Undoubtedly, the race for the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the governorship seat in Oyo State has gathered momentum. DAPO FALADE takes a look at some of the contenders in the party for the exalted position, ahead the 2015 elections.
Save for the three court judgments, which altered its fortunes in Ondo, Ekiti and Osun states, respectively, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), until the 2011 elections, was the ruling party in Oyo State, nay the entire South-West, with the exemption of Lagos State. Its image was further dented with its electoral defeat in the entire zone, losing both Oyo and Ogun in 2011 to the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Since then, the party has been going through one form of internal crisis to the other, a trend which has been threatening the soul and fabrics of the party, especially in Oyo.
In the build up to the 2011 elections, the ‘Big Umbrella’ party, for all intents and
purposes, appeared set to break the second term jinx that has been bedevilling the state’s political history. Several political pundits and analysts were then of the strong view that the then governor, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, would emerge as the jinx-breaker and coast home to victory in the governorship election. Alas, schism and internal division, which had been suppressed for quite some time, came to the fore. Things fell apart and the centre could no longer hold for the party. Shortly before the election, many of the players in the party started singing discordant tunes and the course of history was altered (or was it retained?).
The party paid dearly for its lack of cohesion and unity as Senator Abiola Ajimobi and his political party became the greatest beneficiary of the division in the rank and file of the PDP. Many of the party leaders and followers in the state are still nursing the wounds of that l defeat, with many of them attributing the loss to, not the schism from within, but some extraneous forces from outside the state. To them, Ajimobi won, not mainly because of his strength or the popularity of his political party, the then ACN, but because of the support of those forces, allegedly in collaboration with some PDP leaders at the national level.
However, as it is synonymous with other political parties across the polity, the once ruling party in Oyo, a state regarded as the political capital of the South-West, has begun the battle to wrestle the reins of governance from the Governor Ajimobi-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government in the state. It will not be wrong to assert at this juncture that the race in the Oyo PDP for the governorship seat in 2015 actually started the very moment it lost out in 2011. The party leadership in the state has been holding series of meetings with all its members, both the aggrieved and the perceived ‘aggressors’, especially on the issue of picking the right candidate enough to confront Ajimobi who is definitely coming out to seek re-election in 2015 on the platform of the APC. The quest to pick the governorship ticket of the party was heightened with the recent development in Ekiti and Osun states, where former Governor Ayo Fayose and Senator Iyiola Omisore, respectively, emerged as the standard bearers in an exercise which outcome is still confounding many political analysts.
While it is yet to arrive at any consensus on who to pick as its candidate for the governorship election, there have been wide speculations about who and who, among the personae in Oyo PDP, would be interested in flying the party’s flag. As of the last count, the number of the aspirants was said to be nine, including the immediate past governor, Alao-Akala, former Senate Leader Teslim Folarin, Professor Taoheed Adedoja, Professor Soji Adejumo, Mr Femi Babalola, Mr Seyi Makinde, Alhaji Azeem Gbolarumi, Mr Isaac Owolabi, and Dr Gbolarumi Adetunji. While it is not yet ascertained, the rumour mill has it that a serving senator on the APC platform, Adeseun, may eventually pitch his tents with the PDP with the ultimate intention of vying for the governorship seat of the state. A look at the aspirants would reveal that they all share one thing in common.
Adebayo Alao-Akala
The immediate past governor of the state holds an intimidating credential. Though the man is yet to make public his intention to seek a return to his former office, his body language would reveal that Alao-Akala is seeking to be the real man of destiny, as he often calls himself, by occupying the Oyo governorship seat, once again. His ambition to govern the state stemmed from his assertion while leaving in 2011 that he was only going on a temporary vacation.
A former top police officer, former local government chairman and a former deputy governor, Alao-Akala was seen as a populist governor and his teeming followers remain unshaken in their belief and conviction that he is destined to rule the state again. However some Oyo PDP members are of the opinion that while it was true that Alao-Akala, during his administration, elevated good governance, the man should yield ground for younger elements to take over the reins of governance in the state.
But like Dr Rabiu Kwakwanso, who made a return to the Kano State Government House in 2011, having been out of office for eight years, or, coming nearer home, like Fayose who, to the consternation of all, emerged the PDP standard bearer, also after eight years in the political wilderness, can Alao-Akala succeed in picking the party’s ticket for the position?
Senator Teslim Folarin
A two-term senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Folarin was the immediate past Senate Leader. He has been described as a good schemer who knows how to get things done in his way or favour. He has been transversing all the nooks and crannies of the state in his bid to garner support for his governorship ambition in 2015.
It was said that he would have, without any hassle, emerged as the PDP standard bearer for the election but for his role in the party’s defeat in the 2011 elections. Many PDP members would not easily forgive the former Senate Leader for the prominent role he played in ensuring victory for Ajimobi and APC in the election, though he eventually fell out of favour with the sitting governor of the state. However, recent events in the PDP in the land have clearly demonstrated that politics is not Mathematics. Folarin is said to be in charge of the Oyo PDP executives and thus, he is at a vantage position over some others and if the Ekiti and Osun scenarios are anything to go by, it would not be unsafe to say that all is not yet lost for the former Senate Leader.
Azeem Gbolarumi
He was a former deputy governor under Alao-Akala for 11 months, following the conversion impeachment of former Governor Rashidi Ladoja in 2006. A politician, who has been described as a grass rooter, Gbolarumi has been around in Oyo politics for quite some time. He was the last secretary of the old Ibadan Municipal Government (IMG), which has now been broken into several local councils. He was once the PDP chairman in the state and former state secretary of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SPD).
