By Kolade Ismail
When Senator Ademola Adeleke addressed the press on Sunday on the ongoing local government administration crisis in Osun, he deployed only one weapon…. Blackmail.
The governor called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene by instructing security agencies not to obey any “illegal order” allegedly issued by Oyetola, whom he described as the President’s nephew.
“I urge Mr. President to direct the National Security Adviser and the Attorney General of the Federation to personally verify that the Court of Appeal judgment did not reinstate the sacked chairmen and councillors. The law must be upheld,” Adeleke emphasized.
Would the Governor submit himself to any unfavorable interpretation by these officials of the federal government even if the President graciously addresses his wish? I really don’t think so.
What the governor just did was to weaponize his predecessor, Governor Gboyega Oyetola and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu for political reasons. He also cleverly expanded the blackmail net to entrap the National Security Adviser and the Attorney General of the Federation.
With this weapon, Governor Adeleke has successfully lulled the Presidency into slumber and turned Osun APC into orphans while they are receiving the murderous beating of their political life in the hands of the PDP thugs across the state.
The silence of the Presidency on the ongoing crisis in Osun State even after the killings and maiming of people across the party lines on Monday, cannot be divorced from the blackmail strategy deployed by the Governor Adeleke.
Weaponizing blackmail for political reasons often involves using compromising information to coerce, manipulate, or discredit individuals, groups, or organizations for political gain. Unfortunately, this unethical and often illegal practice can have severe consequences for democracy, governance, and public trust.
What does the Presidency’s silence portends?
Would the Presidency torpedo the local government autonomy because of political blackmail?
If I were Senator Adeleke, I would be worried about the Abuja silence.
How far can Governor Adeleke go with this strategy?
Only time can tell!
Kolade Ismail, a politician, writes from Ode-Omu in Ayedaade Local Government Area of Osun State
