By Adewale Ogundiran
As internal wranglings and power tussle continue to rip the Osun State Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party apart, the unhealthy battle for the soul of the party is fast approaching a sharp end.
One of the many insights from the ego induced and warped reasoning triggered crisis is the insinuation that the Adelekes are the major financiers of Osun PDP and, as such, can do and undo. The narrative has been peddled far and near and is already being taken for a fact by a number of an unsuspecting audience.
This high wired conspiracy, to foist this thought on people, did not only give rise to the above titled article, it also seeks to reinforce the illusion that the Adelekes have the capacity to pocket the state and buy anyone over with or without a credible candidate(s).
Guided by the understanding that the truth will always catch up with a lie, no matter how far it has travelled, this rebuttal expressly affirms that Mr Deji Adeleke is NOT the major financier of Osun PDP.
For a truth, available records and facts place Dr Akin Ogunbiyi’s contributions in cash and kind to the party far above the commitments of the people laying claims to the soul and body of the Party. The only difference is that the insurance guru doesn’t gloat about his strides and has on several occasions stated that he is only interested in the governorship race and that he won’t hinder the party leadership and members from performing their duties and responsibilities.
Those mistaking the funding of the political aspirations of Senator Ademola Adeleke by his billionaire brother as funding of the Party are not in anyway better than the ignoramuses holding on to a self destructive belief that the ravaging COVID-19 is not real, despite many facts to the contrary.
A simple reflection on, and understanding of, where the Adeleke family and their allies were before they defected to the PDP is enough for any realist to deduce that the speculations involving the finances of the Party is nothing but a self service and means to a very personal end. Nothing more. Indeed, knowledge is power and those who don’t have it will always be at a dangerous edge and continue to live in their own illusions.
If Ademola Adeleke did not contest elections under the banner of the PDP, would Mr Deji have opened his vault and identified with the PDP since he is not a member of the Party? If the answer is No, then the undisputable truth is that he simply financed the election of his brother and rose in defense of the interest of his family.
Interestingly, he backed his brother, alongside his allies, to the total exclusion of the structures of the Party. So, of what value is the noise of his ego massagers and the baseless article under review are? More so, a number of the party members, who were not contesting, also parted with fortunes and supported the party with their generousity?
Dr Akin Ogunbiyi, for instance, paid the Nomination Forms fees of *all* candidates of the party ahead of the 2018 Congress that produced the current executives of the PDP. He also stood with the Party before, during and after the governorship elections with financial contributions to the Party at various times. He remained committed to the Party without making noise or any ridiculous claims. It is also said, in some quarters, that Hon Wole Oke recently collected account numbers of some members of the party and reached out to them to cushion the effects of the pandemic. As laudable as the gesture was, it did not generate any fuss. Small things only freak small minds, no matter how lowly or highly placed they are.
*2023* *Guber* *ticket*
Let’s face it, the current crisis facing Osun PDP is solely about who flies the flag of the Party for the 2022 gubernatorial elections. Mr Deji Adeleke knows that his brother has no ball of his own and can not win the party primaries if they are free and fair. Hence, the resolve to hijack the party structure by all means possible and work from a solution to the question. The suspension of the duly elected Chairman of the PDP, Hon Soji Adagunodo and a number of other unrests within the party are not unconnected with the move to take charge of the Party. It also underpins the article under review.
This is evident and clear enough for everyone who cares to know and lives by the truth. Another indication and pointer to the needless agenda setting move is the way and manner the _Step_ _Aside_ order was orchestrated and passed on the chairman who has neither been tried nor found guilty since the matter came up in April.
That Mr Deji Adeleke, whose brother was handed Osun West Senatorial Ticket of the Party barely 48 hours after he joined the PDP in 2017, is calling for the head of Hon Soji Adagunodo for ” _allowing_ ” Dr Ogunbiyi to contest the controversial 2018 PDP primaries against his brother is rather ridiculous and unbecoming of a statesman. But the game is quite understood. Ogunbiyi gave them a good run for their money and has since then been noted as one of their major targets. He and other dissenting voices are waiting grounds for the blame games and self deceits of those who have refused to learn from history. They even blame him for Ademola’s inability to secure a pass mark in his failed secondary school examinations which rubbed off negatively on his candidature in the last election.
Going forward, if politics is a game of numbers and democratic tenets suggest inclusive participation and fairness, then why are they feeling deflated and hell bent on stopping Hon Soji Adagunodo whose laudable position on inclusive participation is in the best interest of the Party? How easy will it be for the Adelekes and their attack dogs to later step down from their high horse, the way they did in 2018, and beg the people they have been defaming and blackmailing for support in the coming polls, if they ever have their ways again?
Dr Akin Ogunbiyi kick-started the mass mobilisation of the electorates towards the 2018 gubernatorial elections before the primaries, sending fears down the spin of the APC and its apologists. The goodwill till now is unprecedented for someone who has never held any political office before.
Ademola did what he knows how to do best – _danced_ – on the ground watered by Ogunbiyi and a host of others. Yet, the people who reawakened people’s love for the Party and whose aspirations stimulated the public interests and cumulated into a wide acceptance for the PDP were all labelled and called unprintable names.
The grand plans by Mr Deji Adeleke and his allies to hijack the Party structure and supplant their stooge as the Chairman so as to give Senator Ademola a non contest at the primary for the 2022 elections and also to be able to hand out the Party tickets to whosoever they desire informed the sponsored and highly slanted article with the above caption.
Unfortunately, the National Leadership of the PDP seems unconcerned with whatever happens, even if it means losing the next elections to the APC. The turn of events and happenings in Osun PDP have shown that the actions of Mr Deji Adeleke are nothing but a self serving agenda and counterproductive to the overall interests of the members of the Party.
Members of the Party who are not easy prey for propagandists and clout chasing alarmists are already revolting. Just this week, stakeholders and youths within the Party gathered to launch Bring Back Our Chairman (BBOC). The people are beginning to see through the deception and it won’t be long before the Party is liberated from the fangs of the Adelekes who are using heavy inducement, in most cases “audio donations” – in street parlance – lies and blackmail to railroad the Party.
Adewale Ogundiran writes in from Iwo, Osun State.
