In Ondo State, the contest to elect the next Governor becomes more critical as the two leading political parties are set to pick their flag-bearers in the next few days.
It would be recalled that I had nursed the hope of serving the state as Governor, under the famous umbrella of the PDP, until last month when I had to formally withdraw from the race for factors beyond my control.
Since then, I went back to the drawing board to answer the question, "if not Mafo, then who?" My first decision, which was easy, was to knock out any aspirant from the Northern Senatorial District, because it appears unpolitical for anybody from that Zone to aspire to take-over from Governor Akeredolu.
The next decision was rather difficult, whereby I had to also drop the Central Zone. The difficulty in taking the decision was not unconnected with my relationship with the sole aspirant from the District.
Eventually, my decision in favour of the South is devoid of sentiment. In the first place, that I was in the race before my withdrawal meant I had believed from the onset that it is the turn of the South. To make the point about the claim of the South more practical, it is necessary to ask, how fair will it be for the Central to enjoy an 8-year tenure, after Dr. Olusegun Agagu of blessed memory, through Dr. Olusegun Mimiko and now come back for another 4 or 8 years, immediately after Governor Akeredolu of the North, thereby shutting out the South from Alagbaka Government House for 20 years?
Put in another way, after 8 years of Mimiko, (Central) the baton changed to Akeredolu (North) and would now jump over the South to return to the Central, for another possible 8 years, meaning that for 16 years, the South will be watching the Central monopolising power at its expense!
That settled, the stage is now set to enumerate some of the factors responsible for my choice amidst the crowd of six highly competent and talented aspirants.
Again, it was not an easy decision, considering my personal relationships with all the six aspirants. But since the interest of the party is paramount and since our utmost aim is for PDP to recover the administration of the state in line with the yearnings and aspirations of our people, the name Alfred Agboola Ajayi stood out for a number of fundamental factors:
That Agboola Ajayi is from the South is not in doubt. Another advantage is that in PDP, Ajayi is on familiar terrain. Historically speaking, the root of what we call PDP today in Ondo State can be traced to Ondo Central Forum, formed by Olusegun Agagu in 1991. The idea behind the Forum metamorphosed into UNA, UNP, UNCP and finally PDP. All under the late Olusegun Agagu. So, if we are talking of the historical antecedent of PDP as a movement, it started in 1991 (now 29 years old), but as a registered political party, PDP is now 22 years old, counting from August 31st, 1998. Agboola Ajayi had been an integral part of the movement for 26 years and the party for 17 years, missing out only for less than 5 years.
For him therefore his recent return is a case of home-coming, which should call for celebration, not condemnation. On that account if the essence of longevity of membership is for members to be confident and rest-assured that our candidates should be embodiments of the culture of PDP, then no one comes before Agboola Ajayi and Eddy Olafeso in that regard.
Another major factor working in favour of Agboola Ajayi is that he is a politician, a grassroot one at that. It is common knowledge that the major factor troubling a certain party in the state is that their leader is not a politician. Besides, I love people that are intelligent and grounded in their game. Agboola Ajayi is the first Deputy Governor to survive an impeachment plot spear-headed by any Governor in the political history of Nigeria.
Since politics is a game of influence, it speaks a lot of volume that his security team were restored in less than 24 hours on the order of the I.G.
Moreover, politics thrives on contact, connections and exposure. In these and other related areas, he stands shoulders above his peers, in spite of his diminutive stature!
Talking about political experience, his background as a former council Chairman, former member of the House of Representatives and current Deputy Governor of the state put him ahead of others in this vital requirement.
It should be noted that Agboola Ajayi is a rather controversial politician, many great leaders are.
You either hate him or love him. But amidst the controversies of Agbo is this, Agbo is that, he became Supervisor, Chairman of local government, member, House of Representatives, Deputy Governor, etc! No one achieves all these without God. I believe Agboola is a child of Destiny!
Finally, in spite of all his achievements, Agboola Ajayi, though a tough politician, is very humble, cool-headed and mature!
In conclusion, I can not but state that I am amused at the kind of reception being accorded the sitting Deputy Governor by a cross-section of the party. We are all living witnesses to history as per how political parties capitalise on the arrival of big fishes in their fold for electoral advantages, especially Governors and their Deputies. The case of the 5 PDP Governors ,who decamped to APC in 2014 is in reference here. In PDP, precedents abound in cases like those of Aminu Tambuwal, Samuel Urtom and most recently, Godwin Obaseki. What then is the crime of Agboola Ajayi in preferring the PDP platform at the expense of the APC. If he cannot be given an automatic ticket, must he be denied a level playing ground? Since the Deputy Governor abandoned the APC ship, the ruling party's woes has increased as they know what Ajayi is capable of doing, hence all the schemes, including impeachment saga, to pull him down.
From the fore-going, it is wrong for some sections of the party to join in the game of trying to pull down an aspirant, as all of us will end up supporting whoever wins the primary. A stitch in time saves nine. Let us unite and work together in our march towards Alagbaka Government House!
In finally ending this piece, I appeal to all the concerned authorities from the NWC to the State to uphold the noble democratic principles of our great party by giving all the aspirants a level playing ground.
Together, we shall aspire, together, we shall achieved!
