By Toluwanimi Ajisafe
The lingering rivalry in the Lagos State House of Assembly that led to the removal of Rt Hon. Obasa as speaker has taken another dimension as some persons are saying that it is the evils that Rt Hon. Obasa did that are now haunting him.
An APC chieftain, who wants to remain anonymous narrated the many evils that Rt Hon. Obasa mettled on some politicians by using his office as speaker. It was learned that Rt Hon. Obasa used absolute impunity to oppress and deny some politicians of political opportunities meant for them.
Some of these persons who suffered deprivation and denials from Rt Hon. Obasa are persons they started the struggle together while some are senior associates in politics but he rather preferred to make them irrelevant politically and then imposes younger politicians on them so he could have absolute control over the younger politicians.
Our findings revealed further that some of the names that Rt Hon. Obasa removed from the list of nomination for Cabinet position in 2023, were politicians who are not members of his caucus in their respective local governments.
It was learnt that at that time ,he had started the permutation for his governorship ambition and so was cunningly using his Speakership position to eliminate those who he thought could be claws in the wheel of his ambition.
It was also revealed to us that many of these politicians who suffered deprivation and oppression in the hand of Rt Hon. Obasa are majorly from Agege, Alimosho, Ifako-Ijaye and some parts of Lagos West Senatorial District.
A politician who wishes to remain anonymous narrated the experience of those politicians who contested with Rt Hon. Obasa in 2003 in AD and 2007 in AC primaries in Agege local government. The anonymous revealed that since Rt Hon. Obasa became the Speaker, he used his position as Speaker and member of GAC not only to oppress them but denied them the opportunities of getting anything in the system.
In fact one of them who contested with him died recently as a result of depression due to political deprivation and denial. The other persons who are still alive and members of the ruling APC have been denied many times by Rt Hon. Obasa of opportunities to attain position of either elected office or political appointment. He rather imposed his stooges in those positions.
As at the time of his removal as Speaker, he was so powerful that he became the sole decision maker in Agege Federal Constituency.Political leaders and well respected figures in the federal constituency were never consulted before vital decisions were taken especially decisions on who becomes APC candidates in previous elections or who takes political appointment at any level of governance The political figures includes Dr. Samuel Adejare(2-term member of House of Representatives, 2-term LAHA member, 1-term Hon. Commissioner and Current Chairman of a University Governing Council), Dr. Kayode Opeifa(2-term Hon. Commissioner and Current MD of Nigeria Railway Corporation), Dr. Wale Ahmed(1-term member of LAHA, 2-term Hon. Commissioner and current member of House of Representatives), Hon. Taofeek Adaranijo(3-term Local Government Chairman and 1-term member of House of Representatives), Hon. Wole Adesina(1-term LAHA Member and 1-term Local Government Chairman), Engr. Kabiru Ahmed(1-term Hon. Commissioner and 2-term Chairman of State Board), Hon. Yinka Ogundimu(3-term LAHA Member), Chief Adaranijo(The Apex Leader of Agege politics), all of whom are household names in Agege and late Prof. Tunde Samuel(then member of GAC and an ally of Bola Tinubu) were all totally choked off
To buttress his point, the anonymous said that the two current Cabinet Members from Agege were solely nominated by Rt Hon. Obasa without consulting the leadership or any of those political figures.
Another source told us that in Ifako-Ijaye and Alimosho, Rt Hon. Obasa used his connection with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to work against some potential politicians who would have been appointed into Cabinet position or elected into House of Representatives/Lagos Assembly, to deny them of opportunities, just because they do not belong to his caucus.
He became so powerful that he had extended his tentacles to other Local Governments. During Ambode’s regime, Rt Hon. Obasa imposed candidates as sole administrators in more than ten local governments.
A source informs us that Rt Hon. Obasa is hypocritical; that his claim when he rejected some nominees of Governor Sanwo-Olu was that those names were not politicians but majority of the people he put in political offices at local government and state level are neither politicians nor people that labored for the party.
In fact, one of the persons he nominated for Lagos State Cabinet appointment in 2023, Mr. Abiodun Afolabi, just retired from Lagos State Civil service in 2022. Such was never a politician.
Rt Hon. Obasa has used his position to clamp down on so many potential politicians who had worked assiduously for the party. He lost regards for Leaders, Party hierarchy and structures. He became so intoxicated with power and now nemesis has caught up with him. It is natural justice that whatever you sow you shall reap.
