however, different from what transpired between the people of the state and Otunba Gbenga Daniel towards the tail end of his administration in 2011. It is a common knowledge that by the time former Governor Gbenga Daniel was about to exit the saddle, he had completely lost control of his party as well as the confidence of the people.
His administration, which was characterised by lawlessness, executive brigandage, gangsterism and ineptitude became his albatross. While his political career was on Intensive Care Unit(ICU) at the time, his name across the state was synonymous with failure and deception.
It is , therefore, laughable when the Senator claimed during the interview that he decided to ‘rest’ after the expiration of his tenure as a Governor for eight years in 2011, when it is obvious that he could not win any election in the State at the time and quietly walked away to avoid further disgrace.
Of course, the two scenarios are different, in the case of Prince Dapo Abiodun, he is not only in firm control of his party but a leading voice of APC in Southern Nigeria, as the Chairman of Southern Governors’ Forum, with profound influence across the country and cordial relationship with the President.
Every discerning individual in Ogun State and beyond can still remember the frosty relationship between President Olusegun Obasanjo and Otunba Gbenga Daniel by the end of Baba’s administration in 2007, which made OGD a total pariah at the Villa even during President Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure in 2011 and the reason for OGD’s ignominious end as a Governor.
The eyewitness account of one of his aides at the time, Dr. Abayomi Arabambi, who is presently the National Vice Chairman (South-West) of the Labour Party and former chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Ogun State gave the former Governor out as a man who deceptively comes to equity with dirty hands.
Arabambi, as an insider, during an interview on TVC yesterday, vividly recalled how Otunba Gbenga Daniel ran a very despotic government of intimidation, oppression and flagrant disobedience to law and order, with zero democratic ethos and values.
He revealed how the freedom and privileges of ordinary citizens were callously denied and how Ogun State under OGD was akin to the Hobbesian state of nature as promulgated by the English Philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, where Life was “, Solitary, Poor, Nasty, Brutish and Short”.
He confirmed how Governor Abiodun liberated the people from the siege of executive brigandage and radical oppression by ‘The power that be’, thereby, providing conducive political environment for dissenting voices to have it’s say without threat or victimisation.
“Political opposition in Ogun State had never enjoyed the level of freedom currently obtainable under Governor Abiodun”, Arabambi confidently said during the interview.
Also, a Senior Special Assistant to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Public Communications, Dare Odufowokan, during the interview session vehemently refuted the claims of Senator Gbenga Daniel on different issues he raised during his appearance on TVC.
Odufowokan, described OGD’s claim of winning the Ogun East senatorial ticket in 2023 through a massive showing at the primary election as total false, saying that the purported primary election never took place, as Senator Daniel was reportedly at the palace of the late Oba Sikiru Adetona finalising a consensus arrangement at the very time the exercise was supposed to hold.
According to Odufowokan, journalists, party supporters, and stakeholders waited till late in the night on the day of the supposed primary before the Director-General of Senator Lekan Mustapha’s campaign organisation, Dr. Ipaye, eventually informed those gathered that a consensus arrangement had been reached at the Awujale’s palace in favour of Senator Daniel, as Senator Mustapha consequently agreed not to return to the Senate.
“The alleged primary referred to by Senator Gbenga Daniel never held. If a primary had not held by 5 p.m., why is somebody claiming to have won five local governments? Senator Daniel never surfaced at the venue until a deal was reached very late in the night at the palace of the late Awujale,” Odufowokan stated.
Reacting to the allegations that Senator Daniel was prevented from attending a recent stakeholders’ meeting in Ijebu Ode, Odufowokan insisted that no one stopped the former governor from entering the venue.
According to him, the disagreement arose because Senator Daniel arrived with a busload of supporters and insisted on driving into the meeting venue with them, a move party leaders reportedly objected to.
“He decided he was not going to participate in the meeting. Senator Daniel only came on TV to play to the gallery,” he said.
Also, on the Senator Daniel’s claim that he facilitated the establishment of a naval dockyard in Ogun State, Odufowokan maintained that the project was conceived and executed by Governor Abiodun following several meetings with naval authorities.
“All documents relating to the project have the imprint of Governor Dapo Abiodun,” he said, challenging Senator Daniel to publish documentary evidence linking him directly to the initiative as he further argued that the lawmaker merely moved motions on the floor of the Senate after discussions between Governor Abiodun and naval authorities had already been concluded.
To this end, the admonition of Amilcar Lopes Cabral is sufficiently instructive for all of us”, Tell No Lies, Claim No Easy Victories. Hide Nothing From The Masses of Our People. Expose Lies Whenever They Are Told. Mask No Difficulties, Mistakes, Failures”.
May the good Lord bless the people of Ogun East as they earnestly await January 2027 to massively vote for Governor Dapo Abiodun as their representative at the red chamber of the National Assembly.
Ajibola is a Senior Special Assistant to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Strategic Communications.
