Lagos 2015: Why Is Obanikoro Afraid Of A Fair Contest?

Posted by African Examiner Articles/Opinion, Latest Headlines Monday, July 21st, 2014

We have watched for some time now with irritation and even amusement the growing desperation of Musliu Obanikoro, the junior Minister representing Lagos State in the Ministry of Defense.

Musliu Obanikoro

It appears Mr. Obanikoro is wracked with some greedy obsession which makes him believe that he should have a first shot at all appointments and even elective positions to the detriment of all other members of the PDP.

After having failed woefully in the 2007 gubernatorial election in Lagos, despite all the billions raised for him by the party, Obanikoro is hell bent on scuttling PDP chances by crook or hook in the next election. The man who shamelessly ran away from the Appeal tribunal after the then ACN had queried his qualifications, is now pushing feverishly to derail the party’s applecart.

It is obvious Obanikoro is afraid of a free and fair party primary. He is up in arms against the presence of Jimi Agbaje in the party.

Why is Obanikoro raising hell-fire and brimstone over quality aspirants vying for our party’s ticket?

Something is terribly amiss here. Obanikoro basically wants the party’s ticket to be handed over to him without any contest at all!

The greedy fellow wants to return us to the dark days of 2007 when he manipulated Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and then swindled the man’s daughter Iyabo into a fraudulent matrimonial arrangement with our own Lagos as a trade-off.

Well, there is no more scheming in the dark corners. Everything must be in the open. We are tired of Obanikoro’s desperate hustling in Abuja to the disadvantage of outstanding Lagosians. Here is a man that was defeated fair and square in the pruning down selection for the Ministerial seat. He came a poor fourth after Towery Coker, Tunji Shelle, and Ade Dosunmu. Despite his rejection at home, Obanikoro still smuggled himself into the Ministerial position through the back door.

The tragic past is now gone forever. There is no longer any Iyabo to gamble the fortunes of our people with. Obanikoro in his heedless and wreckless, desperate power-grab is throwing stones at those who brought him to the party and rehabilitated him.

This desperate turncoat is maligning Chief Olabode George and other leaders for insisting that all the PDP aspirants will be given a level playing field in determining the party’s Candidate.

We at the Committee for the Restoration of Lagos Heritage (CORELAG) agree with Chief Bode George that all the aspirants -Pearse, Gbadamosi, Doherty, Dosunmu, Ogundimu, Dominic and Agbaje are all men of solid pedigree with impeccable credentials.

None of them can be pushed aside in a fair contest. They can all hold their own in terms of solid family background and academic attainments.

Enough of thuggery and brigandage in Lagos. We want polished, articulate Omoluabi who have so much to offer for the collective growth of our State and the enhancement of the lives of the succeeding generation.

Obanikoro represents a rejected, abandoned and unprofitable past. Lagosians are tired of rough-hewn primitive characters who want power at any cost.

Obanikoro was rejected in the past. He remains unreformed and unwilling to improve himself. Apart from the School Certificate education he had at Ahmadiya College, Obanikoro remains largely on the blurry edge of illiteracy. This is hardly what Lagosians are looking for now to replace the brazen pillage of the rejected APC. Enough is enough.

Should Obanikoro insist he wants to contest for governor after having spent less than three months as a junior minister, we ask that he should resign his position honorably. Should he refuse to resign, we will demand his removal forthwith. A word is enough for the wise.

Dr. Adebukola Fatoyinbo

Chairman, Committee for the Restoration of Lagos Heritage (CORELAG)