The man, who said Ajimobi would be sent packing from the Agodi Government House come 2015, recently reportedly said that he was in, ahead of other contestants, apart from Alao-Akala, for the governorship position in the state.
Hinging his chances on the quest for generational change, Gbolarumi was quoted to have said, “Within the Oyo PDP, while it is true that we have several aspirants who are qualified to be the next governor of the state, I can say that the final battle for the party ticket may eventually be between my boss, former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, my humble self and former Senate Leader Teslim Folarin. But among the three of us, and with all due sense of respect and humility, I may eventually get the ticket for some obvious reasons. My boss, who will be 65-year-old by 2015, is seen as belonging to the older generation of political office holders who should leave the contest to the younger elements...In view of this, and given the fact I once served as his deputy during his first coming in 2006, former Governor Alao-Akala may possibly concede the ticket to me, knowing that I can be relied upon and again in view of my relatively young age.”
Isaac Babalola Owolabi
A former two-time Commissioner for health during the Alao-Akala administration, Owolabi is generally regard as a versatile politician. He was also a workaholic Commissioner for Health who would go on scheduled tour of the various government hospitals, clinics and maternity centres, just to ensure that they were optimally functioning. Owolabi, imbued with a very deep sense of history, was seen a member of the Alao-Akala thin-tank when the going was good.
A frank and blunt person, he was said to be the only person in the then Oyo State Executive Council who would look at the former governor in the face and tell him he was wrong. He fell out with his former boss at the twilight of the administration as he was seen to be too independent-minded.
While efforts are still on-going to reconcile Owolabi with former Governor Alao-Akala, it is not without a doubt that the quest for the governorship ticket of the party will further put a wedge between the duo.
Seyi Makinde
Makinde is a suave, urbane engineer, politician and successful businessman. At 46, he is apparently the youngest among the contestants for the PDP ticket and thus stands at a vantage position if truly Oyo people want a generational change. With an unblemished record, the aspirant, having been around for about 10 years now, sees himself as an experienced politician, who twice lost the Oyo South senatorial ticket to political intrigues.
Makinde, with his ‘Omi Titun’ slogan, has been reaching out to some leaders in the party to garner support for his ambition. A respecter of leaders and elders, He however, does not believe in political godfatherism. At the height of the intrigues that pushed Ladoja out of office in 2006, Makinde once told Nigerian Tribune that, he would rather forgo the senatorial ambition than to worship at the altar of the demons (godfathers) to the detriment of the suffering masses.
A philanthropist, he has built a strong and formidable machine over the years and his admirers says he is capable of making a change if he is given the ticket. However, many are saying while he has the war chest and the goodwill, Makinde counsel that he should rather wait for his time. But the man will not take any of this as he is of believes he has all that is required to bring about the desired change to the people of the State.
Femi Babalola
An equally successful businessman and entrepreneur, Babalola, like Makinde, is an engineer by profession. Popularly known as Jogor, Babalola, at 50, also has age on his side as he would still be less than 52 if he eventually emerged as the next governor of the state. It was initially thought in many quarters that he was in the race to turn the apple cart in favour of his friend and mentor, Alao-Akala. But the man has been telling those who cared to listen that he is in the race for good. He has equally said he would bring to bear his successful business acumen towards ensuring good governance in the state.
Taoheed Adedoja
The former Minister of Special Duties and Sports and former chairman, Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), can be regarded as one of the veterans in the contest in the state. Also a former Provost of the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo, he sought for the slot on the ticket of the Labour Party in 2007 but lost out. He later joined the PDP under the administration of Alao-Akala who recommended him for a ministerial appointment under the President Goodluck Jonathan administration. He was said to have performed well as the Sports Minister and this may have had informed his decision to once again contest the governorship seat.
A close ally of the former minister told Nigerian Tribune; “Professor Adedoja, popularly known as PTA, is widely believed to be acceptable across political groups within the party in the state. His political and administrative experience in government has added values to his chances. But it is worrisome that he has not publicly declared his ambition.
Soji Adejumo
Professor Adejumo is the immediate past chairman of Oyo SUBEB. He was credited with having an award-studded tenure, elevating public education at the primary school level in the state to a greater height. Stating that the former Oyo SUBEB chairman possesses the best credentials to lead the state, one of his aides said, “Professor Adejumo can deliver a cutting edge development in all sectors as he has a blue print in place.” He also dismissed the possibility of a clash between Adejumo and Alao-Akala over the PDP ticket.
Extraneous factors: Alhaji Azeez Arisekola Alao and the Alaafin of Oyo
Beside the person and personality of the gladiators seeking the PDP ticket ahead the Oyo election in 2015, two other personalities would undoubtedly play a key role in whoever emerges as the next governor of the state. They are the Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Azeez Arisekola-Alao and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola, Adeyemi III. While these prominent citizens are not professional politicians, they cannot be said to be apolitical as they have been playing prominent roles in shaping the polity of the state.
President Goodluck Jonathan, said to be increasingly becoming aware of the need to consolidate on his second term ambition, was reported to have said, several times, that PDP should regain its lost position as the main and ruling party in the South West. Should PDP gets its act right and pick a candidate with a wide appeal to the people of the state, the battle for the governorship seat in 2015 could be one of the keenest in recent time in Oyo.
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