“I would rather die than join APC” Femi Fani Kayode (FFK) June 2019
“I have moved closer to Buhari. He is a good man. That is why I am joining APC” FFK September 2021
“FFK is my boy, give him food and he will sing for you” OBJ, May 2014
The defection of FFK to the APC may not be a surprise to many. The antecedents of FFK, the former Minister of Aviation, show he is a man with no scruples and can go to any length to court political patronage and relevance. Days in the political wilderness of opposition politics has certainly battered the pockets of the verbose belligerent former Minister into submission
Eating humble pie, he apologized and renounced all his criticisms of the regime in power, showering it with sugar-coated words of praise. And to have a photo ops with Buhari, the man at which he daily hurled verbal stones, is the final coup d’ grace. Indeed the lure of 2023 General Elections and the thirst for political relevance is one urge FFK cannot ignore.
Few would lose sleep over the defection of the former Minister, but the trend it portrays is even more worrisome. Is opposition politics dead in Nigeria? Must all now join the APC to squeeze out any hope of progress and development? Is Nigeria slowly heading towards a one-party state? One Governor was quoted as saying he left PDP for APC so that the Government can take the insecurity issues of the state seriously and mobilize the Military to help. So are others not in the APC forced to join to take their vaccination against insecurity.
The stormy clouds are gathering, and even more dramatic defections are expected in the coming days. The motivation for this cross carpeting is no more fear of political prosecution and economic crimes persecution, it is now motivated by pure political interests, linked to financial patronage.
The opposition PDP is going to see its ranks depleted even further in the coming days as the specter of a one-party state looms. Opposition keeps a Government on its toes and honest. The threat that another party is poised to sweep the polls and take power is what makes the Government in power, showering effective and efficient. Once that threat is gone laxity, nepotism and corruption will reign supreme.
The APC has neutralized that threat and has Buhari to thank for this achievement. There is no opposition in Nigeria anymore. The PDP has been robbed of its bite and bark. FFK in the party was a nuisance few could ignore and helped to create some level of dissent and verbosity. The loss of his nuisance value is a huge blow to the opposition.
Now one has to sit and ponder over what the future holds for Nigeria.
There are only two types of Nigerians now by party affiliation,
“Those in the APC and those who will soon join the APC”
It has nothing to do with ideology. Almost every promise they have made to Nigerians they have broken. The Naira is in free fall. The economy has gone belly up. Bandits are the new Boko Haram that spreads terror across the land. Mass abductions have increased 100 fold. Poverty and hunger in the land have trebled. Hence any sensible opposition has all the points it needs to railroad this regime out of office in the next election.
But this will not happen. Any dissenting voice to the New World Order in Nigeria has gone mute.
The country is almost a one-party state. May God deliver the country from the depths of this calamity. FFK said over his dead body he will never join APC. Today he has cemented his words in history. The path to this day was set at Yusuf Buhari’s wedding and true to Obasanjo’s words, he was given food and an iPhone gift hamper at the wedding hence his song has changed.
Are we surprised? No, we are not!
Written by Attah Essien.
