Bisi Akande’s book, *My Participations*, is loaded with the games politicians play to capture political power for selfish interest rather than to serve the country. The 557-page book is a must-read for anyone interested in the authentic story of Nigerian democracy. It is written in simple prose and the reader will find it delightful, engaging, and entertaining.
Akande the altruistic politician and protege of Bola Ige tried to convince his readers that he, Akande, left an indelible impression in every political office he held, especially in the Southwest region. He was Secretary to the old Oyo State Government under Governor Bola Ige, then Deputy Governor. Thereafter, he was elected Governor of Osun State in 1999. His public service records as chronicled in the book are unbelievably impeccable, especially as subsequent governments have been unable to indict him. His comparative analysis between the old and new breed politicians who emerged during Gen. Sani Abacha’s transition to civil rule is not only informational but alarming. He thinks that that set of politicians aggravated bad governance in our political spectrum.
Although the book is an autobiography of the author and his engagement in politics as a career, there is more to it than one could have imagined. For example, his catalog of some of the major political events in the country, such as how Obafemi Awolowo lost the presidential election to Shehu Shagari, the Ife-Modakeke crisis, the assassination of Bola Ige, the formation of Afenifere (a pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organization), and the National Democratic Coalition’s (NADECO ) resistance to military rule in the country, will hold readers spellbound.
If that doesn't take your breath away, his testimony of how the APC was formed, the role Bola Tinubu and the Southwest played in ensuring that Mohammandu Buhari defeated the incumbent President, Goodluck Johnathan, in the 2015 election would surely do the magic.
At some point, a critical reader would think that the book was written to remind President Buhari and politicians of Northwest extraction of their indebtedness to Tinubu and the Southwest for their contributions to the 2015 presidential polls so that they could reciprocate the kind gesture in 2023.
From the author’s narrative of the events, no one would have any doubt about President Buhari's support for Tinubu’s presidential bid. if he doesn't, it will not only be the greatest treachery in our political history, but it would reanimate the bitter rivalry and mutual suspicion between the Yorubas and the Fulanis, which the alliance between Tinubu and President Buhari would seem to have dealt with. However, let's keep our fingers crossed. Only time will tell.
Other revelations in the book that would startle most readers are former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s complicity in Bola Ige's murder and his ignoble role in election rigging. If you ever marveled how Obasanjo was able to penetrate the Southwest and ensured that PDP defeated AD in 4 out of the 5 states( Lagos was the only state standing ) in the 2003 elections or how Iyiola Omisore who was docked for the murder of Bola Ige won his Senatorial District election from prison or both, read the book.
By the time you finish reading the book, you will understand why Vice President Yemi Osibanjo is pussyfooting around the issue of contesting the APC presidential primary against his benefactor, Tinubu. You will also understand why the APC presidential ticket is out of the reach of politicians of Southeast and South-South extractions.
With this book, Akande has fired the first salvo as disclosures from *My Participations* would ebb the reputation of most of our celebrated political leaders in all ramifications, and they won't take it lying down.
However, no matter what their responses might be, I do not doubt that they would never be able to vindicate their reputations in their lifetime and beyond.
Felix Akpan PhD
lixzito@yahoo.co.uk
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