How Badagry fell to ACN

For the first time in 20 years, Badagry, always in political romance with the opposition, has fallen 100 per cent for the Action Congress of Nigeria — the dominant political party in the South West. EMMANUEL ONYECHE, who covered the 2011 elections in the ancient city, examines the circumstances that led to this

Except for the just concluded 2011 general elections where the Action Congress of Nigeria was 100 per cent successful in Badagry, the dominant political party in the South-West zone of the country has not always had its way in the ancient city.

In fact, Badagry’s political romance with the opposition dates back more than 20 years. In the elections of December 1990, the National Republican Convention (one of former president Ibrahim Babangida’s two registered political parties to usher in the Third Republic) won five of the 11 wards in Badagry as against six won by then dominant party in the South-West — the Social Democratic Party.

Former NRC Chairman in Badagry, Chief Samuel Ofade, was in his 20s when he led the revolution against the SDP in Badagry. He says, “There had always been a political battle between the youths and the elders. We felt we were not being properly represented by the elders as there was hardly any development in Badagry. Again, the dominant political party in Lagos hardly cast a glance at Badagry and we did not like the idea of being treated like third class citizens in Lagos.”

From NRC, Ofade and those who shared his passion joined the Grassroots Democratic Movement instead of the United Nigeria Congress Party that was the dominant party in Lagos and their candidate (Medese George) became the Chairman of Badagry Local Government.

This was in 1996 when the late military leader, the late Gen. Sani Abacha, held sway in the country and the GDM and the UNCP were two of the five political parties he registered which the late Bola Ige described as the “five fingers of a leprous hand.” The GDM also won three of the 11 wards in Badagry as against two won by the UNCP.

In 1998, when former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, announced his transition to civil rule, nine political parties were registered. Among them (with presence in Badagry) were the Peoples Democratic Party, the All Peoples Party and the Alliance for Democracy — which was dominant in Lagos.

Badagry swung with the tide of the APP and in the December 5, 1998 council elections, its candidate, Moses Owolabani, became the Chairman of Badagry Local government. The party also won six of the 11 wards in Badagry as against four won by the AD and one by the PDP.

In 2003, when some indigenes of Badagry felt that they were still not properly integrated into the scheme of development in Lagos, some of them joined the PDP and the party won a seat for the Federal House of Representatives and also in constituency 2 (There are only two constituencies) for a seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly.

However, the tide began to change, albeit momentarily, in 2003 when the former state governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, appointed an indigene of Badagry (Mr. Saka Shenayon) as Commissioner for Rural Development.

Ofade said, “This prompted the idea to belong to the state party which some of us embraced and we left PDP to AD.” He alleges that his new group was stigmatized by the old members of the AD whom he described as vindictive. He said they conducted meetings where the new members were not invited.

“They even went to the extent of trying to impose a candidate on us as chairman of the local council but we resisted it and split into caucuses. Our caucus brought out and supported Sehunu Tunde Alabi (Dudu) and he won to become the Chairman of Badagry Local Government,” he added.

When AD became ACN, it was not yet rosy for the deviant Badagry members in it. Again, Ofade said, “We presented Mr. Setonji David as our candidate for Constituency 2 in the Lagos State House of Assembly and Mr. Isiah Jonah for the Federal House of Representatives. This was in 2007. Our candidates were substituted and other candidates were forced on us. We left ACN and joined Jimmy Agbaje’s Democratic Peoples Alliance. We knew that we couldn’t win the election because the time was too short, but we disorganised things for them and Mr. Hodewu Avoseh of the PDP won for the constituency.”

All these have since changed as, Badagry — in the just concluded April 2011 elections — stood solidly behind the ACN. Avoseh has since joined the ACN on whose platform he contested and won to represent the area for a second term in the state assembly. Ibraheem Layode, also of the ACN, won in Constituency 1. ACN’s Mrs. Rafeequat Onabamiro also won to represent Badagry in the Federal House of Representatives to make it a clean sweep for the ACN. Also, by a very wide margin unprecedented in Badagry’s elections, ACN’s governorship candidate, Babatunde Fashola, defeated his PDP counterpart, Dr. Ade Dosunmu.

