By Debo Popoola
Sometimes, to be declared dead can be better than to be alive but inert and moribund. Relevance is what makes men renowned. A relevant man is revered and honored, even among his cronies; he graces spectacles and wins hearts to his side. A man that is relevant, either politically and economically, is looked up to by friends and allies alike.
Relevant people dictate the tunes the world plays; and any decision made against their wishes and desires are revised and forged to theirtastes. Little wonder that man, right from its primitiveness, would seek for relevance with his blood and bone- the price to be paid. And any man who is contented with being irrelevant becomes servant to those who seek it; such people take solace in their mediocrity and are buried deep into the deep of obscurity.
Olusegun Osoba used to run the rules in Ogun state years ago, but his decision to leave the ruling APC party to join the SDP became his undoing.
After serving as the governor of Ogun state in 1999 under the Alliance for Democracy, he was part of the founding fathers of the APC, but a fall out between him and the present governor of the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, let him out of the APC to join the SDP with his supporters.
Even since, Chief Osoba has remained relatively unheard of when his new party lost gallantly to the APC during the gubernatorial election in the state. The loss of the party translated to loss of political power and influence of Chief Osoba as he, who used to be on the winning side, found himself at the pitiable side of the coin, and he resorted to premature political sabbatical.
Recently, the former governor was speaking at the book lunch of Professor Segun Gbadegesin in Lagos, where hinted that he is planning to join the ruling APC again. During his brief speech, Osoba harped on the next step in his political career.
Osoba said Professor Gbadegesin met and pleaded with him to rejoin the fold of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He however promised by the Grace of God, that it would be well. Tinubu, a national leader of the APC, was the Chairman of the launch of Prof. Gbadegesin’s book- “All The Way: Serving with Conscience”.
Segun Gbadegesin was part of Radio Kudirat, NADECO, Egbe Omo Yoruba and has written a weekly column on the backpage of The Nation since the newspaper was established. The book is a memoir of his professional life and activism in support of social and political transformation. The book tells the story of Prof. Segun Gbadegesin’s formative life events and activism through the prism of Nigerian history and politics.
