Politics
Broom Movement: True or rogue democrats?
in the social media, the harangue signed by the Convener of a group called Broom United Movement (BUM), Mr. Fuad Oki, some weeks back, I got strung-up with the level of hypocrisy and shenanigans in our politics and in our polity. The speech, an inadequate lecture note on POL 301, exhibited stupendous expertise in fictional creativity. The lecturer, a serial political manipulator, engaged himself in rhetorical and polemic narrative on the fundamentals of political science without establishing any theoretical foundation for his epistolary politics. From its convocation to its deliberations, it was obvious that the movement was a political misadventure packaged by a troubled hireling echoing the whisperings and murmurings of his frightened masters “refuging” in the tunnel of perfidy. In short, the entire grandstanding was a whispering campaign by a drowning collective aimed at Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Hear the Convener: “Today we want to commence the process of building Our Party (APC) by demanding genuine reconciliation of our members that their voices will be heard and that their votes will count whenever such need arises… Our Party in Lagos State has never been this divided and dis-United. The current graveyard silence that permeate (sic) our political landscape with a siddon look, a o mu erin joba syndrome, is very dangerous…”
I cannot but laugh listening to my good friend, Oki talking about “the process of building our Party (APC) by demanding genuine reconciliation…” Agreed that every political party draws its membership from the citizenry that identifies with its ideology and political philosophy, this does not in any way suggest that every member of the party is a founder. There are founding fathers, there are founding members and there are ordinary joiners. When a joiner begins to claim the status of a founder with this kind of statement” …building our party (APC)…”, one should wonder where this whimsical usurpation is coming from. As an insider, I have sufficient understanding of the trajectory of APC from its original derivative, Alliance for Democracy (AD). I am aware of the fact that a Political Party is a formal association which should be funded by members through levies and dues; in some cases, through donations from influential members of the Party, from interested corporate organisations and institutional affiliates. However, knowing the massive expenditure that politics and elections require in Nigeria, some of the founding fathers of the party who are moneybags have always taken it upon themselves to fund the Party single-handedly. This was the case with Asiwaju Tinubu who individually shouldered most of the financial commitments of the transiting parties AD, ACN and APC. Without sounding somehow hyperbolic, Tinubu was the major financier of these parties at a time that success or victory at the national level looked very bleak and hopelessly impossible. During these trying times, where was Fuad Oki? Where was Biodun Oki, his brother? Where were his masters that are teleguiding everything today from their hideouts? It is sheer opportunism for Oki and his treacherous band to be ascribing to themselves a status they know they do not deserve. Most of Oki’s allies are mere joiners as they were nowhere around when the birth of APC’s progenitors took place. Those who founded AD, those who funded AD from the scratch and those who pioneered AD from the beginning are the real founders and under no guise should they be denied the fruits of their labour. Personally, I feel fate and people have not been fair to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu with the way and manner they have been trying to rubbish his historic contributions and efforts in the making of the APC and by extension, his role in the consolidation of our nascent democracy.
When Oki was talking of “genuine reconciliation of our members”, “voices of our members will be heard and votes will count”, “Our Party in Lagos State has never been this divided and dis-united”, “a o mu erin joba syndrome”, who was he referring to? Tinubu of course. These vituperations are laced with mischief because Oki was aware of Tinubu’s appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari as APC Chief National Reconciliator. The intention was to discredit and cast aspersion on Tinubu peace credential. What Oki was saying in essence was that the choice of Tinubu by Buhari was not in consonance with extant political realities since Tinubu’s base, Lagos State, was in “total turmoil”.
But what Oki failed to state in his statement was that whatever imaginary trouble that exists in Lagos APC today was a creation of his sponsors. As far as I know, Lagos APC is not witnessing any graveyard silence. Every member of the party in the state is committed to the Ambode second term project. All members of the State House of Assembly, all House of Representatives members from the state and the three Senators from the state have all stated categorically that they will go all the way with the governor. Those who are expressing the only dissenting voice are Oki and his cohorts whose defeat during the 2015 primaries was Tinubu’s cardinal sin against Oki’s principal. Those who are advertising a non-existent crisis are the people whose inordinate ambition for the gubernatorial throne has crashed as a result of the sterling performance of the governor of the state. I am still baffled that while the opposition in the state is obviously and reasonably reluctant to contest with the governor, Oki and his sponsors are calling for party primaries. Is leadership no longer about performance? Why must any responsible individuals and group think of changing a wining and performing team. Was Oki’s principal not deservedly compensated with another term by the same Tinubu when it was generally acknowledged that his performance was outstanding? Why advocate for another primary when there is a general acclamation that the present governor of the state has been more than outstanding?
