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Let the real Muyiwa
Adekeye, political consultant and protégé of Nuhu Ribadu, the
presidential candidate of Action Congress of Nigeria, shake off the
paraphernalia of his pretence and stand where he truly belongs.

Why would a loyalist
of the party’s presidential candidate turn fifth columnist in
desperation to rescue the political fortunes of his mentor? The source
of Adekeye’s grouse in his article, Dynasty topples Democracy (Olumuyiwa
Adekeye NEXT 4 February 2011) was the talks initiated with the Congress
of People for Change by the Action Congress of Nigeria.

It needs little
elucidation that the primary business of a party is to win power and
retain it. Action Congress of Nigeria has, since inception, fought to
operate beyond a particular regional enclave, learning from the problems
of precursors such as the Alliance for Democracy. One of the
responsibilities of a party is to strategise for power by utilising the
weaknesses of its competitors and leveraging on its own strength.

There is no doubt
that Bola Tinubu is a key strategist of the movement to remove the
Peoples Democratic Party from power. The decision of the PDP to abandon
its zoning system is an obvious weakness that a party such as the ACN
chose to maximize. And it is only within that strategic imperative that a
Ribadu became relevant.

It is necessary to
remind Adekeye that Ribadu did not play any role in building our party
from scratch since 2006. He did not help us to prosecute the costly
court cases or mobilise for the re-runs that enabled us to increase our
national strength. Yet when he expressed his ambition to run on the
ticket of our party, it was the same Tinubu that you Adekeye now
demonise who pleaded his case and canvassed support for him before the
leadership of the party. And Tinubu supported Ribadu despite the fact
that the party’s founding national secretary and one of those who
struggled to build the party, Usman Bugaje, also ran.

If, therefore, there
was an opportunity for the party to increase its chances of winning by
exploring an alliance with a party that was gathering forces at a rapid
rate in the Northern states, the party should consider it a tactical
necessity to engage in talks.

The party was not set up to massage the ego of an individual.

Adekeye’s portrayal
of the ACN/CPC talks as a forum designed to expend the presidential
ticket of his mentor demonstrates his love for his friend but a lack of
understanding of the challenges of acquiring power. To characterise
alliance talks as cardinal sin because your personal interest might be
affected is the higher grade of selfishness than what Adekeye
postulates.

Adekeye’s reference
to our leaders as potentates indicates the little regard he has for
experience and expertise on the field. And I hope Ribadu does not share
his infantile outbursts because I wonder who will mobilise votes for him
across the country?

A party, like any
sustainable organisation, develops its oligarchies over time. You don’t
need to be a political scientist to understand the simple fact. Studies
of party systems across the world confirm the roles played by the
local politicians. If in doubt, read David Ploutffe’s Audacity To Win, a
book on how Barrak Obama got to the White House.

Critics of the
primaries of the Action Congress misunderstand the foundations of party
politics. While internal democracy is a factor, a party’s most important
asset is the manifesto that expresses its ideology. Those who join
claim to profess that ideology and must accept the supremacy of the
party. The difference between Bafarawa and Ribadu is that Ribadu’s
antecedent ties in with the party’s ideology more.

It is also
misogynistic blackmail to state that Tinubu wants his relatives in
power. For one relative in power, there are hundreds in power, including
local government chairmen, state and federal lawmakers and governors
who have no iota of blood relationship with him. And that includes our
incoming president and your mentor, Ribadu and this writer.

One of the
consequences of Adekeye’s write-up is the damage it will inflict on the
needed trust between the echelons of the party and our presidential
candidate. The mere suggestion that this kind of opinion finds
currency in the corridors of Ribadu’s office, at a time leaders of the
party are mobilising resources to actualise his presidential dream, is
ominous and demoralising.

As one of those who
believe in the possibility of Ribadu’s emergence as the next president
of Nigeria, it is my advice that the expulsion of Adekeye from his
strategy team is a categorical imperative of our presidential
engagement.

Bamigbetan, chairman of Ejigbo local council in Lagos, is former spokesman for Tinubu