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| Apagun |
A story was once told of a prideful, deceptive and a subtle tortoise who after loosing out in an animal kingdom decided to compete and complete the kingship rites and rituals in the birds kingdom. Some members of his family questioned his affinity with the birds kingdom and the possibilities of ceding out the kingship to him since he cannot fly. His wife and children reminded him that flying across seven rivers in their known world is part of the ceremonial rites. The tortoise assured his family that he had already settled the kingmakers, and telling his wife that he was called to come for the contest by the eagle because he was denied the right to become the king. Ostrich was equally in support because she couldn't fly across the seven rivers, she decided to give out feathers to support the tortoise together with some dissidents birds for him to complete the kingship rites. Despite the fact that the priests and diviners warned these rebellious birds to allow the Peacock chosen by divinity to become the king, they obstinately stood against the warning by the gods that the rats would not squeak like rats, the birds would not chirp like birds and humans will not speak like humans
On the day of the completion of the rituals, a sacrifice must be carried by the king to be, so the tortoise begged eagle to carry him on her wings with the sacrifice at dawn to the sacred forest to place the sacrifice in front of the gods. On his way back on the wings of the eagle, sighting the town at a distance and the flocks of birds awaiting his arrival in the village square, he thanked the eagle for her support but begged her to let him be on his own as he had already glued the borrowed wings to his arm and legs to proof that he can fly. Eagle warned him against the decision, but before you can say Jack, he jumped from the eagle's back and cracked in pieces in the midst of the awaiting townsmen.
Politics in Ogun State has always been competitive. But right now, the Labour Party in the state is dealing with a distraction that threatens to drown out real work: a parallel faction built not by grassroots structure, but by a group of transactional politicians looking for shortcuts to relevance through the stroke of pen.
The trouble started when some individuals, who played little or no role in building the party from ward to state level, decided to announce a separate "exco." It was not done through congress. It was not recognized by the national constitution of the Labour Party but by some individuals at the national against the will of the people of Ogun State. It was simply declared, with memo and borrowed logos.
That is the problem. You cannot build legitimacy by photocopying it.
*The constitutional exco*
The state executive Committee led by *Apagun Olaolu Samuel* emerged through the process laid out in the party constitution. The state congress produced officers with mandates from members on the ground. That is how political parties are supposed to function. Not by WhatsApp declarations, not by borrowing halls for parallel meetings.
This exco has been carrying out the basic work: reconciling members while the supposedly national leaders were outrightly kicking against such without first coming to beg for permission on performing our rights and obligations as Chairman, preparing for elections, and engaging communities on Labour Party ideals. It is not perfect. No new structure is. But it has the one thing the other group does not: a paper trail rooted in the party’s own rules and constitution
*Why the parallel group exists*
The second group is not an ideological split. It is a transactional arrangement. In Nigerian politics, we have seen this pattern before. When an election cycle approaches, some actors who could not win internal elections try to create a second center of power. The goal is not to grow the party. The goal is to negotiate. To get recognition. To sell access. To fly on wings that do not belong to them.
Borrowed wings cannot sustain flight. They look good in photos, but they have no roots in the wards, no structure in the LGAs, and no accountability to the members who knocked on doors in 2023.
*The cost to Ogun Labour Party*
1. *Confusion*: New members do not know which leadership to approach. That slows down mobilization.
2. *Resources wasted*: Time and money that should go into voter education and candidate grooming are spent fighting for letterheads.
3. *Credibility damaged*: Voters are watching. When a party cannot manage its own house, it becomes hard to ask the public to trust it with the state.
An oral history in the Ifa verses stated _" . . . lo difa fún Ológbò jigolo baba awo, nigba to nṣawo ròde Oyo, won ni eyin agba, é má j'obi to gbo, eyin agba, é má fẹ aya meji ni rogbarogba"_ literally meaning 'as Ologbo Jigolo was divinely instructed in those days, warning that the elders must not be attracted by the matured cola nuts, neither should they be engaged to two wives simultaneously. The instructions are simple, the elders should not take bribe neither should they double date.
*The way forward*
Parties grow through discipline, not drama. The national leadership of the Labour Party must do three things quickly:
- *Affirm the constitutional exco*: Put it in writing. Circulate it to INEC, to stakeholders, and to the public in Ogun State. Ambiguity is what transactional politicians thrive on.
- *Sanction impersonation*: Anyone parading as an officer outside the constitutional process should be shown the door. Politics cannot reward forgery.
- *Open the door for real reconciliation*: Not for power-sharing with a parallel group, but for members who were genuinely aggrieved during congresses to be heard within the structure led by Apagun Olaolu Samuel.
Ogun Labour Party has a real opportunity. The appetite for alternatives is there. Young voters, artisans, teachers, and traders are looking for a party that speaks to competence and accountability. They will not wait while a few individuals argue over borrowed titles.
You do not build a movement by creating two heads. You build it by strengthening the one head that the constitution recognizes, and then making it work.
Borrowed wings might get you a few meters off the ground. But to fly in 2027, Ogun Labour Party needs its own wings. And right now, those wings are with the legally and constitutionally emerged state exco led by Apagun Olaolu Samuel.
© *Apagun Olaolu Samuel*
Chairman,
Labour Party Ogun State
egberunsaamu2206@gmail.com
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