Embassy-Oseni MOMODU_
Politics has a brutal way of exposing the difference between temporary alliances and enduring structures. Yesterday’s heroes can become today’s forgotten voices, while those written off often return stronger, more influential, and more relevant than ever. That reality is once again playing out in Nigerian politics, particularly within the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Few episodes capture this political irony more vividly than the dramatic removal of Adams Oshiomhole as National Chairman of the APC in 2020. At the time, powerful forces within the party rallied together to bring him down. Among the loudest and most influential figures in that coalition were former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi and former Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki.
To many observers, Oshiomhole’s removal was never truly about Oshiomhole himself. He was merely the visible casualty in a larger political war targeted at Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the growing influence of his political tendency within the APC. Oshiomhole, because of his closeness to Tinubu and his unapologetic defense of party discipline, became the convenient target.
The consequences were immediate and devastating for the APC in Edo State. The internal crisis escalated into a full-blown political war that eventually pushed Obaseki out of the APC and into the People’s Democratic Party, where he secured re-election as governor. For APC loyalists, the loss of Edo State was not just an electoral defeat; it was the price paid for internal betrayal, ego battles, and political vendettas.
Many party faithful still remember how emergency court orders suddenly became weapons of political warfare. Courts across the country were dragged into party supremacy battles. Suspensions, counter-suspensions, and conflicting judgments flew around like political missiles. In the end, Oshiomhole was removed, APC lost Edo, and the party entered one of its most turbulent periods.
But politics, as always, did not end there.
Today, the same political equation has dramatically changed. Tinubu, the man many believed was the real target, is now Nigeria’s President. Oshiomhole, who was humiliated and pushed out as party chairman, has returned to the national stage as a ranking Senator of the Federal Republic. Edo State itself has politically drifted back toward the APC’s sphere of influence.
And what about many of the rebels of yesterday?
Obaseki has completed his tenure and no longer commands the same national political relevance he once enjoyed during the anti-Oshiomhole battle. Fayemi, once regarded as one of the intellectual pillars of the APC, now appears increasingly distant from the party’s power center. Ironically, he is now raising concerns that the APC has “lost its vision and objectives.”
That statement naturally raises questions among many party loyalists. Which vision exactly is being referenced? The vision of using internal sabotage to weaken party structures? The vision of weaponizing court orders against fellow party members? Or the vision of dismantling party leadership in pursuit of temporary political advantage?
For many supporters of Oshiomhole and Tinubu, the current complaints from some former power brokers sound less like ideological concerns and more like the frustration of politicians who no longer occupy the commanding heights of influence they once enjoyed.
The APC crisis of 2020 now serves as an important lesson in political loyalty and endurance. Those who celebrated Oshiomhole’s fall believed they had permanently ended his political relevance and weakened Tinubu’s future ambitions. Instead, history moved in the opposite direction.
Today, Tinubu occupies Aso Rock. Oshiomhole sits in the Senate with renewed influence. APC remains the ruling party. And many of those who engineered yesterday’s rebellion are struggling to redefine their place in the current political reality.
Politics is full of seasons. Yesterday’s victors can become today’s spectators. And sometimes, the men written off too early are the very ones history eventually vindicates.
~Embassy-Oseni MOMODU, LFP; B.A; LL.B; B.L-LL.M (In-view) writes from Abuja. He could be reached 08120567606 or Osenixyz@gmail.com.