By Bola BOLAWOLE; turnpot@gmail.com; 0807 552 5533
*Pix above: PPBAT
PLEASE
SHARE
What is politics? According to Professor Harold Lass- well,
politics is “who gets what, when, how”. In other words, politics is basically
about the allocation of resources. Resources are scare but needs are many, far
more than available re- sources can cope with at any point in time.
<Ad>
In economic terms, demand outstrips supply; so, some needs
will be met while others will be denied or postponed. The main duty of the
government is to allocate resources: How much will be allocated to de- fence,
to education, to the provision of infrastructure, to energy supply, etc.
Will salaries and pensions be paid as when due, will there
be training, for what category of officers and at what cost? Will there be a
salary review, when and what quantum of increment? In deciding “who gets what,
when (and) how”, those who make the decision set priorities, us- ing differing
parameters: national interest; interest of the poor and downtrodden; their own
selfish and personal interests; primordial interests such as ethnicity,
religion, social status or stratification; political considerations, among
others.
So, often, the closer you are to those in power, the more
are your chances of getting values allocated to you or your interests. Those in
the corridors of power benefit more from the privileges the government
dispenses than those who are far away from it. You must belong, as they say, to
participate in the sharing of the spoils of office. The dividends of democracy
can be discriminatory! Today, in Nigeria, we have a new Sheriff in town:
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He came to town with new faces, as it were; a new
set of men and women who now call the shots in various sectors of our national
life.
Men and women who were nobody yesterday are the Very
Important Personalities of today. Together with their principal, they are the
ones who, today, make the decisions of “who gets what, when, how” They can
decide to favour or marginalize you. They can give or deny you your dues.
If you do not belong in their circles, you will only watch
the largesse they dispense waltz its way around you and land on someone else’s
lap. Or they may choose to fling it over your head for another person to catch.
You can decide to worm your way into their heart by whatever means possible.
You may also choose to lie low and allow even this to pass.
Nothing lasts forever! Where are yesterday’s strong men and
women? Where is Muhammadu Buhari and his all-powerful coterie of cabals? They
are all men and women of yesterday. They have all lost power, relevance and
glamour. A little more time and today’s men and women of power will also join
them. As Zik told Ukpabi Asika, “No condition is permanent”! And nothing lasts
forever! For the umpteenth time, my people of Ondo State are complaining of
being marginalized by President Tinubu.
The first time was when the president chose his ministers,
service chiefs and the pillars of his administration. My Ondo state people were
miffed that those who did not contribute as much as they did to the making of
the Tinubu Adminis- tration got far more than Ondo State that contributed far
more. In terms of the number of positions given and the importance and
relevance of those positions, Ondo State believed it was marginalized. Many of
them complained to me. Write it, they commanded me! But we counseled restraint
and accommodation. Let’s give the president another chance! Let’s allow him
time and peace of mind to settle down and gather the levers of power and the
reins of office in both hands.
One year later, Tinubu’s ice has refused to thaw; his
coconut leaves, rather than soften, have gotten more toughened. This is what my
Ondo State people are seeing, and saying, with the recent Board appointments
announced by Tinubu. It did not take some people much time before affixing
State of origin to the 550 Board appointments rolled out by the president.
According to them, Ondo State got only six whereas Osun
state got 22. Why zero in on Osun? I would have loved to see them reel out the
allocation to other states. But why Osun is not far to fetch. Osun is Tinubu’s
purported state of origin.
In the last presidential election, he lost that state and,
incidentally, also the Lagos State that he claims, to both Atiku Abubakar’s PDP
and Peter Obi’s Labour Party respectively; but he won Ondo state handsomely
with a princely 68% of the votes cast. But both Lagos and Osun, two failures,
have benefited more in terms of appointments from the Tinubu administration
than Ondo that gave its all. Why? Why is failure being rewarded while success
is being derided?