Justifying the birth of BUM, the convener explained that “our party suffers from low organisational capacity and lack of internal democracy… This apparent weakness underscores the need for reform and institutionalisation of a process whereby professionals become more central to the running of our Party”.
It is hypocritical of Oki to pretend not to know how or what was responsible for what he called “low organisational capacity and lack of internal democracy”. Since he came on board the party leadership at the state level, what efforts did he make personally to check the perfidious activities of his sponsors? Rather than do this, Oki conveniently oscillated between the two groups because he found in treachery a rewarding treasury. Those who hawked and escalated party division; those who destroyed the mechanics of party system, those who planted the seeds of discord in the party; those who indulged in intrigues for prebendal enterprise have lost the moral authority to pontificate on political morality. Who is Oki to berate the party leadership for dysfunctional internal democracy within the Party? I submit again that he does not possess the moral credential to theorize on internal democracy. Two personal examples would suffice. In 2006, when a campaign organisation was being set up for Babatunde Fashola gubernatorial activities, this writer was chosen as the Director-General of the campaign organisation during a caucus meeting. In attendance at the meeting where the decision was taken were: Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Tunde Fashola, Gbenga Asafa, Mutiu Are and Kunle Odufuwa. The meeting lasted for almost six hours. But before the decision could be communicated to me officially, Oki was able to persuade Babatunde Fashola to convince Asiwaju Tinubu to replace this writer with himself. In his usual placatory gesture, Asiwaju Tinubu concurred, promising to compensate this writer with a top political position in the new government. The rest is history because nothing was done afterwards. Yet, one has remained loyal to the party and to its leadership. The same scenario was replayed in 2015 when again, Oki was imposed on Akinwunmi Ambode by Tunde Fashola who did not want Ologunde as the D-G of Ambode Campaign Organisation (AMBO). Since Tinubu and the party leadership were looking for a way to carry him along in the whole project, it was easy for Fashola to have his way.
Secondly, this writer, as a close Personal Aide to Asiwaju Tinubu, was present in all the meetings that Asiwaju Tinubu had with the so-called “Aggrieved “12” who protested in 2006 the selection, imposition and eventual investiture of Fashola as the gubernatorial candidate of the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), in most of these meetings, Tinubu continued to justify the selection and enjoined the “Aggrieved 12” to accept his decision in the interest of the party. His reason was that the number of candidates was unwieldy and that any attempt to organise primaries was capable of inflaming tension among members and thus escalating the crisis beyond what the party could manage. He begged. He pleaded. He cajoled. He mesmerized. Eventually, the deal was sealed but it was not easy. All the while, Fashola was anxious and panicky because he did not want Tinubu to succumb to the demands of the “Aggrieved 12”. It was obvious that he did not want primaries because at that time, he was unknown, unpopular, apolitical; he was hated by the politicians and even with Tinubu’s support, he was still not confident that he would win the primaries because he knew how unpopular he was with the politicians. It was the same Fuad Oki as the D-G of the Campaign Organisation that was frustrating intra-party efforts to conduct party primaries.
Now hear the so-called BUM convener on Party Primaries in 2018:“Competitive Party and electoral politics is imperative in order to facilitate internal democracy within our Party, through requirements like Party nomination primaries…” Though this is the ideal thing to do in a normal democratic setting, manipulation of Party constitutional provisions in a society like Nigeria, where aberrations and impunities reign supreme, cannot be considered alien. Irrespective of this, it becomes frightening and disturbing when past beneficiaries of illegalities and impositions condemn with hypocritical passion, the very methods through which they were lifted to power.
