PDP Arrogance and Four Takeaways from the Osun Verdict

The Peoples Democracy Party, PDP was on Friday consoling its members after the All Progressives Congress, APC courtesy of the Supreme Court finalized what had been considered to be an impossible victory in the Osun State governorship election.

The APC which had ruled the state for eight years had gone into the election last year with the significant disadvantage of a very challenging record.

Workers were owed months of arrears of salary in the state that introduced graduated payments for civil servants. Projects were abandoned here and there, and citizens were weighed down by a low morale.

If there was any state that the APC mantra of change really echoed ahead of the Septemeber election, Osun State seemed to be the resonating board.

If the PDP had its sight on any state in the Southwest, almost everyone saw Osun or the State of Osun as Rauf Aregbesola rebranded it as the easiest target for it.

But the party lost it. What happened?

1.    PDP Arrogance towards Senator Iyiola Omisore.

If there was anyone that had consistently upheld the platform of the PDP in Osun State since he joined the party in 2002, that person was Senator Iyiola Omisore with a solid bank of votes in the Ife axis of Osun Central.

However, as the party re-organized after the emergence of the Prince Uche Secondus leadership, control of the structure of the party was forcefully taken over from Omisore and transferred to the Adelekes.

Soji Adagunodo an ally of the Adelekes was made the chairman of the state chapter forcing Omisore to opt out to the Social Democratic Party, SDP with his preferred chairman, Dr. Bayo Faforijin. It was a bad divorce in the view of Omisore.

2.    Excitable Product.

The candidate of the PDP, Senator Ademola Adeleke was severally seen as a jester. His dancing flicks were what many saw and few voters heard him speak even before the election.

If the PDP thought that the fact that Aregbesola and the APC were very weak and disadvantaged by the poor record on the ground that they could just bring anyone, the party probably took the voters for granted. And that factor accounted for the fact that the APC by hook or crook was able to bridge the gap to allow for a runoff.

3.    Rudderless Leadership

The above two factors flowed from the lack of firm leadership in the Osun and nay, Southwest flank of the party that had been bestirred with internal crisis for some time.

With the exit of President Olusegun Obasanjo and the aloofness of Chief Bode George everyone became a god to himself and the national leadership of the party did not help matters.

4.   Aloofness

 Finally, with the runoff at hand, the PDP could have invested more commitment from Omisore by sending some of his highest officials to strike a deal with him considering the way the party treated him the last time. The national chairman, Prince Secondus perhaps out of the bad divorce did not visit.

5.  APC Desperation

  Whatever the PDP may have done, the determination of the APC to hold on to the state by hook or crook was not hidden.  The military and other security agencies were heavily mobilized and the PDP saw themselves fighting an alliance of the APC and the security forces in the ground war during the runoff.

It is, however, no surprise that the PDP lost the case in the Supreme Court on technical reasons and not on consideration of the battle on ground that was itself heavily tilted against the opposition party.

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