Lagos Beyond APC By Enameguolo Orugbo

Hidden within media blind spots are the world’s best kept secrets…Ena E. Orugbo

After the overthrow of Colonel Moammar Gadhafi, an ebullient Hilary Clinton sang on national television; “we came, we saw, he died”. She never knew Christopher Stevens, U.S. Ambassador to Libya would become the next victim of the blood thirsty mob. In Lagos, the pride of lions have roared; Ambode is snobbish. A second term for the technocrat from Epe is shaky even though precedence presupposes continuity. This seems like a script from Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power. Law 11, “learn to keep people dependent on you”. Is man indispensable? No. It is therefore genius to settle for a higher calling, the unwritten laws of power.

Beyond Tinubu

The lion of Bourdillion has bestrode the length and breadth of the Nigerian political space like a colossus. He is loved and hated by many but ignore his political sagacity to your own peril. As the primaries for APC’s gubernatorial candidates ticks closer, Ambode is left guessing. This is the safest place to be because in Nigerian politics nothing is guaranteed, ask Faleke. It is however contingent to point out for posterity that Obasanjo outfoxed the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in 2003. With a sense of hindsight, Obasanjo won the battle but lost the war. These are perilous times in Lagos, even Tinubu is not immune.

Beyond Ambode

Ambode is at his lowest ebb but this could turn out to be his finest hour. The heroic Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill drills deeper, “to each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour”. Ambode, a Wharton Business School alumni was definitely prepared for Governance but politics rarely rewards the meek. Viktor Yanukovych’s unceremonious ousting is an apt example.

Beyond APC

In the 2015 general elections, the APC and her goons rode on the bandwagon of Change to clinch the presidency. It is ironic that Lagos State, which designed and funded the bait of Change to unsuspecting Nigerians is yet to experience Change. Tinubu gave the barton to Fashola in 2007, continuity. Fashola handed the barton to Ambode in 2015, continuity. Strategically, the worst case scenario for Ambode brings with it an opportunity to deliver Change to the center of excellence. This is taking into cognisance APC’s bullish tax regime, insatiable appetite for debt and sinful silence while Nigerians are annihilated under the guise of herdsmen crisis.

Conclusion

Lagos State accounts for 30% of Gross Domestic Product and 9.4% of total population in Nigeria. It is therefore a place of interest to diasporans, investors, partners and the central Government. The upcoming APC primaries in Lagos State has spurred the pride of lions to issue two yellow cards to Ambode. This is because the most potent laws of power are unwritten hence men are prodded to become gods. Psalms 62:11 is however comforting, “God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth to God”. In all, the elements are in Ambode’s favour. Firstly, second term is an unwritten law of power. Secondly, the referees are the sophisticated people of Lagos State. Eko Oni Baje Ooo.

Dr Enameguolo Orugbo

jetageNG@gmail.com