The Badagry home of Ofade, who deployed mobile politicians (MOPOL 12) — a group made up of politicians with grass roots influence in Badagry to campaign for the ACN in the last election, has since after the poll become a beehive for party supporters.

There also exists the Badagry Independent Campaign Group that not only went about campaigning for the ACN in the April elections, but also went from ward to ward convincing registered supporters to come out and vote.

Director-General of BICG, Mr. Valentine Whensu, added that leaders of his organisation went on what he called, “operation win your unit, your zone and your ward” and that the unwritten rule was that such leaders must deliver their votes to ACN before they are given recognition.

The Chairmen of the three local councils in Badagry also belong to the ACN which they supported actively in the last elections. When there was voter apathy especially during the presidential and governorship/house of assembly elections, Joseph Bamgbose — Chairman of Badagry West Local Council Development Area — deployed town criers to the nooks and crannies of his domain to sensitise the people on the need to come out and vote. The same strategy was deployed by Husitode Dosu — the Chairman of Badagry Local Government — who sent out canvassers to do the same thing Bamgbose did.

Giving reasons for the passion behind Badagry’s recent political romance with the ACN, Whensu said the positive influence of Fashola in ACN was a major reason the people of Badagry voted for the party.

He said,“We have enjoyed the dividend of democracy. Fashola completed the Ite road and the Joseph Dosu way. The 12-lane expressway from Orile through Badagry to Seme would also lead to the area becoming the hub of tourism in Lagos and attract a lot of development to it. It tells other leaders that if they perform well, people will campaign for them.”

Ofade also said, “Fashola is the saving grace of the ACN in, not just Badagry, but in Lagos. All that we did this time was for Fashola whom we see as an effective governor and who is, in a way, related to Apa area of Badagry maternally. It is not because we are satisfied with the positions that Badagry indigenes occupy in Lagos.”

Last January when about 400 members of the PDP in Badagry defected to the ACN, they also mentioned the Fashola factor as a major reason for their action.

A former PDP chieftain in Badagry, Mr. Kamarudeen Ajape, who led the defectors, said the leadership style of Fashola prompted them to join the ACN.

He added, “It is obvious that the party will play a major role at the centre even if the party does not win the presidency.”

Bamgbose said, “If Badagry people failed to vote for Fashola before, now, they have seen his good work and because of this, they are following him. His good work challenged people’s mind to choose him and his party.”

Apart from the Fashola factor, Ofade said another thing that has worked against the PDP in Badagry is the fact that Badagry has not benefited from its allegiance to that party for the over eight years they had supported it.

“There has been nothing to show for it — not even a junior ministerial appointment. In 2003, we delivered the Federal House of Representative seat in Badagry to the PDP and a House of Assembly seat, but it was an Epe man, Adeseye Ogunlewe, that they made a minister. The importance of Seme Border in Badagry that brings a lot of revenue to the government was not even considered. It will come to a point when we will begin to agitate for our rights like the Niger Delta people and I know Egun people, except we do not believe in a cause, if we do, we fight it to the last,” he said.

Ajape said, “All of us that declared for ACN did so because we were tired of internal crises in the PDP in Lagos. Can you imagine that a chieftain of the party was dictating what happens in the PDP from prison?

“This means that the party lacks credible people who can take a decision independent of the bad old stock.”

Though the majority of the people are now with ACN, they appear not to be doing so blindly. On their expectations from this romance, Ofade summed it up when he said, “Why can’t we have full-fledged commissioners instead of two special advisers to the governor.

“In 2015, we are pleading to Tinubu to consider a Badagry man for the governorship of Lagos. We are coming out and any party that gives us that position, we will go for it,” he added.