By Emeka Obasi

Ogun is the leadership capital of the South-West; it is pretty difficult to ignore what is playing out in the state especially the game plan of governor Ibikunle Amosun and his younger buddy, Adekunle Akinlade.

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Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Chief Ernest Shonekan, Gen. Oladipupo Diya, Professor Yomi Osinbajo, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Moshood Abiola. These are the biggest names in the Gateway State.

It is noteworthy that all the powerful forces mentioned above emerged from the Egba and Ijebu axis respectively. However, there is another group, the Yewa who are majorly Awori.

Politically, the Yewa occupy the Ogun West senatorial zone. The Egba are found in Ogun Central while Ogun East belongs to the Ijebu.

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Comparatively, Yewa which is part of the Ogun tripod cannot claim to be standing firm in terms of political balance. The zone has not produced a governor of the state while others boast of high offices at the Federal level.

Senator Amosun looked at this glaring marginalization and is planning to do something new. He is on his way out of office. The governor has carefully thrown his weight behind Adekunle Akinlade, a member of the House of Representatives.

Akinlade represents Egbado South/Ipokia in Abuja. He was a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress[APC] until recently. Political intrigues forced him to move to the Allied Peoples Movement [APM].

Intrigues, yes, because Amosun had tried his best possible to make Akinlade fly the APC flag in the next governorship elections. And just when the idea was moving up, APC Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole crashed the project.

The APC national leadership endorsed Dapo Abiodun, from Iperu Remo in Ogun East Senatorial Zone. Abiodun is of Ijebu extraction. So far, Ogun East has produced two democratically elected governors since the state was created in 1976.

They are Chief Victor Onabanjo in the Second Republic and Chief Gbenga Daniel, Amosun’s predecessor.

Amosun is from Ogun Central just like Chief Segun Osoba, who was in charge between 1999 and 2003. There is no place yet for equity as long as a Yewa person has not had a taste of the pie.

This jinx is what Amosun intends to break. Daniel tried it in 2011, but could not bring the Awori out of the lion’s den. It was Amosun that snatched power from the lion’s jaw.

How the governor plans to bring something new is interesting. Akinlade, like Amosun, has Abuja legislative background. The former is a member of the House of Representatives. The latter represented Ogun Central in the Senate from 2003-2007.

Both men are keen on raising the revenue of the state through taxation. Amosun is an Accountant and made Akinlade his Senior Special Assistant [SSA]. Taxation and Revenue before the move to Abuja.

Credit should go to the Ogun State governor for raising Internally Generated Revenue [IGR].His area of jurisdiction is competing favourably with Lagos in this regard.

What Amosun is seeing at Oke Mosan is not seen by the APC in Abuja. Oshiomhole feels the governor cannot be greater than the party and should therefore allow APC to do the needful.

We have seen war of words between both big men. Amosun believes no one stopped Oshiomhole from imposing Godwin Obaseki as the APC candidate in Edo. Obaseki did not only pick the APC ticket, today he is governor.

However, Amosun says he was not trying to force Akinlade on the Ogun APC. He flaunts a well conducted process, known as consensus. That is the arrangement that President Muhammadu Buhari is hanging on to too as the party’s flag bearer.

And I am not surprised that Amosun and Buhari have not fallen apart amid all this. This should bother Oshiomole. It should also be of great concern to the APC.

Amosun took Akinlade to Buhari in Abuja. What else does one call endorsement. When critics thought the President was going to give Akinlade a big knock on the head, the opposite happened.

Trust Amosun. He has the APC ticket for the Ogun Central Senatorial Zone in his pocket. At the same time, the governor is campaigning for President Buhari as well as Akinlade.

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I doubt if Oshiomhole knows how far Buhari and Amosun have come. I will help the Comrade out in this regard because it does appear politicians forget important details so easily.

In 2009, when Prof. Tam David-West launched his book on PMB, at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs, Lagos, Buhari and Amosun rode in the same vehicle in and out of the venue.

Gen. Abdusalam Abubakar was there. Gen. Zamani Lekwot was there. Iku Babayeye, the Alafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, was there. Of course, Comrade governor Oshiomhole was there too. I’m sure Eric Osagie would remind the APC chairman.

Buhari and Amosun are not just close because of ‘Sai Baba,’ they were close when Baba had little say after losing presidential elections twice. From their ANPP days, both worked together.

Hope Oshiomhole has not forgotten that on February 21, 2011, barely two months to the April 2011 gubernatorial elections, there were reports that Amosun planned to leave the Action Congress of Nigeria for Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change [CPC].

Does anyone remember that APM chairman, Yusuf Dantalle, was also at the Presidential Villa and was received by Buhari. While Oshiomhole could have engaged PMB in Hausa khaki, Dantalle showed the APC that ‘khaki no be leather.’

I do not know what to make of the change in Ogun State. It is going to be an epic. Money cannot be a problem. Abiodun is loaded. He is sure of the APC. Gboyega Isiaka of the Africa Democratic Congress [ADC], failed before, he is trying again.

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The PDP is not sleeping. Everything sounds like lotto and I am trying to see an Adebutu here. The court ruled in favour of Buruji Kashamu. High sounding name, dogged fighter.

Amosun wants to score excellently. He wants his candidate to hit A in all electoral subjects. Triple A, that is Adekunle Abdulkabir Akinlade, married to an Igbo woman, Chinenye Ochuba, Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria [MBGN], 2002.

Amosun is wooing the Igbo who are waxing strong in the Ogun areas close to Lagos.