By Ade Fashola
In insurance, recklessness increases your deductible and premium. People with such characteristics increase their exposure to accident and invariably insurer to higher payout and no underwriter wants to accept such risk. This is the situation of APC. They are making the job of the followers harder because of some uncurtailed recklessness of the rascals (excuse my language). When APC began to lose their members, we ignored it. We called them bad people. They started losing integrity. It was political. Now they are losing achievement, it is rudimental. All the achievement of Obaseki were as an APC governor but the beneficiary as at today is PDP.
It was my National Youth Service Year that I met this great Edo guy (then Bendel State) who corrected me during an incident (the story for another day) that happened in our boy’s room when I said when God wants to punish you, he will take away your good conduct. He said “In Bendel, if the gods want to punish you, they will run you mad”. We laughed it off but I always remember that day and the incidence. Truly, the gods are wise. This took me to Edo election that happened this last Saturday and the contrast of President Buhari’s demands of Governor Obaseki.
Since Osho pikin as recently declared by Senator Dino Melaye became the APC Chairman, until he was ousted,I was always afraid of the gods as regards the Edo/Bendel doctrine especially when you throw caution to the winds and recklessness is your beloved. Please do not get me wrong, I love President Buhari and political sagacity of Senator Bola Tinubu although it is like I was very wrong about President Buhari looking at the state of indiscipline in the APC party while Senator Bukola Saraki has proved me wrong on the sagacity of Senator Tinubu on the way he won the senate presidency in the face of the whole APC caucus. Nevertheless, I remain hopeful but uncomfortable.
Sometimes I asked myself, is this truly the Buhari I knew? May be not. Today, for a very long time, he sounded like the Buhari the whole country voted for in 2015. He asked Governor Obaseki to celebrate with grace and humility and I asked myself, Really? Where were you sir when the sacked Chairman of your party is calling people losers? My daughter asked me sometimes ago, exactly four years ago, is there no one to caution the recklessness of Oshiomole? I actually did not know how to answer the question. I cautiously answered “I don’t know”. She said, “What of the President? “ “Maybe he did not hear”, I answered.
“What about the wife?”She continued. “Maybe she did not want to interfere in his political life”, I posited. “Dad, be real. Let me help you”, she told me. I knew where this was going, I said please help me. Who can help him? She said his Mother and Father. “I don’t know about that, daughter” I said. “Dad, I did not mean his biological father and Mother,”she said. “I mean his political godfather”.
“ Who is his godfather?” I asked.
She said Senator Bola Tinubu.
The APC is losing its popularity. They struggled with Osun State, they have lost Oyo State, they lost Edo State, they are afraid of Ondo State. How can a party with so much potentials become so lame with all the federal might? Someone should wake me up please. The party is seriously losing it and this calls for concerns. We cannot trust the Information Minister’s broadcast neither the Special adviser on Media and Publicity because whatever they say is more partisan than neutral . Truth is accidental. How many members of the PDP are in the visa ban list? Imagine the list, Adam Oshiomole, Abdulahi Danguje, Yahaya Bello and the likes. This points to only one thing, the cousin of recklessness a.k.a rascality.
The Yoruba people will say when a member of your family is eating bad insect and you ignore it, sooner than later his sleeplessness will not allow you to sleep. This is the case of Senator Bola Tinubu. The latest video of the National leader was ill advised. The video was not democratic. When Osho pickin was going extreme on the case of Obaseki, the leader ignored it. Obaseki was running after the party leader but his calls fell on deaf ears. But when he took the most painful step of changing logo from broom to Umbrella, the party called his bluff. It was few days to election when the leader saw the looming calamity, he could not bear it and decided to go the unprofessional and unethical way by doing a video for Edo people. Not even the former chairman of the party in the person of Mr Oyegun approved the video. Trader money became campaign tool. I asked myself where is Uncle Yemi Osinbajo, Uncle Fashola, Dr Kayode Fayemi and the likes?Where were they and what were they doing or saying ,when Governor Ganduje, Yahaya Bello and Osho pickin became the face of APC.
The 2023 is around the corner and we await the intrigues,but one thing is very sure if the gods are not appeased, the market day is in seven days. Once a mad person enters the market, the madness is incurable. The only remaining rallying point is Mr President and surely Mr President will not be on the ballot in 2023. Who is left to help with the leadership? Senator Tinubu is not only losing his base, he’s losing his swag and sagacity? Ondo State may be the last straw. APC must stop the parade of rascals. Not only Nigerians are getting pissed, the international community are watching and the time is seriously winding down.
As the president asked, grace and humility are important characteristics of a “man of character”. As William Graham says, “A man without character can’t reign because power apart from character is Satanic.” Governor Obaseki please be gracious in your victory. The people of Edo have made you proud. Do what is right . Power is transient. There is uninsurable risk in Recklessness. May God guide you the right way. Congrat!
