The accession of Adams Oshiomole to the position of National Chairman of All Progressive Congress (APC) on June 24th 2018 can be likened to the story of Biblical Adam. The Biblical Adam was the first man, created in the class of God because the Bible says God made man in His own image.
The APC as a party and her adherents of which I’m one actually wanted Adams Oshiomole to be in her image. As attested to by Oshiomole himself, he was beckoned to by President Buhari to come and reform and salvage the party. Like biblical Adam, It was more like God’s project and the apple of God’s eye until Satan decieved him to go against God’s will using Eve his wife and thus mankind (all of humanity) lost the position of the apple of God’s eye first earned as God’s free gift to man. Adams Oshiomole lost the favour of majority of party members and the man who beckoned on him too because he got over the moon with power at the same time got deceived by a particular thin god. The remarks of the President Buhari at the NEC meeting where he expressed worry over “shifting loyalty within the party and inconsistency in leadership, which had opened the governing party to mockery” was more than telling of what Adams Oshiomole has turn the party to.
Adams Oshiomole came to the job highly recommended on account of his progressive background and exploits with vibrancy as a former labour leader. It was believed that with him as the Chairman, APC will be more ideologically inclined. Party politics will be inclusive and coherent. Issue based discourse will take the center stage. Progress and welfare disposition of Nigerians will become a matter of critical concern. But how wrong can anyone be as Adams Oshiomole eventually proofed to everyone that he could be a good labour leader but he was a bad political party manager. He became an anathema to anything and everything progressive in APC. He became a poisonlike” chalice to APC progressive ideology. Organs, structures and statutory meetings developed wings under him. Caucusing and camps not backed by law became the norm. His two years reign was most distructive to the foundation of the Party. It was characterised with mutual distrust and divisions within the party. Party cohesion took flight under him. Inconsistency in decisions became rampant. Double standards became a way of life to him. What became acceptable in Lagos was not acceptable in Ogun. The process he kicked against in Ogun became normal in Edo when consensus was built around Ize Iyamu even before picking of forms. The hands of Oshio Baba was clearly feasible in all that.
Under oshiomole, APC scored so many firsts of negative things. Court sacked entire Zafara elected officials. Golden trophy was awarded to ruling opposition party in Rivers State. In Bayelsa, Court sacked Governor elect and Deputy bearly 24 hours to swearing in. All these because Adams became a total Chairman that hates dissidents. He paraded himself as fearless and with unlimited gut. But he always failed to choose his battles wisely. He always saw himself as a political headmaster with unbridled love for cane in hand to whip erring individuals in line. He became an undertaker with the Party heading towards precipice. He became a ship wrecker. Adams Oshiomole enjoys talking but more to himself. He likes listening to himself and got carried away with the orchestra of listening to his own’s voice,(this will be his greatest albatross in the up coming Edo Election as his sound byte will dominate the campaign to the disadvantage of his party). He was called upon to come and reform the party but albeit, he nearly defaced and deformed it before he was eased out. Even with two years left in his statutory four years. Those who might claimed Oshiomole was merely efforcing party discipline or even defend the indefensible under Oshiomole will definitely be dominated by those who were and still the direct beneficiaries of his illicit party administration and various hatchet jobs. Nothing more. But thanks to Mr President and NEC for saving the party from an eclipse at noon. If you are truly progressive at heart and not by emotion, the arrest of APC’s free fall should be applauded.
With benefit of hindsight, Adams Oshiomole was a Chairman APC should not have had. He was clearly overrated. He was not suited for the task. So much confidence was reposed in him like God did with biblical Adam. But he towed same line of disappointment with his egregious and sanctimonious disposition of high handedness and recalcitrant style of administering a National Party for that matter. His tenure was inglorious, so was his exit. One can’t remember the last time a whole NWC was disbanded on account of one man failing to be truthful to the sanctity of rules and regulations of same party. Selective application was Adams forte. May APC or any party for that matter never pray for an Era of a Chairman like Adams Oshiomole. It will leads to no good.