Anyone who reads the Convener’s speech without knowing his antecedents will applaud his esoteric preachment. But a profound understanding of his past political antics and jingoism will reveal the vacuity of his delicious sophistry. The kind of idealism being marketed by the Movement cannot be facilitated through political treachery nor can it be canvassed by past beneficiaries of systemic anomalies. Those who lack the integrity and dignity of sainthood should not be the ones to promote Utopianism as they lack the moral credibility to undertake such political advocacy.
Those who are preaching Party cohesion are the same people desecrating the sanctity of democracy by snubbing the internal redress mechanisms and going to the extreme to seek “justice” through party dismemberment. Genuine democrats who believe in the sanctification of democratic tenets will not indulge in sanctimonious cyber carnival of party internal matters. Political rascality and theatrical democratic pretensions are the professional tools of rogue democrats. The Convener, the apostles and the faceless sponsors of Broom United Movement are nothing but rogue democrats seeking recognition through democratic deception.
WHERE IS NIGERIA TODAY UNDER PRESIDENT BOLA TINUBU
Easter Weekend Special by Otega ‘The Tiger’ Ogra
Just so you are better informed about our country, Nigeria, here are seven facts about our debt stock and our dear country’s path to progress under President Bola Tinubu (x – @officialABAT / Instagram & Facebook @officialasiwajubat).
Nigeria’s economic progress is evident in several key areas. Firstly, Nigeria’s Debt Stock (External + Domestic of FGN, the 36 states, and the FCT) is down from $108.2bn to $94.2bn as of Dec 31, 2024. Additionally, PBAT has cleared all verified FX backlogs of about $7bn. Despite dutifully paying off the backlog and reducing our total debt stock through consistent payments to creditors, Nigeria’s gross external reserves still grew to approximately $40.9 billion at the end of 2024, significantly higher than the $33.0 billion recorded in 2023. Net external reserves amounted to $23.3 billion, a 482.5% improvement from about $4.0 billion in 2023.
The Balance of Payments (BOP) surplus is another indicator of Nigeria’s economic growth. Nigeria achieved a BOP surplus of $6.83 billion in 2024, a significant turnaround from deficits of $3.34 billion in 2023 and $3.32 billion in 2022, reflecting stronger trade performance and increased investor confidence. Furthermore, our Non-oil exports also increased by 24.6% to $7.46 billion, while gas exports surged by 48.3% to $8.66 billion, boosting our overall trade surplus. Thanks to NGML and NLNG.
Investor confidence is also on the rise. Portfolio investment inflows, a sign of rising investor confidence in a country, more than doubled, increasing by 106.5% to $13.35 billion in 2024. Renewed investor confidence in Nigeria is driven by President Bola Tinubu’s bold macroeconomic reforms. Moreover, personal remittances from Nigerians abroad grew by 8.9% to reach $20.93 billion, complemented by a 43.5% rise in inflows via International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to $4.73 billion, demonstrating increased trust from the diaspora in our economy. Thank you, dear Nigerians in the diaspora, for believing in your country.
These achievements demonstrate President Tinubu’s effective leadership. Prudent management, optimization, and deployment of resources are what you get when you elect a President who understands finance and accounting and has done actual work along these lines with major corporations in the world. This is who our President Bola Tinubu is—educated, focused, knowledgeable, and a Strategic Thinker & Planner. ‘Our Asiwaju,’ ‘The Jagaban,’ President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not ‘someone who gets governance and financial management advice from a mentally impaired person living under a bridge’ like a particular critic who ran for office does (_not my words but the critic’s_). What I mean is that #FollowWhoKnowRoad knows the work that needs to be done and ‘knows the book’.
P.s. You can always visit (https://dmo.gov.ng) or ask the Debt Management Office @DMONigeria for more info on our debt profile.
PART II
NIGERIA’S DEBT PROFILE FUN FACT
Do you know that our IMF loan obligations have been significantly paid down from $2.47 billion as of 2023 to $800.23 million at the end of 2024? A substantial decrease of over 67% in that period.
