Nigeria politics: Godfatherism must be dismantled, says APC chieftain

Henry Idahagbon, Federal Commissioner representing Edo, Ekiti and Ondo States at the Federal Civil Service Commission, has described godfatherism as a Nigerian invention that must be consciously dismantled.

Idahagbon said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Abuja on Sunday.

According to him, the concept of godfatherism is a uniquely Nigerian invention and could be one of Nigeria’s negative contributions to the development of democracy.

He noted that all over the world, including the United States and most developed democracies, there were very influential political leaders whose views go a long way in winning or losing elections.

“But there is nothing that can be compared with the Nigerian concept of godfatherism, that is why I said it’s a unique Nigerian creation, a Nigerian invention.

“In Rivers and Edo, we have seen and still seeing the negative impact of godfatherism. Those two states represent perhaps the worst specie of godfatherism in Nigeria.

“At the peak of the Obaseki and Oshiomhole imbroglio, we saw Obaseki practically declaring Oshiomhole a person of non-grata in a state that he governed for eight years. I remember we had to arrange for private security to escort Oshiomhole from the airport to even get to his house.

“On many occasions, his cars were stoned, but for the fact that they were bulletproof, he would have been injured. And I happened to be the only person who was in his house the day thugs came to attempt to bomb down his house.

“And the same thing is playing again in the River states. We have the minister of the FCT, who keeps breathing down the neck of Gov. Siminalayi Fubara because he brought him to power.

“So it’s something that the Nigerian political class have to now consciously dismantle,’’ he said.

Idahagbon who was Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice during the Oshiomhole’s administration emphasised the need for governors and even presidents to leave for good when they leave office.

“When governors and presidents leave office, they should leave for good. They should not be engaged in the process of determining their successor. In my opinion, political actors want to determine who succeeds them because of two factors. They want protection when they leave office.

“So if governors do well, like I believe Gov. Alex Otti of Abia is doing in his state now, you don’t need to determine who succeeds you, anybody can succeed you if your records are clean.

“So we should consciously, like Oshiomhole during his campaign and tenure said, ‘say no to godfatherism, and embrace one man one vote, one governor one vote’.

“I think that mantra should become a national mantra, one man one vote, and let us say no to godfatherism because it has negative implications for our polity,’’ the federal commissioner added. (NAN)

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