Ekiti 2022: Another Glance At South Agenda

The people of Ekiti South Senatorial District have continued with their struggles to produce a governor. But, how serious and committed are these political agitators? This is one of the pertinent questions the political watchers and pundits may likely ask because power is usually gained through genuine and arduous struggles. Some struggle for power, others “fight” for it.

It is very pitiful that none of the elected Ekiti State Governors hails from the southern district of the state since the inception of democratic rule in 1999. Nevertheless, we cannot also ignore the record that, no senatorial district of Ekiti State had been given the gubernatorial ticket of any political party gratis in order to produce a governor. This indisputable fact may make it difficult for any gubernatorial aspirants to get the ticket of the viable and popular political parties without going through legitimately conducted primaries ahead of 2022 general election.

Therefore, it’s more logical that every PDP aspirant should be preparing for the primary election, and whoever gets the simple majority of about 2000 statutory and automatic delegates across the state would be declared as the party’s candidate

Unfortunately, evidence now abounds that the majority of the governorship aspirants from the south are comparatively complacent and less practically established across the state. For instance, the three aspirants from the south in PDP; Sen. Olujimi, Prof Eleka and Mr Adaramodu have not practically established in other districts barely a month before the party primary. I think only one of them could boast of a viable campaign organization, a campaign office/ situation office across the State. Though, they have all rented social media platforms as if elections are won through that academic exercise. On the contrary, aspirants from the centre and north like Bisi Kolawole, Segun Oni and Wale Aribisala have been seriously interfacing with the delegates with their clout more felt across the state.

In terms of spread, acceptability and popularity, none of the three aspirants from the south could be rated among the three most popular aspirants in Ekiti PDP. Anyway, my assertion is highly verifiable and testable.

An aspirant like Bisi Kolawole in particular with the support of Ayo Fayose has set every necessary machinery into motion which has fully involved the necessary political actors in his consultations across the state for about one year.

I must seriously express my fear with the way the south agenda is being executed again. I think the business of politicking should be pursued with more seriousness, zeal and determination.

I take little interest in the pre-primary politics of the APC because of the sitting governor and “strong” man at the centre of the party’s activities in Ekiti. You may disagree with me, the APC guber ticket is reserved in the inner pocket of Governor Kayode Fayemi for his anointed aspirant. I pray my assertion could be faulted after the primaries.

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Recently, some PDP aspirants from Ekiti south took their struggles to the national secretariat of the party at Wadata Plaza, Abuja. But, how would this effort produce a meaningful result ?. It was the same PDP National Secretariat that sold nomination and expression forms to 17 governorship aspirants in Ekiti State with three of them from Ekiti south in preparation for the primaries. Now, how will the same Office support or order zoning that will prevent other fourteen aspirants from the north and centre from the party primary? Moreover, the newly elected national chairman, Senator Iyiocha Ayu has severally abhorred the imposition of candidates in his speeches. The aspirants from the south should please take their campaigns to the delegates at the grassroots.

Ironically, Ekiti south got the PDP ticket in 2018 without carrying placards to Abuja.

No doubt, aspirants from the south could be pitied and favoured by some delegates/voters for being disadvantaged in the past, but over-reliance on utopian south agenda campaigns that alienated the major political actors may not win the primary election of any political party as it has not been. There are many other factors that could help the aspirants in their endeavour.

Some political gamblers are evidently expecting the PDP leadership to impose a candidate ahead of the 2022 Ekiti election. They are very unrealistic in their thought.

Yes, some could argue that Engr Segun Oni was imposed as governorship candidate in 2007 by the former president Olusegun Obasanjo. One, Obasanjo was the Nigerian president and number one party man then. Two, there was a section of the PDP constitution, which empowered the party leadership to use/consider *character* as one of the conditions for deciding the party candidate. This particular section/portion has been expunged from the PDP Constitution, and moreover, PDP that’s not in power now cannot exercise such an autocratic power, to impose a candidate. We shouldn’t forget in a hurry that, the scar of Segun Oni’s imposition in 2007 remains in the party.

South agenda would gain more impetus if a leader like Sen. Biodun Olujimi could concede the race to one of the younger politicians from the district, most especially now that her most adored political structure/group has been disintegrated by his estranged followers like Deji Ajijola and Yinka Akerele who have equally joined the race from the Centre and North. Olujimi should endeavour to groom and mentor younger politicians with her political and financial resources. There is a serious problem with the south agenda if the fallacious idea of Olujimi must be BOT, Olujimi must be senator and Olujimi must be governor persists. It’s high time the mother-general played a supportive role to promote the youths.

With my practical experiences of the south agenda during the 2014 and 2018 off-cycle governorship elections, I have become more conscious of any aspirants that I would queue behind because we later discovered that, the majority of the 10 aspirants from the south in 2014 never prepared for the rigours of elections, rather they erroneously believed that merely telling the party members that, Ekiti south had not produced a governor was enough to secure the party ticket for one of them. It’s just too risky supporting aspirants that would be scouting for short ways to success.

In 2018, the sitting governor Ayo Fayose actually used his leadership influence to restrict the contest for the PDP governorship ticket to aspirants within the southern district. Hence, only Dayo Adeyeye and Kolapo Eleka from the South slugged it out in the PDP guber primary, which was quite unprecedented in the history of the party. Though, Fayose’s political adversaries may not yet see the development as a special consideration for the south and gimmick to assist the south to produce a governor.

In conclusion, for Ekiti south to produce a governor, every hand must be on deck. The aspirants from the zone should jettison complacency, get prepared for the primaries, pursue the goal selflessly and intensify efforts without relying solely on marginalisation as their only campaign issue. They should be fully prepared to compete squarely with other aspirants in the Centre and North politically, strategically and financially without perceiving themselves as underdogs who could only win as governor through zoning or consensus. Nevertheless, the fact that Ekiti south has been marginalised since 1999 would naturally and advantageously curry the favour and consideration of some voters. Also, diplomacy and lobbying should be considered as an integral part of the struggles to achieve the objective. (Eleka nearly got it in 2018 through the political benevolence of Ayo Fayose). Governorship cannot be achieved in isolation, hence the opinion leaders and political bigwigs across the state should be adequately lobbied without restricting only to the south.

Omotoso Okeya, a journalist and political analyst

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