Osun Accord: Imperative Of Legislative Second Terms By Abbas Sehinde

The leadership of Osun Accord may eventually have no choice than to return current lawmakers for a second term in office. The situation is compelling as a scenario no one within the system can alter.

I believe it is not a matter of somebody liking somebody’s face or otherwise. It is not about which lawmaker has performed better than the other. It is interestingly not about whether the decision is comfortable with local peculiarities with respect to zoning and other grassroots arrangements.

The status quo with Osun state government and Accord leadership compel automatic return tickets for those members of State Assembly and members of the House of Representatives. It is really historical that political circumstances can mandate a decision even when there are a million reasons why it should not be done.

Take the case of the assembly tickets. Those state lawmakers genuinely suffered and sacrificed for the state leadership. At a time billions of naira were being offered per head to topple Governor Ademola Adeleke, they stood their ground , vowing loyalty. When huge foreign denominated currencies are freely available, they opted not to impeach or distract the state governor.

The state lawmakers truly paid their dues as they demonstrated loyalty and undiluted passion for the state leadership in the face of tremendous temptation. If they had betrayed the governor, APC will by now be smiling to victory. The Adeleke family and the party owe them a lot. No reasonable leader will dump those loyal allies at the assembly.

Then, it is not dumping them that is dangerous; it is the booby trap, the time bomb. Their tenure won’t lapse until June or July 2027. So when you dump a powerful club who had laboured so hard for you in times of need, you create a set of bitter, angry and vengeful teams. A group of 24 holds the power of life and death. The Fubara case is not far-fetched.

For the members of the House of Representatives, the same line of thought surfaced. When the APC was buying off with such tremendous presidential force and resources, some lawmakers defied the juicy offers and stuck to the state leadership. Those were precarious days when full defection may have badly injured the state governor and Accord.

It took rare courage to reject half a billion, juicy committees and automatic tickets. These Representatives refused to betray the state leadership. Even when they were cash strapped, they swallow the bitter pill to reject decamping offers.

The bitter truth is that the Representatives passed through a humiliation ritual at the federal house. I learnt they were punished and denied several opportunities because of their temerity to reject a presidential defection call.

How can the state leadership and Accord now turn around to disappoint their people?

But how will the party cope with local peculiarities if the incumbents are returned to the houses?

First, the incumbents must be humble about it. The lawmakers must be ready for a lot of pleadings and reconciliation processes. The situation is surely likely to be difficult. Those handed the tickets must climb down from any high horse.

The state leadership must also be ready for offers of compensation for top aspirants. There must be evidence based negotiations which will position leading aspirants for governmental roles. A give and take arrangement must be fashioned out.

The third leg is the possibility of monetary compensation. In areas where the competition was stiff and expensive, it is not out of place for aspirants’ bills to be written off. This will soften hearts and provide soft landing.

The last peg to reduce tension is to return aspirants who resigned to their former positions. The state leadership may actually effect a cabinet reshuffle. The wound will heal faster.

In areas where there is no incumbent, the state leadership should allow collegiate choices at the local level. This will strengthen the final choice and allow for collective struggle for electoral victory. If automatic tickets are approved for incumbent, local content and voice should be increased in selection for non-incumbent seats.

The last point is important as the state leadership cannot afford anti-party activities. A badly managed candidate’s choice can fuel revenge motives at future elections.

More critically, the state leadership must handle the entire processes with deep care. There must be deliberate peace building activities.

The governorship election is on August 15th-the party must go to the polls with a united front. Hence, the final decision should be preceded with fact based presentation to all stakeholders. Aspirants must be impressed to see reasons, some of which are identified above.

Overall, if well handled, the final outcome may be as seamless as nobody may expect. Accord may get it right after all.

But her leaders must tactically and strategically move fast.

● Sehinde, a political strategist, writes from Agunbelowo, Osogbo.

Disclaimer: This piece represents the opinion of the writer not that of CityMirrorNews