These are certainly trying times for the former accountant-General as he pursue his gubernatorial ambition of becoming the next governor of Lagos State. Mr Ambode no doubt have come under so much scutiny both from his political rivals as well as from the public. There’s been so many questions asked about this man, ranging from his family lineage to issues that have to do with the backing of the APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
From the purpoted backing of the Oba of Lagos State to the issue of religion. Other issues have had to do with the source of his funding. When ever I think of Akinwunmi Ambode I ask myself, was his early exposure a wise thing, or would it prove to be his undoing if he does not make it to Alausa at the end of the day?
Well, I usually think to myself, in Fashola’s case, His candidacy, interest to run and the backing of Tinubu was not made known , I should say was not made public early,every thing was concealed until towards the end. There were permutations all over before Fashola emerged as the flag bearer. Even though there were oppositions in Fashola’s case, the whole thing was so close to elections that other agrieved aspirants couldn’t really find much space to work against him so, they couldn’t stop the emergence of Babatunde Raji Fashola as the flag bearer & eventual winner of the guber elections that time.
At the end of the day, the political house of Tinubu stood strong and agrieved party faithfuls were appeased. Now when I think of Akinwunmi Ambode I tell myself, his very early exposure is a direct opposite to Fashola’s. Will this early exposure not hamper his political hopes? Now we are still many months away from election, yet Mr Ambode have had to waether so much storm of opposition from his own party people. With such a consistent barrage of bitter opposition already being played out against ambode , one wonders if this would not work against the chance of APC and treaten the coesion and unity of the party. Party people could easily do the dirty job of the fifth columnist just to ensure Ambode doesn’t make.
Already, we hear that at least a party leader and guber aspirant, Ganiyu solomon has sworn not to step down this time around for anyone. At leaset GOS has made known his intention. The Big question then is, how many more are in the lagos APC who have also sworn not to step down for anyone. So, maybe, just maybe, it would be been wise if Ambode had kept things hidden until later, at least the man could have borrowed the strategy applied in Fashola’s case. That way he could have saved himself some of the politics foes he already has right now.
Then, there is the rumor Ambode has the backing of Tinubu, the APC national leader. Though Tinubu on his part have been denying this all along. Other aspirants have also claimed Tinubu have assured others of a level playing ground all the way. On the other hand, would not want to risk pulling down the political empire he has taken tears, sweat and years to build. Should the opposition against the Ambode grow thicker, Tinubu might be forced to change his mind,and back down, that is if he had indeed chosen Ambode.
Tinubu most certainly would want to choose Fashola’s successor as well as keep the party in tact. Ambode’s rivals and political foes have also questioned his roots and lineage. Ambode claim he is from the Edu family in Epe, Lagos. His claim is backed by the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu. But then, the Edu family have since openly come out publicly to refute Ambode’s claim of being a member of the Edu family. The elders of the edu family claim they do not know him and that he actually is not from their family. They claim that Akinwunmi’s Father, Festus Akinwale Ambode was actually a teacher from Ilaje Ese Odo in Ondo state that was posted to Epe in the then western region. The Edu family also claimed that at death the corpse of the Elder Ambode was was conveyed back to Ilaje, Ondo state for burial rites.
Also, it has been revealed that, though Ambode has or is rumored to have the backing of the Oba of Lagos,Ambode does not have the backing or endorsement of the Lagos state traditional council, and that the chiefs do not support his guber ambition. These are many huddles to surmount for Mr Ambode i dare say. Now there’s also been this heated issue of religion. Many say, this is the time for a Christian governor to rule Lagos state. Next question that readily comes to mind is, Does Mr Ambode have the backing of the christian community in Lagos. Now if you ask me, I dare say most of these challenges could be traced to the too early expose of Mr Ambode, my opinion that is. Okay, what about the issue of funding, some say he has access to council funds and all that, such that council men are bitter about this. So, adding all this together, one really wonder, how much chance does Ambode have in this race, on the other hand, as the party primaries draw close, his party support might really wane to the point of spoiling his chances if any. On the other hand, I think one thing APC as a party might want to avoid, is in-house squabbles. One thing that can kill the biggest opposition party in the country real quick is, in house squabbles, divisions if you like. I remember the wordings in the Bible, the book of matthew to be precise,”…a house divided against itself cannot stand”.
