Echoes of Anti Party, Oyo APC And The Marriage to Two Wives !! By Kamoru Olaifa

Echoes of Anti Party, Oyo APC and The Marriage to Two Wives – Kamoru Olaifa.

Anti party is common in the context of political nomenclature, stemming mainly from the word “anti” which means “against”. Thus anti-party loosely translates to the actions and inactions of a card-carrying member of a political party against the interests of the party he publicly aligns with.

This action might be for various reasons, such as playing it safe between two political parties, loyalty to folks in the both parties or outright treachery. Everyone has their reasons and this piece is neither to castigate nor justify actions by any persons or group.

Whatever the case, anti-party has assumed the position of an unpalatable word within political parlance. One so bad that anyone confirmed of such, risks “political exclusion” from the group purportedly being worked against.

One of the most dynamic aspects of the society is the political space. Sometimes it is predictable but oftentimes, it seems clouded by instability, intrigues, permutations, strategy and schemings which envelopes the frenzy of the game.

In this dynamic space where principles shift and ideologies change. Time and again, the rule of self preservation takes prominence- personal interest is protected first.

It is in the claim for protection of interests that the recent primaries conducted within the All Progressives Congress (APC) has reflected the choices of many, relational to the camps and tents they have pitched with.

In the current run up to the 2023 political cycle, Progressives all over the nation who had been aggrieved as a result of disagreements for various reasons took different decisions ranging from outright defections, resignation from active political activities to the “siddon look approach“.

However, those who defected to new political parties, became confronted with a new twist to their political reality. THE EMERGENCE OF ASIWAJU BOLA AHMED TINUBU AS APC’s PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE. This is akin to bringing in a Christian Ronaldo or Lionel Messi into the second half of a football game. Even if the defence of the other team is strong, a Ronaldo or Messi is sure to rattle not just the coach and the players, but also the supporters of the defending team, because these men are gods of the arena.

This is what the emergence of Asiwaju meant. A political god now confirmed in the game, is a plus to the Progressives. Hope restored. Confidence rekindled. Energy boosted.

But then the quagmire, loyalty has been split, political kinsmen who have defected equally want to be in Asiwaju’s team, at least at the presidential level while being loyal to another party at the state level. They have their reasons.

As at today, the 28th of June, 2022, about 8 months to the general elections, this is the reality of The Oyo APC. The party now features 2 sets of Progressives, those undiluted from top to bottom and those whose interests are both in The APC and The Accord Party, which has been welcoming defectors from the APC. Thus it becomes a classic case of a man with two wives in different political parties. It is a tough call.

For any experienced politician, it is clear that this is a potentially dangerous situation.

The leadership of Oyo APC has set the reconciliation machinery in motion, for this machinery to be effective, intentions must be clear and sincere at this crucial time in order to strengthen the house of the Progressives to guarantee a successful political outing in 2023. For a true and effective reconciliation, all hands must be on deck, sacrifices must be made to mitigate a dangerous situation of bedding two political wives on the same matrimonial bed at the general elections in 2023.