They say he whom the gods wishes to destroy, they first make mad with power; the case of Adams Oshiomhole, provides some perspectives. The self-styled comrade is no stranger to public life, neither is he a novice to the vicissitudes that comes with it. He was first appointed General Secretary of the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria in 1982. This was a launching pad for his national activism between 1999 to 2007, where he held the position of the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress. His many battles with then president, Olusegun Obasanjo, is well chronicled. Oshiomhole was a fine voice in those days. He endeared his little frame into the fragile hearts of many Nigerians, and the 25% wage increase he negotiated for public sector workers was arguably his finest hour in his labour days.
However, the wine jar of political life intoxicates differently. Adams Oshiomhole was first to taste this with being governor of Edo state in April 2007. True to the political script of most Nigerian governors, he did two terms of eight years. The jury is still out in some quarters on the verdict of those eight years as governor. Depending on who you ask, in a state that is steep in political divisions and alliances, you will probably not get the gospel truth. Yet, more travails awaited him ahead. On June 23rd 2018, Oshiomhole emerged national chairman of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC). The battles Oshiomhole he had fought in his activism days were nothing compared to those he had had to contend with over these last 18 months. Particularly over the last few months, he became a familiar name in courts. It was one injunction to the other. First suspended, then he appealed, then his appeal collapsed, and he remained suspended. All these culminated to the dissolution of his National Working Committee on June 25th, by Victor Giadom, the recognized leader by the President, Muhammadu Buhari.
Oshiomhole’s case is a curious one. Perhaps, the biggest vitriolic against him was the fact that he fought too many battles. He meddled in state politics far more than had been witnessed, at least in recent times, and he fell out with quite a lot of key political players in the process. He was quick to remind everyone of his status as national chairman. Often, when a leader has to always seek validation and remind all and sundry of the powers he wields, then there is something suspect about that leadership. Afterall, these things should be obvious. The last straw that drove the final nail into his political coffin was his battle with his successor in Edo state, Godwin Obaseki. We can go on an endless diatribe on who was right, and who was wrong, but one thing we can all agree on, is that the fight was a bit too messy at times. Rocks were randomly hurled, truly dirty linens were exposed, and almost all the political dark cards were played. It made for great television, but it was very sad to watch at times. Oshiomhole and Obaseki just didn’t know when to stop. And then there was the interesting point around ‘Party Supremacy.’ This was arguably the most used phrase by Adams Oshiomhole in his time as national chairman. He would often play this card with a rider that goes ‘I have spoken with Mr. President…’ Oshiomhole might well have meant well in trying to entrench party supremacy particularly in a political terrain such as ours where flouting the rule book, and playing god is such a big thing. However, he was tactless in doing this. It is also instructive that the president whom he was always quick to reference also read the signs and knew when to jump ship. There is an avalanche of lessons to learn for us all in all of these.
Adorned in his trademark khaki, Oshiomhole had called for a press conference on June 27th where he declared that ‘I accept APC NWC dissolution in good faith.’ It was a screeching end to a plethora of running battles that appeared to have taken its toll on the Iyamho kid. He looked spent, beaten and a tad tired. It remains to be seen if there is still life in this old dog or have we just witnessed the final act of the ‘Oshiomhole show.’ Oshiomhole has always proven to be a formidable adversary, always having one last fight in him, but at 68, with the burden of his chequered past, there is the feeling that the comrade might be hanging his fading khaki in place of some home casuals, sooner rather than later. Time will tell.
No comments:
Post a Comment