And I remembered the street football we played as children
called “work-andeat”. To work for others to eat is a curse. Isaiah 65:22 says:
“They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another
eat… My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands”. Ondo state and its
people need deliverance from the curse of working for others to eat! One of the
posts I received reads: “Osun, 22; Ondo, 06.
The difference is clear (like) 7UP! Who did we offend? What
is our offence? Why the discrimination? Why the oppres- sion? Why the
shortchange? These and many more questions we ask Tinubu and the APC leadership
(and) people (APC leaders) like Chief Pius Akinyelure, Ambassador Sola Iji, our
distinguished senators, members of the House of Representa- tives, Honourable
minister, etc. Ondo State won (the presidential election for Tinubu/APC) with
the highest number of votes (68%).
We were given 6 over 550 of the Board appointments while
Osun state that lost the election was rewarded with 22 over 550. Where did we
get it wrong? Who did we offend? Where is the justice in APC’s motto and
slogan? Well, time will tell!” I was sarcastic in my response to the
complainant: “Get an Ondo state person to become president! Also, get the Ondo
state indigenes who are close to Tinubu to push harder for the State and not be
selfconscious alone. If Aketi had been alive, it most likely would have been
different. Aiyedatiwa does not have the same influence Aketi had on Tinubu.
Besides, he (Aiyedatiwa) is too engrossed in his own
survival battle to have the time to lobby for political appointments for
anyone. When Buhari was president, Daura and Katsina benefited more than other
towns or states in the North. Ditto Jonathan’s time as president. Obasanjo, for
obvious reasons, benefited the Igbo more than the Yoruba. Let’s thank Tinubu
that, at least, he has not marginalized the Yoruba. Osun is Yoruba. So, we
thank Tinubu for little mercies!“
I am sure you know I was just trying to give my people cold
comfort. Nothing at all justifies the snobbish treatment and cold shoulders
they believe they are getting from a man they supported with all their being.
But if you think the Ondo state people are the only ones complain- ing, you are
mistaken: Some APC women leaders have expressed their grouse that they were yet
to be com- pensated for their contribution to Tinubu’s success at the polls.
Many who are hopeful or who have been penciled down for appointment are
agitated and apprehensive that time is going.
One year is gone already. But, truth be told, I do not envy
the president. To make appointments may appear easy on the surface but, in
actual fact, it is not. The pressure, the blackmail, the pull and push are
better imagined than experienced, especially with all the rumour flying around
about appointments being sold and bought. So, Tinubu has to shine his eyes. I
heard that he makes efforts to see everything before any- thing escapes to the
public.
That is not going to be a small job. On top of that, he has
other things to do: Foreign trips to source for FDI; meetings to attend, ECOWAS
waha- la, his health to attend to, NLC incessant strike actions, ASUU warming
up for its own strike, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar’s ceaseless jabs, etc. He
has governance to also attend to. He must also find time to unwind.
Ayo Fayose as governor of Ekiti state told me that if he had
a thousand appointments to make, they would not be enough to take care of
everyone who contributed to his success at the polls. That is the bitter truth.
Everyone who worked for Tinubu cannot get an appointment. Not everyone who
worked will have the opportunity to enter the dining room whereas some who did
not lift a finger will end up sitting at the head of the table! Such is life!
That, however, does not excuse the (deliberate or
oversight?) marginal- ization of anyone. Awujale (Ogun state) celebrated 90
years and got GCON. Yoruba leader Pa Reuben Fasoranti (Ondo state) took pains
to visit Tinubu on a wheelchair at the Presidential villa but returned
empty-handed. He thereafter cel- ebrated 98 years and still got nothing. Pourquoi?/PLEASE
SHARE
* Former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its
Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, BOLAWOLE was also the Managing
Director/ Editor-in-chief of THE WESTERNER newsmagazine. He writes the ON THE
LORD’S DAY column in the Sunday Tribune and TREASURES column in New Telegraph
newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and
television.
