If you are lucky to read Dr. Muiz Banire, National Legal Adviser of APC’s exclusive interview on Page 32 and page 33 of Saturday July 1st 2017 Punch Newspaper, I congratulate you.
First and foremost, I think we need to thank Dr. Muiz Banire for coming out at this time to tell truth to power. For once, we need to tell Asiwaju Tinubu that enough is enough. Enough of “Baba S’ope’. Enough of forcing candidates over people in the name of ‘continuity’. There is no better continuity than the one that allows new faces to emerge and give new dimension to leadership. Every time one drives around streets (hinterlands) in Lagos, you feel very sad with the level of bad road network around town. You ask yourself, ‘who are the LGA chairmen?’ how do they think? Do they think like normal human beings? Are they alright? I mean, how could you allow a road to go so bad for months, a year and more and you will have the effrontery to come and smile at me, in a new poster, the next 3 years? You must be a terrible animal. Why do we have this kind of horrible situation all the time? It is simple! Someone (Baba) will always give an overriding order to “allow him go a second, third and if possible fourth and fifth time”. I think a lot of people are silently angry with Mr. Tinubu and the early he knows this, the better for him.
Dr. Banire, a seasoned lawyer, compassionate humanist and rational politician echoed the anger of many in today’s PUNCH interview. The interview was not only hot. It was punchy. It was all about the recent sham called Local Government Primary Election in Lagos State. If you notice very well, there has never been a time we had so many faces contesting like this recent season. Move from Lagos Island to Mainland, Agege, Ikeja up to Ojokoro and Ifako Ijaiye up to Agbado-Oke Odo and other places, you will see many young and ambitious men and women from AD, PDP, APC, KOWA Party and more coming out, campaigning and aiming to lead at grass root. A rational politician will know that the game is over: that you should naturally allow people to have their way.
That you allow democracy to reign. That you allow fair play and internal democracy to take a lead. But not like our elder politician. The criticism is that he still want to dictate who takes what and who gets what even when majority is against his decision. At this age, Tinubu should be thinking of staying behind like Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and play the role of an elder statesman. I don’t know what he wants again. I don’t know what his cronies want again. You have installed capable hands like BRF, Ambode, Amosun, Banire and many others in strategic political positions, why can’t he just take a back seat and watch the boys grow to become men? Should we continue to hear your name connected with “imposition of candidates?”. What is the meaning of all these? And that is what Dr. BANIRE told him and other party stalwarts in ‘subtle diplomatic manner’ in today’s PUNCH.
I think Asiwaju has done well. He has raised great leaders including an Acting President, the next legacy he owes this dispensation is to allow democracy thrive on its own terms and condition. He should not be seen to be aiding the mockery of internal politics. What Dr. Banire said today is not far from the banker, Adeyinka Adebayo’s famous letter of last year. When you claim to empower people and the empowerment does not translate to industries or employable ventures, but only end up in the hands of few elite politicians who use it to cause “friction in the next electoral season” we can’t say we are winning.
No, sir. We are not winning. You cannot tell me that a chairman whose rule was spiced with bad and terrible road network plus half baked projects, in his four years or 8 years tenure, should be allowed to return for a third term under a “Baba S’ope” policy. Some of these people have been there for ages. The one in Surulere even had a scandal with his wife (daughter of late Oba Oyekan of Lagos) that I handled five years ago and same person is still there as ‘sole administrator’ or something.
The same evil is happening in my Mother’s state (Osun). The character ruling that state had no commissioners for two years until recently. I learnt he does not have LGA chairmen too, ruling with some un-elected sole administrators for almost 7 years. What kind of nonsense is that? The same man is also in charge of Alimosho LGA in Lagos, causing all sorts of political intrigues and making the party to lose steam with the people. In life, you must run away from people who bless you and equally imprison you with the blessing.
Dr. Muiz Banire as the National Legal Adviser hit the nail in the right point with that hot-seat-interview in today’s PUNCH as he hit both TINUBU and AREGBE with the right punches of truth and time-saving advice that could save the party from shrinking. When he was describing the Osun State dilemma, Dr. Banire said “Look at Osun state, it has not conducted election (LGA) for almost seven years, which is unfortunate and absurd. It is an impeachable offence”.
He revealed more truth and if Nigerians were not terribly docile, they ought to take it from here. We must demand credible democracy just like Dr. Banire, a professor of law advocated.
GBENGA DAN ASABE – www.asabeafrika.com
