Road To Senate
Had OGD followers been adequately taken care of by Dapo Abiodun, the former governor would most probably not have any business running for a Senate ticket he had rejected in 2011, 2015 and 2019.
But as the weight of expectation continued to mount, especially from the younger elements he has been leading since coming out of government over a decade ago, he had little choice but to return to the political frontline.
In choosing to run, OGD commissioned a poll to ascertain the status of the party and the governor in Ogun East. The report returned an abysmally low rating. This was what informed OGD’s decision to roll up his sleeves and run his characteristic but arduous Ward To Ward tour to breathe life into the party and endear it to the public through philanthropy and empowerment programmes.
Alas! The governor and his advisers mistook the good intention as an affront to their stranglehold on party structures. But they are wrong as the outcomes of the last general elections have shown.
At every point, the government which OGD helped to usher in became his biggest blockade, breaching and disrupting the well-publicised programmes of the Gateway Movement/Gateway Front Foundation with counter activities. Even opposition parties were more receptive to OGD’s senatorial bid than his party. What irony! It was a case of opposition within the APC so much that the general public began to notice the discordance.
Read Also: OGD’s long walk in APC: An eyewitness account
The governor unfortunately became the biggest opposer to OGD’s ambition to represent the people of Ogun East. He went all out discouraging party faithful from joining the OGD campaign train. Party leaders were threatened and discouraged from associating with the OGD campaign. Civil servants who dared to show solidarity with OGD as their past benefactor were sanctioned and almost lost their jobs.
Of course, the governor was not going to win a political battle against OGD in the court of the people and he got the signal of his imminent loss very close to the party’s senatorial primary. It was at that point he sought the intervention of revered traditional rulers to intervene in the impasse. Even then, he could not get the candidates he had propped up against OGD to step down until the election was halfway and OGD was already coasting home to victory.
Sensing that his own re-election was then facing jeopardy, the governor made a cosmetic attempt to publicly reconcile with OGD while continuing with his secret hostility.
Many politicians are aware of how the governor refused to materially or financially support OGD until support came from the presidential candidate. Nothing more!
Meanwhile, one has it on good authority that the DA’s opposition to OGD as Senator is due to his purported interest in retiring to the Senate when he finishes his second term in 2027. His’ is a classic case of “Enito ru eran erin sori totun wa nfi ese wa iho iren”. It is baffling to see how politicians scheme as if they own tomorrow. Only God knows tomorrow.
OGD Youth Wing
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
