Echoes of happenings at the disrupted primaries of the All Progressives Congress held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, last Saturday, must still reverberate. Not only for the orgy of violence that trailed it, but even more so for the comprehensive beating Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi got in the hands of thugs and party faithful. Afikuyomi was the chairman of the party’s primary election in Lagos. Prior to the primaries, tension had heightened among party members owing to the Machiavellian imposition of candidates.
Afikuyomi was dutifully reading out the names of 18 consensus candidates for endorsements when the aggrieved members, initially venting their anger through protests, later threw caution to the wind and began throwing chairs and other objects. A hapless Afikuyomi was caught in the crossfire. Despite the protective ring around him, daredevil party members broke through and rained blows, hockey sticks and other such objects on him. His buba was torn in the ensuing melee as his portly, flabby torso being pummeled by blows, became a standalone spectacle.
That day, the former Commissioner for Tourism in Lagos, was given more than enough reasons to consider hitting the gym real hard and shedding more than half of his Body Mass Index. Afikuyomi was later extricated from the jaws of death by security operatives who whisked him out, partially naked, and into safety.