Some key points to note about Nigeria’s debt profile include:
– Nigeria, under PBAT, is paying its loans back. No default. No unnecessary borrowings. No seeking for tens of billions of dollars in debt bailout and sacking of 70% of the workforce (as another ‘critic-perennial candidate’ prescribed as a solution citing another country in South America as his example).
– Nigeria, under PBAT, is clearing legacy debts from multiple administrations. Yet, our foreign reserves are rising.
– The federating states are receiving more FAAC allocations under PBAT’s administration. Their highest ever.
– Nigeria under PBAT is now exporting more than it imports. We have a trade and payments surplus. Did I hear someone say PBAT is the real ‘consumption to production’ advocate?
– Foreign investors are coming back under PBAT – from those in the oil & gas sector who left to new investors in Agribusiness, Solid Minerals, Aviation, Industry, etc. That’s confidence.
– Local investors are not left out. From Dangote to BUA, Breweries to Banks, and many others, they are pulling in their biggest profits in years. If you doubt me, check the official company results on the NGX website. e.g., Nigerian Breweries did a massive turnaround in profits in their just-released results. Go and verify!
Road construction is simultaneously ongoing in 74 roads across 24 states of the Federation, as well as the marquee Lagos-Calabar & Sokoto-Badagry super highways which will open up industry, agriculture, and productivity along those routes. Approvals have been given for the completion of Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road. The East-West Road is on track. Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe Road is being reconstructed. 2nd Niger Bridge Phase 2B (access roads) has commenced. The list is almost endless.
Again, follow whoever knows the road!!!
After former President M Buhari (2015-2023) did his best to navigate the country through an economic crisis brought about by profligate spending by the admin before him + Covid-19 + global recessions + disruptions to the global supply chains, President Tinubu said upon assuming office that he will build on the good works of his APC predecessor, fix cumulative structural imbalances from previous admins, and build a solid foundation for Nigeria and generations yet unborn.
Nigeria will thrive and succeed. Amen. If you are not betting on Nigeria already, you are on a long thing! #BetOnNigeria
Otega ‘The Tiger’ Ogra
Senior Aide to President Bola Tinubu
18 April 2025
Part I
https://x.com/otegaogra/status/1913172288788214001?s=46&t=-WT1A6V3jj52Bil8fk9JS
Part II:
https://x.com/otegaogra/status/1913172426805981653?s=46&t=-WT1A6V3jj52Bil8fk9JSg
The Grip of Godfathers: How Political Puppeteers Hijacked Nigeria’s 2023 Elections
By George Omagbemi Sylvester
In any genuine democracy, power flows from the people to their leaders. But in Nigeria, especially in the 2023 general elections, this democratic ideal was once again hijacked by an entrenched system of political godfatherism—an unholy alliance of oligarchs, kingmakers, and shadowy puppeteers who wield immense influence over who gets elected and who gets crushed. The result is a democracy disfigured by greed, betrayal, and manipulation.
The Anatomy of Godfatherism in Nigeria
Godfatherism in Nigerian politics is not new. Since the return to democracy in 1999, it has played a dominant role in shaping the political landscape. Godfathers are wealthy political elites—often former governors, military officers, or businessmen—who sponsor candidates into power in exchange for loyalty, contracts, and control of state resources. As Professor Attahiru Jega, former INEC chairman, once noted, “Nigeria’s elections are not necessarily won by popularity or competence but by who controls the political machinery” (Jega, 2022).
The 2023 elections were a glaring manifestation of this disease. Across the country, from Lagos to Kano, Rivers to Delta, godfathers imposed candidates, manipulated primaries, and dictated outcomes with impunity. It wasn’t about manifestos or merit; it was about loyalty to the political mafia.
Lagos: The Jagaban Effect
Nowhere was godfatherism more pronounced than in Lagos State. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the self-acclaimed “Jagaban of Borgu” and national leader of the APC, has maintained a vice-like grip on Lagos politics since 1999 (TheCable, 2023). In 2023, he ascended to the presidency not by a groundswell of popular support but by orchestrating a brutal, well-funded political machine that bulldozed its way through party primaries and general elections.
