'I WILL WARD OFF ANY EXTERNALL AGRESSIONS FROM ALIMOSHO POLITICAL TERRITORY’ – Orelope-Adefulire

'Curb Baba Eto, Others from Destabilising Alimosho’ – group calls on APC State Leadership

Story by Toyo C. Ngem & Ololade Barakat

THE de facto political leader of Alimosho Federal Constituency, Princess (Dr.) Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire (OFR) has vowed that she would fight of and drive back any threat of external aggressions on the political territory of Alimosho. This came as the collective body of mainstream progressives in the county calls on the state leadership to “demobilise” Cardinal (Dr.) James Omolaja Odumbaku (“Baba Eto”) and his ally in Agege from coming to “destabilise” Alimosho, which is on the verge of harmony after a long factional bickering.

The former Deputy Governor of Lagos State who is also a member of the Lagos’ prestigious progressives elite body – Governance Advisory Council (GAC) – was said to have warned that every political leader had his/her political territory marked out by the boundaries of each local government. “Alimosho is my own domain; my own progressives ‘sovereignty’ territory. And I think I have no doubt about myself that I have the political will to defend my territory against any threats from territorial ambitionists. Any menace of aggression from any quarters that might want to invade, divide and destabilise Alimosho will be put to flight”, she reportedly assured.

Asked if the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SSAP-SDG) mentioned the “territorial ambitionists” threatening the peace of Alimosho, the source said what counted most was to discover what ills are being plotted against Alimosho and knowing who and who are behind it. “Mentioning names here is not necessarily a subject of interest. But that had once been mentioned in her plaints to the right higher quarters”, the source said.

However, some groups and individuals in membership of APC in Alimosho have come forth to identify Cardinal Odumbaku in cahoots with others described as “Agege 01” as the external aggressors plotting to destabilise Alimosho. In a statement by a group – Concerned Voices of ‘One-Alimosho’ Progressives’ Leadership Line – they said it was high time the Alimosho APC rose up to collectively stave off those pushing the efforts in quests to have their external influence on the politics of Alimosho. They said this was the cause they were leading by calling on the state leadership of the APC to warn Baba Eto and his co-conspirators from coming to divide Alimosho, “thereby creating another round of disaffections within the party”, which could linger on into the 2027 general elections.

In a copy of their statement accessed by Civics Weekly, they said: “All politics is local. This is one axiom we marvel about politics so much in Alimosho. As such, we feel the state leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) should be courageous enough to give this axiom an existential right in Alimosho. We make this clarion call out of the threats of disunity Alimosho appears to be facing in the invasive external aggressions from some territorial ambitionists for expansion of their influence beyond their political sphere. We see them coming from the East of Alimosho and led by no other person than the renowned political warlord, Cardinal Odumbaku (JP) in conspiracy with those of the 'Agege 01' corridor.

"We understand that to be silent about these threats may not be golden so that the renewed harmony in sight, which the State Chairman took pain to achieve at great risk to his life shall endure. And to make it lasting is to be assured of a consolidated Alimosho strong force to approach the 2027 General Elections. Therefore, in directing this appeal now to the state leadership we infer here, we ref the apex body of the Lagos progressives elite called the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) led by Prince (Dr.) Tajudeen Olusi, the State Working Committee led by Apostle Cornelius Ojelabi and the leadership from the Executive wing led by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

"It is not for want of words that we hereby specify these three component wings of the leadership. It is the imperative to underscore the real attention the subject matter deserves. As a matter of fact, the State Party Chairman could now count as a victim of the morbid obsession these external aggressors have infused into their desperation for their expansoon of political territory. We refer to the attack of physical assault on his person on Monday, June 24, which must be taken as ‘an injury to one being an injury to all’. Good that it caught the attention of state and national organs of the APC folds and thus attracted wide condemnation, we expect these leaders to see this open memo as a desirable impetus to act promptly in routing the threats with its roots already planted in Alimosho.

"Interestingly, it is a problem that has a pointer to its solution insofar it does not border around mainstream leadership bickering. The solution, therefore, simply lies in the resolve of state leadership not to accord the local moles of the aggressors the accidental leadership status they are craving for and we saw the State Chairman akin to this. it was what they made to be his offence for their attacks on him.

