In this piece, TOLUWANI ENIOLA examines recent attacks against a former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, and the implications for the ruling All Progressives Congress in Lagos State
THE immediate past Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, is facing another form of political battle after eight years of governing the economic nerve centre of Nigeria. Now that he is no longer in power, his phones will no longer ring as usual. On Tuesday, during the presentation of three books on his administration written by his former aides, several All Progrossive Congress leaders and even some commissioners who served during his administration shunned the event. Many were appalled that the governor, who left office barely three months ago, would be quickly deserted by his political associates.
A public commentator, Gbenga Sesan, on his official Twitter handle aptly captured the situation when he likened politicians to the abobaku, the fraudulent assistant of the king in the Yoruba custom who would rather enjoy the affluence of power than fulfill his vow to die with the king.
For the eloquent governor, who attracted criticism due to his no-nonsense approach to governance, this is not the best of times. The embattled Fashola has been in the news recently, not for his achievements in office but for shocking allegations levelled against his administration, and the alleged rift with his political godfather, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria is credited with several developmental strides in the areas of urban renewal, construction of rural roads, hospitals, markets and rural electrification. But his popularity seems to be threatened as he faces a litmus test after leaving office.
The cracks within Fashola’s party – the APC – fuelling speculations that all is not well within, are widening daily. In the words of an observer, “The enemies within are swooping on Fashola to stop him from being appointed a minister.” But recent developments have further confirmed the fact that the attacks against Fashola are not only to stop him from becoming a minister but a renewal of his quarrel with Tinubu, his political godfather.
How the rift started
Towards the end of his first term in office, it was clear that Fashola and Tinubu were not enjoying a good relationship. There were unconfirmed reports that Fashola was not complying with the advice and demands of Tinubu. During the campaign for the APC primary last year, Fashola was said to have favoured a co-lawyer, Olasupo Shasore, to succeed him, against Akinwunmi Ambode who was said to be Tinubu’s choice.
But Tinubu in a statement entitled, “My relationship with Fashola is intact,” said reports that his relationship with his successor was frosty was false.
He said, “For a while now, I have noticed and read many published political stories on Lagos politics, in particular, and the personalities involved that are concocted, unsubstantiated, pure conjectures or outright falsehood. In this instance, I reference a story ran by a newspaper concerning my successor and me. There are no doubt political charlatans and enemies are at work, fuelling unnecessary rumours and insinuations and seeking to drive a wedge in an otherwise cordial and respectful political relationship.
“My relationship with (Governor) Fashola remains cordial both at the personal level and at the level of commitment to ensuring Lagos State remains on the path of political stability, growth and development. Whether (Governor) Fashola had a specific candidate or not isn’t the issue here. What is important is to have a transparent process in the spirit of democracy to which we both subscribe. We often debate, agree or disagree. But when it comes to concluding on the interest of Lagos State, we are on the same page.”
Tinubu’s response, in the words of an observer, was released because “the APC did not want to wash its dirty linens in the public.”
Some political watchers were not convinced. Although Tinubu denied having a favourite aspirant before the APC governorship primary, the eventually victory of Ambode did not assuage the suspicion of people.
A season of attacks
A Yoruba adage that says “if there are no enemies within, the external enemies are not potent,” seems to aptly explain the cause of Fashola’s troubles after the end of his tenure. Close to the end of his administration, Fashola was accused of having children outside marriage. A few months after he left office, the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, through its leader, Debo Adeniran, launched a diatribe against the Fashola administration. CACOL slammed Fashola over his refusal to disclose how his administration spent the $200m World Bank education fund. CACOI, which berated the former governor for financial recklessness, then urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to consider Fashola for ministerial appointment. Another allegation against Fashola was a statement on the website of the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency that the former governor approved the sum of N78m for the upgrade of his personal website www.tundefashola.com in 2014.
Alleged sacking of Fashola’s men
Earlier in the month, Ambode announced the retirement of 15 permanent secretaries in the state’s civil service who were said to be loyal to Fashola. The governor also approved the appointment of 19 new permanent secretaries in the state public service.
A statement by Ambode’s Chief Press Secretary, Habib Aruna, however, stated that the appointments were in line with the governor’s drive to restructure the civil service for efficient service delivery. To some watchers of the political events in the state, the sacking was the perpetuation of the rift between Ambode and his predecessor.
Implications for the Lagos APC
The alleged Fashola/Tinubu rift has enormous implications for the ruling APC which had been in power in the state for the past 16 years. Some have predicted that aggrieved aspirants of the party in the last election who are not happy with Tinubu’s leadership may join forces with Fashola . The allegations against Fashola also brings some questions to the fore, especially on whether Fashola was right to have spent 78m on the website. The APC, which rode to power on the strength of its anti-corruption campaign and judicious use of public resources, seems to be losing its admirers as many are in doubt whether there were other inflated expenses that Fashola made while in power.
But in a swift reaction, a source within the APC who did not want to be named, said the APC had nothing to worry about. The source said Fashola invited trouble for himself because he shunned those that helped him to become governor.
The source said, “Every man’s destiny is attached to God but there are people called destiny helpers. In your journey in life, those kinds of people are not to be taken for granted.
It will be recalled that Fashola, while defending himself against the allegations in a statement last week said, “ When you wrestle with a pig , the pig gets happy and you get dirty.”
Commenting on the issue in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Tuesday, the acting chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos State, Alhaji Kamarudeen Olorunoje, said people should not be hasty in judging Fashola.
Olorunoje said although he was not defending the former governor, the amount that Fashola spent on the website may be justified by the capacity and quality of the website.
He said, “Let us not be too quick to pass judgement against Fashola. The rift between Fashola and Tinubu is not new. It has been on for a while. The initial rift has not been resolved. Right now, Ambode is the governor and a lot ofpeople would rather want to follow Tinubu because Ambode is now in charge.
“Fashola was deserted because many are protecting their interests. They don’t want to lose favour with the governor in power. This shows the weakness of the human nature. Your supporters may leave you once you are out of office. How many people have visited former President Goodluck Jonathan now since he left office?”
Fashola’s personal comportment and conduct, no doubt, added great value to the face of the APC in Lagos and nationally.
His administration was the reference point for both the then ruling PDP at the national level and the APC in the South-West.
This infighting has left a chink in the armour of the APC in Lagos and it is left to be seen whether the PDP would take advantage of the rift. He who lives in a glass does not throw stones.
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