Despite throwing the full weight of his influence behind the APC candidate for governor, the Labour Party made historic gains in Lagos, defeating APC in the presidential vote within Tinubu’s stronghold (INEC Official Results, 2023). Yet, voter suppression, intimidation, and ethnic incitement marred the subsequent gubernatorial polls—underscoring how far godfathers will go to maintain control (Amnesty International, 2023).
As Chinua Achebe once warned, “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership” (Achebe, 1983). That leadership failure is deeply tied to the stranglehold of political godfathers who prioritize personal gain over national progress.
Northern Nigeria: The Invisible Hands
In the North, political godfatherism took a more insidious form. Former military generals and entrenched politicians, particularly those from Buhari’s camp, played strategic roles in determining party tickets and political deals. The G5 governors’ rebellion in PDP—led by Wike, Ortom, Makinde, Ugwuanyi, and Ikpeazu—was itself a godfatherist power play aimed at disrupting national party consensus (Vanguard, 2023).
In Rivers State, Governor Nyesom Wike turned the state into a battleground of interests, publicly undermining his own party while negotiating backdoor deals with APC. The resulting electoral confusion led to disputed results and a fractured political environment (Premium Times, 2023).
The Electoral Betrayal of the Masses
INEC’s failure to transmit election results electronically despite promising to do so under the 2022 Electoral Act was a monumental betrayal. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), hailed as a game-changer, was abandoned during collation, opening the door to rigging (European Union Election Observation Mission, 2023).
The “Obidient” movement, powered by youth disillusionment and the candidacy of Peter Obi, gave millions of Nigerians hope. But that hope was crushed not just by INEC’s failure but by the deeply entrenched political oligarchs who feared losing power to the people.
As political scientist Robert Michels observed in his “Iron Law of Oligarchy,” “Who says organization, says oligarchy.” Nigerian parties, structured around godfathers, operate not as democratic institutions but as authoritarian vehicles of personal ambition.
The Tragedy of Compromise and Silence
Most tragic is the normalization of this dysfunction. Religious leaders, traditional rulers, and even the judiciary have often chosen silence or convenient neutrality. But as Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka rightly declared, “The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny” (Soyinka, 1972). In 2023, silence was louder than outrage.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s hands-off approach to post-election violence and widespread irregularities further eroded public confidence. Despite pledging to leave a legacy of free and fair elections, Buhari’s silence on INEC’s failures and his party’s abuses was deafening.
The Cost of Godfatherism
The cost of godfatherism is not just political—it is economic and social. It kills initiative, breeds incompetence, and facilitates corruption. When leaders are beholden to patrons, they have little incentive to serve the people.
The World Bank reports that Nigeria has lost over $400 billion to corruption since independence (World Bank, 2022). A significant portion of this is tied to godfather networks and political patronage. State capture, contract fraud, inflated budgets, and ghost projects are the legacy of politicians who serve their funders, not their constituents.
A Way Forward: Breaking the Chains
To dismantle the system of godfatherism, Nigeria must reform its institutions. INEC must be truly independent, immune from executive or legislative interference. Political party financing should be transparent and audited. Civil society must hold leaders accountable, and the media must stop being megaphones for political propaganda.
Political parties should internalize democracy—allowing primaries to be decided by merit, not by money or manipulation. As Nelson Mandela once said, “A critical, independent and investigative press is the lifeblood of any democracy” (Mandela, 1994). The Nigerian media must rise to this responsibility.
Voter education is essential. Citizens must understand their power and refuse to sell their votes. The success of the “Not Too Young To Run” Act and the rise of youth-led political activism in 2023 prove that the tide can turn—but only with sustained resistance.
Conclusion: A Call to Reclaim Democracy
Nigeria cannot move forward while her politics remains in the chokehold of godfathers. The 2023 elections should not just be remembered as a contest of candidates but as a referendum on whether Nigerians are truly free to choose their leaders.
As Dora Akunyili once said, “We must fight for the soul of our nation.” That fight must be waged at the ballot box, in the courts, on the streets, and in our hearts. The era of godfatherism must end—for democracy, development, and dignity to thrive in Nigeria.
_Sylvester is a prolific writer and political analyst; He writes from Johannesburg._
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