"Those in trends with unfolding issues in the politics of Lagos cannot but love the vigour of the State Chairman in his style of managing the affairs of the party. He simply has the charisma and he evidently flaunts it in fitful pride when it comes to handling issues desiring his attention. In a manner of our own attestation to this, we have seen him as someone who always act with all the convictions he must have inferred from his reading of politics around every issue at his table. There could not have been any better standard for one to set as a fair human manager. That is why we are crying out to the other hierarchies of the state leadership to see this invasive aggression of Baba Eto and 'Agege 01' leaders on Alimosho in the light of his understanding".

ANALYSIS BY TOYO C. NGEM

As the feelers coming out now, Alimosho appeared set for another harmony. And given the long time it had taken the state to come forth with this renewed peace initiatives, I want to believe that the State Chairman, Apostle Ojelabi must have taken time to read the politics of the Federal Constituency this time. It has come to the open that the disaffections among the warring factions in Alimosho may have been settled. The expected indicator to show the consequential harmony is a sound bite of the hopeful return to common party meetings at the Ward and LGA level. It is a joy to behold in the ordinary sense, but those with discernible mind would only say ‘it could be a joy’ to hold with mixed feelings. This is because it is a road Alimosho has travelled many times only to find herself in parallax motion to the direction of progress. To those who should know, the reason for this backward progression is not farfetched. The harmony had always been achieved without the ingredient of truth. It is a common knowledge that truth is the basic requirement for peace to be derived from any reconciliation motives. In any arbitration process, ‘full disclosure’ of all the facts about the issue to be resolved from both parties in the dispute is the basic ingredient to be relied upon for the establishment of truth for the resulting peace to endure.

What could be the truth lacking in the harmony? I will say it is the weakness of the state leadership to enforce discipline. The required discipline in this case of Alimosho is the refusal of the state leadership to establish the 'single line leadership', which had been the hallmark of the unity, peace and harmony Alimosho continued to enjoy from the start of this republic up until the exit of Senator Solomon Adeola in 2023. There was no magic that made it so beyond the fact that the first two set of GAC members -- Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola -- and successor, Senator Adella -- enjoy the full privileges of their GAC membership which made them enjoyed the single leadership line that made the harmony they enjoyed in their era.

Now that Her Excellency, Orelope-Adefulire, became the GAC member in succession to Senator Adeola, the state would appear to have played a complicit role in undermining her leadership authority by recognising and dealing with alternative leader outside her leadership line.

One could be deemed right to believe that it is this loophole those craving to become "accidental leader" in Alimosho now want to explore in their wish to become the willing appendages of other GAC members outside Alimosho. As Yoruba would say, t'ogun inu ile ko ba jani ti'ta ko le ko'ni -- if there is no internal treachery, it could be had for invasion of external war to succeed. That Baba Eto and the so called "Agree 01" would be audacious to scramble for shares in the intrigues for a fractured Alimosho they are prospecting is because they are aware of how complicit the state leadership had in the issue.

It is just unfortunate that Baba Eto and the like would fail to realise how much damage they could be doing to the prospect of Asiwaju's victory in 2027 in their cause to destabilise Alimosho. Lagos lost the 2023 Presidential Election because Alimosho with about 1,400 polling units lost the polls. It was caused by the State of disunity with which it went into the election. While Baba Eto has his Ojodu alone to attach the emotional loss of election to the state leadership has the entire state to mourn in a loss of election. That is why they cannot fold their arms and watch Baba Eto destabilise Alimosho they must be relying upon to prevent such mourning the next time.

Insofar Baba Eto would love to enjoy his right in leadership of his Ojodu’s territorial domain of the progressives and the ‘Agege 01’ would love to have it in the leadership of his political territory, so should the people of Alimosho demand for Her Excellency, Princess Orelope-Adefulire to enjoy her right to the leadership territory of the Federal Constituency. It is not by her own making that she became privileged to sit in leadership over a larger political territory than others. It is a divination conferred upon her by fate of destiny, which no mortal obviously has wilful control over. The evidence of this divine context may as well be discernible in the touch of God’s Mercies that has propelled her from her locals to the international front in the visage of Nigeria as SSAP-SDG. So, God could not have made a mistake in giving her the responsibility over this huge territorial domain.