Between Aketi and Lucky.
By Simbo Olorunfemi
“Interests, not ideas, dominate directly the actions of men”
– Max Weber
Events, as have played out in Ondo State over the last few months, sobering as they are, come with lessons on different fronts – life, politics, relationships, interests, grace, fate, and possibly more.
Just as you never know with life, you can never tell with politics. In the contestation for power, just about everything is expendable. Politics has a way of bringing out the worst in the best of men. What politics cannot trigger or undo does not exist.
But then, what is it with power that brings with it with so much strife? What do we have that we did not receive? What position do we occupy that we won’t yet leave? Who knows what tomorrow might yet bring that we hold on so tightly to today? At the end of it all, it is the ephemeral nature of life, power and position that is most striking to me. Here today, gone tomorrow, what is man? What is the point of the unending contestation over power?
You never know with politics. You never know with politicians.
So much has been said or made of the events of the last few months. But even in the thick of things, my position, as it usually is, is that third parties (loyalists or analysts) should exercise caution in weighing in on whatever the matter is between the Governor and his Deputy, as it would always be difficult to authoritatively tell what was amiss between the two gentlemen and how things might eventually end.
I had, years back, made the point about Ondo politics, that in spite of the tension that is often generated there among the power elite in the jostle for power, most of the major players are indeed long-standing ‘friends’, with relationships that date back to over 4 decades, in some instances.
So close-knit is the club that I likened it to an oligarchy, with power in the exclusive preserve of a few. Whatever the disagreement might be, which is usually about who occupies the seat at a specific time, they always find a way around it, reason for which those who not direct recruits must be cautious in battle.
It would appear that many of those who got into the Aketi-Lucky fray didn’t even know that the relationship between the duo stretch way back beyond 2020 when he eventually chosen as running-mate to Governor in the bid for re-election. Those who know trace the relationship to 2012 when Aketi first ran for office, and the supportive role Lucky had played then.
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Lucky stayed the course with Aketi and the party over the years even when he was serially unlucky in his own political quest, until he eventually got lucky in 2020.
Presenting Aiyedatiwa as his running mate in 2020, Akeredolu made the point about his loyalty, “verifiable credentials and pedigree.” Aketi would, at the inauguration ceremony, further drum on the man’s consistency and loyalty, even going further to ‘anoint’ him as successor.
Even as 24 hours is like eternity in politics, it is difficult to understand what might have played out between the two, that will see to the decision by Aketi to come reclaim the reins of power, even when not fully fit, from the man he had handed over power to, while proceeding on medical leave. What could have happened that a man who he had publicly praised for loyalty and endorsed as fit to take over would be hung out as disloyal and set up for impeachment from office? Was it just about succession politics or more to it than we all know?
Some have speculated that the problem started for Lucky the moment he got lucky with the public endorsement by Aketi. The suggestion is that rivals and/or political adversaries soon went on overdrive to drive a wedge between the two. But for a bit of luck and some deft moves, Lucky might have been edged out from office as Deputy Governor and luck would not have found him in place to succeed Aketi as he has eventually done.
The three names – Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa have again spoken for him, further reinforcing the aphorism, as noted by Aketi, that a name carries within it a signification that is often beyond the ordinary. Who knows where the prophecy embedded in Orimisan might yet see Lucky Aiyedatiwa to?
One lesson to takeaway from the events of the last few months is that, at the end of the day, with politics, interests will always come first, with everything else secondary in consideration.
Except it is a decision taken on grounds of ideology, principles and values, which one must not compromise on, one must be wary of taking sides. One must be careful in the role one plays in a fight between estranged political associates. One never fully knows what they have in common, where they are coming from and where they might eventually end up.Just as one can never have the full picture of what is truly afoot, one can never be too sure of the direction the tree will eventually fall.
In the battle between political friends turned combatants, loyalists only get to know the much they are let into. It is, often, not the full or true picture. The loyalist must remember that he is expendable and be careful with going overboard, lest he becomes a casualty in a war between combatants that might even make up tomorrow, with today firmly tucked behind.
Even as the circumstances might not be as intended or planned, saddening and sobering as it is, fate has played its hand and Lucky Aiyedatiwa has taken over as successor to Rotimi Akeredolu, as Aketi once wished. Aketi’s prophecy has come to pass.
One hopes Lucky takes a cue from these events, treads carefully around the crowd hailing him now, some of whom were on the other side only yesterday. Time was when some might have wondered about the appropriateness of his name on account of some unlucky twists in his political fortune. But his fortune has now changed for good. Our hope is that he would leverage on his background and experience to deliver good on governance. Ondo surely needs the luck. Lucky can only get luckier by taking advantage of this opportunity to deliver.
