If you and I contribute money; she does; He does and we all do the same to create and run the political party, the party is our own. We would all feel like the 'godfathers' of the party under equal mentality and operational stead.
But, where you go to his house to collect his personal money every day to run and grow the party, then it is natural for him to feel it is his own. And would always want to operate or do things in the party to exercise the influence of his founding father stakeholdership; personal political ambition interest and financial investment status. That is what some Nigerians label as the manifestation of evil 'godfather-ism' in today's Nigeria.
If he is the one, who thought of creating the party and went ahead to achieve it with his own personal resources and social connection efforts, then there is no way he won't continue to call all the shots and keeps operating in the party like that 'godfather' you say you don't like.
If you don't want a party, where you would run things under the influence of any 'godfather', then go to another party, where there are no godfathers; go and form your own party or you don't go to them to make you anything in politics or democracy in their party.
It is a known fact that many of the big political actors, who are now fighting against 'godfather-ism' or inciting Nigerians against the menace today, are products of that godfather-ism influences at one time or another, when they were climbing up on the ladders of their political journeys.
I bet you, if the process of the democracy were to be allowed to run as normally as it is supposed to be, then many of those who are up there politically today, might still be struggling at the bottom of the ladder of the politics.
Or, if not for the influence of godfather-ism, how would the like of Fashola, Obaseki, Ambode, Wike, Sanwo-Olu, Fayemi, El-Rufai and plenty others, have been where they are in the politics of today's Nigeria?!
Many of them definitely got to where they are today thorough the endorsements and help of these so-called strong stakeholders in their political parties.
But, they are up there today, and some of them are now using 'godfather-ism' deceptively as campaign slogans to whip up sentiments; to fight the leaders and major stakeholders of their parties, and to curry sympathy against their opponents from the Nigerian voters.
If indeed we all hate godfather-ism, then we won't all be operating and voting inside only APC and PDP alone. We would vote inside other parties, where there are no money bags and godfathers to pay for our membership involvements and electoral patronage.
If we indeed hate it, then we won't be voting to pick leaders from the candidates only those two or three dominant political parties present to us during every election in Nigeria.
Olowo lo ni owo! A Nigerian like me won't ever be deceived to agree that Obaseki hates 'godfather-ism' and he is sincerely fighting it, because he has been a product of the strong influence of the so-called 'godfather ism' since 2016 I have been hearing his name prominently in Nigeria's politics.
His main problem, as I think, is that he wants to be a 'godfather unto himself and in the politics of the present Edo State, and seemingly he must have to displace the one(s) that made him before he could achieve it. And right now, I guess he is happy with his new life.
In 2016, he was a
product of godfather-ism in APC, and in 2020, his emergence as well as his
electoral victory was still a product of godfather-ism in his new PDP.
Or, how would he
hurriedly join a new political party today and within two weeks, he got all he
wanted immediately, if not for the help of some godfathers in that party.
Many Nigerians say they
hate godfather-ism, but they won't ever vote for the candidates, presented to
them by any of those god-fatherless parties, except the ones presented to them
by those few parties they complain about godfather-ism and goduncleism.
There were 14 candidates
in the last Edo election, but nobody looked the way of the other 12 from those
other parties, except the ones presented by those two dominant parties, where
they complain are being run by the godfathers.
Any political leader,
who engages in the imposition of one candidate or the other, under any guise
and reason or uses his influence to shortchange the chances of other qualified
aspirants in the process, is a 'godfather'. So, it can't be only one person in
Lagos or Edo. It is in all the main political parties in Nigeria.
And, that is why any
political party, where there are no such powerful and influential money bags or
godfathers to bank roll the financial expenses of running those parties, don't
grow or hardly ever wins election in Nigeria.
If there is any
political party that is not growing or doing well in Nigeria today, then it is
because there are no such financially powerful Nigerians to bankroll their
survival. That is the honest truth! Or is it only APC and PDP that are in
Nigeria?!
You don't expect a man
to think of creating a political party; use his personal resources, time and
risk with few others to run and grow it, and when it is now time to exercise the influence of his founding-father investment stakeholder-ship and political
ambition interest, you now expect he would go and sit down for you to be
in charge or call the shots, all in the name of, we must be allowed to practice
ideal democratic tenets or godfather-ism is an abomination.
Where were those ideals
when he was spending his money to grow the party?!
We are all humans, ask
yourself, if it would be easy to go like that with you, if you were the one?!
Omoyele Sowore formed a
political party, he ran it like the same 'godfather' you say is evil; He was
the chairman of the party; the man in charge of the money of the party, and
also the Presidential flag bearer. Many examples abound like that!
Was he the only person
in that party, if 'godfatherism' is indeed evil in only APC and PDP?!
Bola Tinubu too has only
been playing the game the way the system likes it and has been running it.
He is not the only one
in it like that in Nigeria, but almost all the major political power brokers in
Nigeria"
- Olukayode Salako writes from Lagos.
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