TheCable

You see how people carry their big heads and cause confusion for others.

Gov Sanwo-Olu is on his own jejely dancing to Kizz Daniel’s ‘Buga’ and quietly strategising on how he will win his reelection.

A chore that is increasingly looking complex, especially with the continued bumbling of his principal and Funke Akindele’s 15 million social media followers who to date do not even know their way to the nearest polling station.

That is how early in the week, I got a call from a former colleague at Habib Bank. Edgar, he said, some south-south people are galvanising support for Governor Sanwo-Olu’s reelection.

Your name has been mentioned severally as an influential south-south in Lagos and I have given them your numbers.

I liked the idea. I liked the feeling of inclusion. This time they were not asking us to jump into the Lagoon or calling us kobokobo but were actually allowing us mobilise and have our own opportunity to lend a voice.

I said, “oya na. Let’s do this”. I was however circumspect because a few days earlier, I had also been called into a secret meeting asking for my support for a new party and was even offered commissioner “if we win”.

I liked that promoter. His fearlessness and his politics. He was sound but did he stand a chance? I don’t know o.

I listened intently to him and left the meeting admiring his boldness and still wallowing at the offer of being chairman of his finance committee.

But this was mainstream. This was Sanwo-Olu and this was my thoughts about him as a person, his policies and not the unravelling construct he belongs to.

For me, this election is about the people and not the so-called structures they belong. I lend my support to individuals who I believe have something to offer or have offered something irrespective of the party they belong to since we have heard that all the parties are leprous.

So the call came. Are you Edgar? He asked arrogantly and I said, yes sir. He said, I hear you are Akwa Ibom and I said yes and he said, “come for a meeting tomorrow, we want to make you exco because we need to support our brother who is commissioner for budget in Lagos”.

Wow. I said, please what is the vision of this group beyond the fact that the commissioner for budget is from Delta and he loses his stupid temper.

Are you joining us or not? And added, “na wetin dey tire me for our people be this”. He continued, “our brother na commissioner, you no dey hear? He needs our support”. He screamed over the phone.

I now calmly asked him some questions. “Do you know me? Have you done a background check on me? Do you know my political inclinations?” All answers came in volleys of no, no, no.

So why are you engaging me like a tout? By this time I could hear his breathing going heavy.

I said, “my brother listen to me. This is prebendal politics you are playing. This is what we are trying to change in this country”.

Why should I support Sanwo-Olu because he appointed your brother commissioner? Is that the only reason you think Sanwo-Olu deserves a second term?

My brother, you should be telling me what value your brother has brought to his administration and his outlook for the incoming administration then we can talk.

The only reason I took your call was because I thought you would leverage on the inclusion that is your brother’s involvement in the administration to seek my support.

So coming to me with this mundane and barely literate approach is a great disservice to Sanwo-Olu and his campaign.

By this time, it was a loud hiss that I heard as the phone dropped.

Now, Sanwo-Olu for me has performed creditable well. His foray into infrastructure, health and very importantly his populist appeal gives him a high consideration for a second term in my books

But to expect automatic support on the back of a commissioner who has been virtually invinsible is the peak of arrogance in vote chasing.

So no, I won’t support Sanwo-Olu on those terms but instead, I would sit down when the time comes and measure Sanwo-Olu on the specific, quantitative engagement of his performance in key areas that are close to my heart and at that point, I would make my decison.

Sanwo-Olu has been brilliant. He has ticked some strategic boxes and he is surely gearing towards a powerful push at reelection but with goons like these around him and I hear there are plenty, he just may have to fall back on the gutter politics that we are all trying to run away from to seek his victory.

So my fellow south-south campaigner, let’s help Sanwo-Olu in a more constructive manner instead of going around burnishing his chances with ‘jangrover’ politics