“The loser at the hazard, when the game breaks up/ Sadder, sorrier lingers on alone
Replays each throw and drinks of wisdom’s cup” – Aligheri Dante, 1265-1321, in Purgatory.
For me, this is one of the most painful articles I have ever had to write in 39 years of writing for VANGUARD. In a fight between older brothers, friends and political associates on the one hand, and, a barely tolerable opponent on the other side, I naturally stand by the former – and damn the consequences. This is the first exception. With all due respects to my senior brothers in the South-West, the recent controversy between former President Obasanjo and former Governor Osoba, can most aptly be regarded as “the same stale old stew, warmed up and served in new plates” (Apologies to ex-President Babangida).
Nothing substantially new was added to what we knew already before the fresh outburst. I know why we are again being treated to another round of recriminations. I will discuss that later. I was never a party card holder; but, my family had been in the progressive camp ever since my eldest brother, the late Chief Sanu Sobowale, joined the Action Group Youth Wing with the late Chief Bola Ige. I had the privilege of knowing Ige when he and my brother attended Ibadan Grammar School. Ige was the Kaduna Boy; my brother was the Zaria Boy in their class. They exchanged visits and that was when I first came across the man later nicknamed Cicero.
I remember, as if it happened yesterday, my encounter with the late Chief Ayo Adebanjo; lifetime stalwart of Afenifere, in his chambers at the Western House, Broad Street, Lagos Island. I was sitting watching the NTA News, for days before the meeting, when it was reported that the leaders of AD/Afenifere had reached an agreement with President Obasanjo not to field a presidential candidate for the 2003 elections. Despite the fact that Nigeria and the world were still several years from when government-controlled media agencies broadcast barefaced lies, the announcement was still incredible to me; principally, because it made no sense for AD.
REQUIEM FOR AD/AFENIFERE
“To know/That which before us lies in daily life/Is the prime wisdom, what is more is fume” – John Milton, 1608-1674, VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p 275
There was only one way to find out. I wrote an article the Sunday after the announcement titled REQUIEM FOR AD. Briefly summarized, my position was this: First, given the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, the presidency is the only position any political party should aspire to hold. My political arithmetic convinced me that, unlike the US Constitution, the Nigerian president had more clout than all the 36 governors combined. Any party not vying for the presidency is heading for the graveyard of politics. Second, AD/Afenifere controlling the six states of the South West should aim at expanding its influence nationwide, while still contesting for president; and hope that superior governance in the zone would attract support from other states. Third, and this was perhaps the most important, Obasanjo should not be trusted, the agreement announced sounded to me like the lion asking the leopard to form a hunting partnership; every success to be shared equally. The leopard might soon find itself on the lion’s menu.
Fourth, I ended by asking the leaders of AD/Afenifere to withdraw from the deal. That was the main presentation – which characteristically was full of global precedents as well as one of local examples.
The article appeared on Sunday; I received an urgent message from the late Chief Ayo Adebanjo, highly respected, almost worshipped, who I visited several times before.
It was a most unhappy meeting for both of us. The late Chief Adebanjo, like most great men, sooner or later, invest themselves with infallibility. They can never be wrong; and they don’t tolerate younger people trying to correct them; more so, when it was a group decision made by older, more experienced politicians and wiser than me. He proceeded to lecture me on the details of the agreement. The more he revealed, the more alarmed I became. I couldn’t believe that our most trusted leaders in the progressive alliance could be so easily duped. The meeting turned combative when I asked a question.
“Sir, you said Obasanjo agreed to leave your governors untouched. What if he reneges on that promise? It will be too late to make amends.”
“Obasanjo is a senior military officer; they keep their words.”
“Sir, that is precisely my fear. Deception is fair in war; and politics is like war without shooting.”
“Are you saying that the president of Nigeria can be distrusted?”
“Yes Sir, on a matter like this.”
“Dele, please walk out of my office.”
Unfortunately for the progressives, the leaders had been lured to their own self-destruction. One victim of this catastrophe was of particular interest to me.
SEGUN OSOBA, OLD BOY, METHODIST BOYS HIGH SCHOOL, LAGOS
“God save me from my friends; I can take care of my enemies.”
Senior Segun Osoba and I grew up in Lagos; he was my senior at Methodist Boys High School while I was trailing a few years behind at Igbobi College. Both schools valued high ethical standards and bred them into the students. He was unprepared for politics.
Lagos boys always were instinctive loyal to each other. I was totally devoted to Osoba; I also feared for his safety given the agreement with Obasanjo. Chief Osoba, like all politicians, had enemies; who never hurt him. Instead, he was a victim of his friends in AD/Afenifere as well as his newly found “friend” – President Obasanjo. As soon as the pact was sealed, Osoba could be seen at the Lagos Airport to receive the president each time Obasanjo was in Lagos and Abeokuta. The governor was faithful to the terms of the deal; the president was not. It was painful watching the game playing out; though I naively thought that Osoba would defeat anybody thrown at him; deal or not.
I was at the VANGUARD Editorial meeting the day Gbenga Daniel came to announce his candidacy for the governorship of Ogun State. We listened politely and laughed heartily when he departed. To us, it was a bloody joke for anybody to want to challenge Osoba. Complacency crept in; Osoba hardly campaigned. I cried when the results came in; Osoba and four other AD governors had been sent home. The deception had worked as I predicted.
Chief Adebanjo and I met, at a funeral, months after the AD/Afenifere had lost five states, leaving only Lagos State; where Bola Tinubu had refused to be a party to the agreement. Good upbringing demanded that I should greet first and respectfully. It was not triumph but sadness. The progressive movement in the South-West had been decapitated. Henceforth, the zone will fall into the hands of non-Awoists.
PLEASE STOP THE NEEDLESS CONTROVERSY
“A peaceful mind is often built by avoiding arguments that prove nothing” – Author Unknown
Just as I was struggling with how to end this article, stopping at a petrol station yielded this gem of advice on the back of a T-shirt worn by a bus driver. I quickly wrote it down. The current controversy erupted when someone pointed to references made in Osoba’s book concerning the 2003 elections. Obasanjo was portrayed as a traitor. Ever combative and deeply self-righteous, Baba Iyabo rejected the branding. As far as he was concerned, he played higher level politics and won handsomely. The losers are still licking their wounds. Nothing to apologise for. This is a classic case of a dispute involving parties who cannot even agree on what the disagreement is all about.
Under the circumstances, my modest proposal to both sides is for them to stop this needless controversy. AD/Afenifere committed a monumental blunder; which swept them away as a political force. Obasanjo, military, took advantage of their innocence; and is not magnanimous in victory. Nothing more will be gained by disputes. We are bored.
OBASANJO: HOW NOT TO BE A RESPECTED ELDER STATESMAN
“Character is destiny.”
Obasanjo versus Fayose, Obasanjo versus Osoba, Obasanjo versus Atiku…and the list goes on. Each and every time former President Obasanjo exchanges insults with those less divinely blessed than he, the old man diminishes himself more. A man, who should be above political fray; who should enjoy, indeed command, the respect of all Nigerians, routinely collects insults like a pig in polluted marshland. It is a pity that one of our human national monuments willfully debases the institution of past presidents.
It was disclosed in his altercation with Fayose that N10 million had been sent to him together with invitation – before disagreements occurred and insults were exchanged.
“I clothed and fed you, Atiku fires back at Obasanjo” – VANGUARD, August 2, 2026
Any man with self-respect does not invite people to wash his dirty underwear in public. Why is Obasanjo doing this to himself? The man is his own worst enemy…
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